Baristas who work in specialty coffee shops, along with hipsters more generally, have been referred to as the “shock troops” of urban gentrification – and it’s no different in Philadelphia. These servers of artisanal coffee contribute to economic and demographic changes in neighborhoods in two ways.
First, they work in coffee shops that appeal to a new wave of middle-class residents who can afford higher rents – while at the same time alienating longtime and less economically advantaged residents.
