Mansionization: Inevitable Or Avoidable?

"Mansionization has been occurring in the northeastern United States and California for years. Some planners decry the practice, saying building big, fancy homes next to more modest ones rips apart established neighborhoods aesthetically and socially and can destroy the area's historical context.

As the land prices rise, mansionization also can play havoc with neighborhood diversity, eliminating affordable housing for new home buyers, the elderly on fixed incomes and the working poor.

Developers say gentrification is the nature of neighborhood evolution. As houses outlive their life expectancies, they are replaced with new homes, increasing the land values in the neighborď hood, making everybody's land worth more."