  In this work we characterize sudden increases in the land price of certain
urban areas, a phenomenon causing gentrification, via an extended Schelling
model. An initial price rise forces some of the disadvantaged inhabitants out
of the area, creating vacancies which other groups find economically
attractive. Intolerance issues forces further displacements, possibly giving
rise to an avalanche. We consider how gradual changes in the economic
environment affect the urban architecture through such avalanche processes,
when agents may enter or leave the city freely. The avalanches are
characterized by power-law histograms, as it is usually the case in
self-organized critical phenomena.
