Preservationists in the city

I thought that Brown's article about preservationists versus newcomers was a fresh approach that changed my mindset a little bit about the idea of gentrification.  In big cities, it seems that there is often very little push back from gentrifying a neighborhood.  It seems to be an inevitable shift that happens in many communities.  It seems that there are so many aspects that promote gentrification (economic, social, businesses, etc) and there seem to be very few forces trying to push back and create more diverse communities or maintain them as they are.  However, in rural areas this seems to be the opposite.  There is a very strong push-back against newcomers and they are often never fully incorporated into the communities.  In this situation (for example in Brown's descriptions of Leyden and Provincetown, MA) the residents themselves seem to be pushing back against the newcomers.  This made me think about the possibility of this occurring in a big city where neighborhoods are being gentrified frequently.  However, if residents in these communities (particularly if they were poor minorities) pushed back against an influx of newcomers they would probably be seen as hostile rather than "social preservationists."   There also doesn't seem to be the same sense of pride in most city neighborhoods because the populations are changing so frequently.  Is it possible for this idea of social preservation to occur positively and productively in inner city neighborhoods?