Final answer:
The term referring to the process that led to the increase in home values in Detroit's 8-mile neighborhood is gentrification, which involves improvements by lower social status individuals followed by an influx of higher status residents, raising property values and often displacing original residents.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term that refers to the process leading to an increase in home values in the 8-mile neighborhood in Detroit is gentrification. Gentrification often starts with individuals of lower social status making improvements to a neighborhood. As the area becomes more attractive, it draws individuals of higher social status who are typically buying their first homes or are moving within the city, which then leads to higher property values and a change in the neighborhood's character. This process can result in displacement as original residents may be priced out.
Blockbusting was a different phenomenon, where real-estate agents used the fear of racial integration to induce white homeowners to sell their property at low prices, which were then sold at inflated prices to minorities. White flight is related to blockbusting and refers to the mass movement of white people from racially mixed urban areas to the suburbs. Urban renewal is a broader term for various initiatives aimed at redeveloping urban areas, but does not specifically describe the process that leads to an increase in home values due to changes in the social status of residents.