Ruth Glass was a German-born British sociologist.

Glass's work reflected her belief "that the purpose of sociological research was to influence government policy and bring about social change". A lasting legacy is her coining of the term 'gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

', which she created to describe the processes by which the poor were squeezed out of parts of London as upper-class ghettos were created.

Between 1935 and 1941 she was married to Henry William Durant

Henry William Durant

Henry William Durrant was a noted opinion pollster and market researcher. Durant was responsible for esblishing several leading opinion poll and market research institutions including the British Institute of Public Opinion , the Market Research Society and the European Society for Marketing and...

, the statistician and pioneer in the field of public opinion polling. She married David Victor Glass

David Glass (sociologist)

David Glass was an eminent English sociologist. One of the few sociologists elected to the Royal Society.He is also one of the very few people to be elected both FBA and FRS....

, a sociologist and demographer, in 1942.

Selected publications

• Glass, R. (ed) (1948) The Social Background of a Plan: a Study of Middlesbrough, Preface by Max Lock
  Max Lock
  Max Lock was a British postwar urban planner who emphasised the importance of incorporating social research in the planning process. His most notable contributions were associated with planning in Middlesbrough, where he worked with Griselda Rowntree and Ruth Glass on the 1944 Middlesbrough...
  
  , London : Routledge & Kegan Paul
• Glass, R. (1955) Urban Sociology in Great Britain: a trend report, Current Sociology, IV, 4: 8-35.