Conducted by Lance Freeman, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning, this project is part of a larger project to determine how residents are affected by differing types of neighborhood revitalization.  More specifically, it seeks to compare how long-term residents fare in neighborhoods undergoing gentrification in comparison to those in neighborhoods undergoing a type of revitalization referred to in the literature as equitable development.  This type of development seeks to mitigate harms associated with gentrification by limiting displacement and increasing education, employment and other life opportunities for all residents, not just those who can afford to remain or those who already have the education to succeed. (Powell 2002).  Alternatively, equitable development has been defined as “the creation and maintenance of stable, economically and socially diverse communities, which creates opportunities for lower income residents to become homeowners, business owners, taxpayers and active community participants.” (Rubin 2002)

 

A first step toward bettering our understanding of how gentrification affects long-term residents might be to gain a sense of the process from their perspective.  Our current understanding of what gentrification means to residents experiencing the transformation of their neighborhoods is amazingly sparse.  As social scientists, we should be especially interested in the perspectives of pre-existing residents in gentrifying neighborhoods.  Our knowledge of the complex nature of neighborhood change can be informed by understanding what these changes mean to people who are undergoing the effects of gentrification.;

 

From a planning and policy perspective, the importance of understanding the meaning of gentrification to long-term residents is crucial.  Gentrification has often taken on pejorative connotations, as shown above.  But is this residents’ only view of gentrification?  Moreover, to the extent residents fear or dislike gentrification, is displacement their only concern?  Certainly policy makers welcome gentrification often because rising property values means a growing tax base and improved city coffers.  But do residents of gentrifying neighborhoods perceive other benefits for themselves?  Conversely, the issue of displacement has attracted so much attention that we sometimes overlook the possibility that residents could be opposed to gentrification for other reasons as well.

 

This project has recently been developed into a book.  The book begins the journey of deepening our understanding of the meaning of gentrification to long-term residents by relating their experiences and perceptions.  The book is based on a qualitative inquiry of gentrification as perceived by residents of these neighborhoods.  Semi-structured interviews with residents and community stakeholders form the basis of this inquiry and are supplemented with first hand observations in the study neighborhoods.  Such an approach is well suited to uncovering the depth and nuances of feelings and perceptions toward gentrification.  The book aims to fill a gaping hole in the literature on gentrification by expanding our understanding of how residents of gentrifying neighborhoods perceive the changes taking place around them.  The book will begin by describing the motivation of this research and explaining the rationale for the research strategy used.  The will be followed by a literature review that briefly describes the evolution of gentrification as a phenomenon in older central cities, drawing upon extant literature.  A description of the case study neighborhoods will be provided in the third chapter.  The remainder of the book will be organized around the themes that emerged from interviewing residents of two gentrifying neighborhoods.

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