Lentis/Gentrification

Gentrification is a process of change in a historically disinvested neighborhood. This socio-technical issue arises from the effects of urban renewal efforts. Economic (investment in real estate, city disinvestment) and demographic (higher income residents, education level, racial makeup) changes result from gentrification. Gentrification tends to be most intense in large cities and leads to increased rent, less affordable housing, and disproportionate physical and cultural displacement of minority groups. This chapter will examine historic conditions that contribute to gentrification and look at its impacts in cities across the United States.

Historic Conditions
A variety of historic conditions contribute to neighborhood gentrification:

Redlining White Flight Urban Renewal & Highway System Expansion Central City Investment & Disinvestment Patterns Subprime Lending & The Foreclosure Crisis The culmination of these conditions shows the importance of housing as capital. Gentrification can prevent minority communities from maintaining their homes, and hinder their opportunity to reap the investment benefits of their properties. Housing security is correlated with better health, and less affordable housing negatively impacts the health of a community.
 * The systematic denial of various services by federal agencies, local governments, or the private sector to disadvantaged poor and minority communities. Redlining may include credit, insurance, or loan denial to individuals from neighborhoods classified as risky for investment.
 * Redlining originated from 1930s federal mortgage programs which ranked neighborhoods based on loan worthiness, from least to most risky.
 * The phenomenon of white people moving out of diverse, urban areas and into suburban areas.
 * White flight reduces urban area capital for schools, infrastructure, or other community programs.
 * Funded under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, highway system expansion aimed to reduce unsafe, packed roadways.
 * Low-income households and communities of color bore the brunt of highway system expansion and urban renewal programs, leading to the displacement of residents, businesses, and neighborhood institutions.
 * As a result, 475,000 households have been displaced across the nation and affected air quality, noise pollution, and real estate value.
 * The phenomenon of people and capital returning to historically disinvested neighborhoods due to housing affordability, the appeal of older homes, proximity to city centers, and improved transit infrastructure.
 * Disproportionate levels of subprime lending in low-income communities of color caused mass foreclosures and left residents vulnerable to investors flipping homes.
 * From 2007-2009, there were 790 foreclosures for African-Americans, 769 foreclosures for Latinos, and 452 for Non-Hispanic Whites per 10,000 loans.

Recent Political Changes
Under the Trump administration, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed in 2017. The act incentivized investment in state-designated "opportunity zones" -- low-income areas with high unemployment or poor-quality housing. America's wealthiest investors and developers benefited most and built high-end apartment complexes, office towers, and student housing in college towns. Aaron T. Seybert, a social investment officer from the community-development Kresge Foundation in Troy, Michigan said, "perhaps 95% of this is doing no good for people we care about." In 2021, New York state legislators decoupled the state's codes from the federal opportunity zones program. Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) said, "the opportunity zone program is a scandalous giveaway to wealthy developers who didn't need the money to do the development, and I'm glad the state pulled ourselves out of wasting state dollars for this effort."

Community Impacts
Neighborhood change can improve transit options, infrastructure, and community spaces. However, long-time residents seldom enjoy these improvements. As wealthier residents move in, living costs increase and drive out low-income residents. This can lead to the cultural erasure of a neighborhood's previous residents. Those that remain may lose their sense of belonging with their neighbors, customers, and friends moving elsewhere.

The rise of AirBnB contributes to displacement. For example, the AirBnB market in New York City increased rents $380-700 per month in many minority communities. Increased AirBnB postings are positively correlated with gentrification in multiple major cities, such as New York and Los Angeles. AirBnB does not follow local housing regulations, inhibiting affordable housing initiatives. Regulation of short-term rental services like AirBnB in communities most impacted by gentrification can help to mitigate harmful community effects.

Charlottesville, VA
The town of Charlottesville, located within Albemarle County and home to the University of Virginia, experiences community-level gentrification. The affordable housing crisis in the Charlottesville area disproportionately affects communities of color. Since 2012, housing costs have increased 5% each year. From 2000 to 2018, the median income of White residents increased 103%, but increased by only 17% among Black residents. Price inflation and unequal incomes has impacted Black residents more than their White counterparts in search of affordable housing.

Zoning and building patterns tend to fall on racial lines. The Mapping Charlottesville Project found that the Montebello neighborhood off Jefferson-Park Avenue was originally restricted to White residents. In 1965, the City of Charlottesville enforced eminent domain on Vinegar Hill, a predominantly Black neighborhood. This displaced 600+ Black families and 30+ Black-owned businesses. The University of Virginia's Health System is built over Gospel Hill, originally home to many Black families. Many Charlottesville residents feel these changes in cultural diversity. A 2020 survey respondent remarked that Charlottesville "looks more diverse, but in fact families of color are getting pushed out. [It’s a] cloak and dagger process of actually becoming less diverse".

Advocates for low-income and minority residents include the Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition (CLHIC), the Charlottesville Public Housing Association of Residents (PHAR) and Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA), and Cville Plans Together. These organizations provide information on housing, legal assistance, and conduct studies to expose segregationist housing policies in the area, among other strategies.

New York City, NY
A 2016 study conducted by UC Berkeley and NYU's Center for Urban Science and Progress determined over one-third of low-income NYC households were located in neighborhoods at risk of or currently gentrifying. 314 neighborhoods were super-gentrified or exclusive. Chelsea, Harlem, the Lower East Side, Morningside Heights, and Williamsburg were most affected. Researchers at McGill University School of Urban Planning attributed this to higher Airbnb rents. An Airbnb in Lower East Side can cost $6,382 per month, too high for most residents. This rent disparity increases median rent, displacing those unable to pay. During his campaign, Mayor Eric Adams said, "Go back to Iowa. You go back to Ohio. New York City belongs to the people that were here and made New York City what it is." He later claimed this was a gaffe. "On the campaign trail, you experience political gaffes. And the sentence was a gaffe." On Twitter, Mayor Adams commented "New York City is always changing, but every once in a while, there's a sea change -- that's what's happening right now as neighborhoods lose Black residents due to rapid gentrification."

The Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network (BAN) advocates for universally stabilized rent, the end of tenant harassment, and end of income-segregated housing developments. BAN wants "Not one more person displaced! Not one more luxury development, until we have affordable housing for all!” The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) is another advocacy building "community power in order to create better laws and policies, protect tenants’ rights, and strengthen neighborhoods." Activists also work to resist gentrification and displacement through art, marches, and petitions. For example, Mi Casa No Es Su Casa is a political art project installing signage across NYC. The Brooklyn Anti-Gentrification Network, Movement to Protect the People, and Equality for Flatbush collaborated to lead a March Against Gentrification, Racism, and Police Violence. Organizations such as the Urban Displacement Project are working to map gentrification and displacement to raise awareness.

San Francisco, CA
The Mission District of San Francisco, a Latino enclave just outside of Silicon Valley, is known as the “poster child of gentrification”. . The Dot-com bubble period from 1995 to 2004 greatly contributed to gentrification. An influx of high-income tech employees moved from Silicon Valley to the lower-income Mission District. In response to the influx, one long-time resident stated, “this block will never be the same.” The Latino population fell 6% while the White population grew 7%. Family households in the district fell 19% from 1980 to 2013. During this time, more residents held a bachelor's degree, and median income increased 84%.

The tech influx led to commercial and residential displacement. From 2000 to 2013, the vacancy rate rose 4.6%. The increasing costs of a one bedroom apartment made it difficult for lower-income residents to stay. Evicted residents also struggled to find affordable housing due to vacancy decontrol, a landlord's ability to raise rent when tenants move out. With many higher-end retail stores in the area and more vacancy decontrol, landlords appealed to the wealthier tenants. Tenant buyouts allowed landlords to give cash to outgoing tenants to make room for new wealthier tenants.

A proposed ten-story luxury apartment complex in the district highlights the social and cultural complexity of gentrification. The complex, called Plaza 16, would remove a Walgreens, Burger King, Chinese restaurants, and other businesses employing local residents. The local Latino population felt neglected, as their lives would be significantly impacted to make room for richer tech employees. The luxury condos were also predicted to impact traffic, schools and housing prices in the area.

The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) advocates against gentrification and empowers residents in the district. MEDA works to advance "a national equity movement by building Latino prosperity, community ownership, and civic power," and leads the "right-to-purchase" movement, an effort to help tenants purchase property and avoid displacement. With MEDA's help, low-income Black and Latino residents have been able to buy their buildings and revive the community.

Washington, D.C.
Since 2000, Washington, D.C. has experienced the most gentrification and displacement. Despite the city's Black population falling by 23%, the overall population grew 19% due to a 202% increase in White residents. The Shaw neighborhood in D.C. exemplifies gentrification in the city. Between 1980 to 2010, the Black population in Shaw decreased 34%. Additionally, median home values have increased nearly 430%. During this time, new and old residents clashed, as many believed the neighborhood was changing for the worse. This led to older, lower-income residents experiencing cultural and political alienation as community infrastructure improvements continued.

Virginia Lee, a longtime resident of Shaw, said that, “all the goodness that has come with the gentrification…all that has come has been material in nature and very little has been done to preserve the human aspect of a city that’s being transformed.” Older residents are fighting for access to affordable housing while struggling to preserve the cultural and historical heritage of their neighborhoods. Newcomers to the community - often of a different race, educational background, and socioeconomic status- have been called the creative class. Some activists argue that the city is purposely crafting zoning laws and policies trying to attract the creative class to increase tax revenue and become more prosperous. Housing developers that seek to buy low-price properties, renovate them, and sell them for profit have also contributed to gentrification in the city.

Advocacies like ONE DC and Justice First work to fight against gentrification in Shaw and the district. Founded in 1997, ONE DC strives to "preserve racial and economic equity" in Shaw. Efforts have been made to resist displacement; ONE DC works to organize with tenants to "convert tenant buildings in cooperatives." Justice First advocates for housing as a right, offering resources for displaced tenants and campaigning for rent control.

Conclusion
The examples of gentrification in the United States in this chapter suggest solutions must be comprehensive and intersectional. Remedial policies must consider historic and systemic disinvestment in minority communities. Investments in historically disinvested communities requires investments in the residents themselves. Community empowerment, enhancing tenant's rights, expanding affordable housing, and offering small business loans can help prevent displacement from gentrification and improve existing residents' lives.

Suggested solutions to gentrification require more investigation into their efficacy. It is also necessary to further define the true effects gentrification has on communities. As with any socio-technical issue, the intersection of technology and society can work to develop a comprehensive solution to negative gentrification impacts.