Mapping Preventative Measures for Gentrification

Although at first glance, gentrification in our context may appear as a clearly negative term for the ways in which people of lower income are affected by changes in their community, Stabrowski, Newman and Wily, and Vigdor argue otherwise in their respective pieces. Gentrification does not always equate to displacement, and displacement does not involve solely a spatial movement, Stabrowski emphasizes in New-Build Gentrification and the Everyday Displacement of Polish Immigrant Tenants in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Everyday displacement manifests in the forms of prohibition by landlords, appropriations within the community, and insecurities generated by the changing neighborhood. This becomes detrimental to populations of ethnic enclaves, who even though are not necessarily pushed out of their neighborhoods, suffer in neglected living spaces and are mentally affected by the loss of sociocultural connections within their neighborhood. Vigdor, in Does Gentrification Harm the Poor? seems to understand this perspective; however, he elicits the complications in determining the amount of damage actually being done. The government has considered gentrification in a positive light when it has brought about the desired revitalization of a “run-down” area. Yet, upon backlash and quantitative studies, officials have retraced their steps to inspect the effects of this “revitalization” on lower income populations.

Newman and Wily, in The Right to Stay Put, Revised, highlight how difficult it can be to prove that displacement actually occurs in the neighborhoods targeted for revitalization. The most reliable data for New York’s market stems from the census conducted every three years, the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS), allowing researchers to determine the levels of urban polarization in the market. While Newman and Wily’s studies use this survey, Chris Bousquet in Using Mapping to Understand Gentrification and Prevent Displacement, explains how surveys are used in a more preventative form in other states. The Los Angeles innovation team incorporates indices of Neighborhood Change and Displacement Pressure to determine risk of gentrification. According to the data obtained, innovation teams decide where to implement their projects, and what support is needed in order to prevent displacement in the region. In Los Angeles, this support is given in the form of rent stabilization and youth outreach.

The projection maps and risk analyses created for these states consider factors similar to those conducted in Newman and Wily’s report. In the displacement percentages mapped per region starting in 1989 and extending until 2002, factors of housing circumstances, with adjustments for inflation, and poverty were considered. A displacement extent of 6.2 – 9.9% was found among renters within NYC; however, without context, the range offers little significance in terms of predictive power (Newman and Wiley, 32-33, 37). While an intensive analysis of the city over 15 years for purposes of determining displacement extents may be helpful, Bousquet’s overview emphasizes the effectivity of a more predictive-focused approach. In a Seattle Risk Analysis, factors of resident vulnerability to rent increase, zoning limitations, and access to amenities were considered—warranting a more well-rounded approach to the generation of a risk-oriented map. Census data was also combined for a more thorough analysis. High risks of displacement were oriented in the northeastern and highly southern parts of Seattle. As opposed to mapping over a series of years, this analysis was conducted for solely 2015. While this may not provide a complete picture of the displacement significance, it provides a more recent image of the issue at hand.  

Without human interaction, and consideration of more complex growth in a neighborhood, mapping presents its own drawbacks though. Bousquet acknowledges that this form of mapping may not provide a full picture of economic mobility within a community. Whereas a map might indicate displacement based on a rise in class within the region, the reality could also be a general increase in wages of the population, creating a false positive. Newman and Wiley also indicate that without context, it is difficult to rely solely on mapping for significance in data. As a result, they bolster their information with interviews, along with statistic calculations.

Works Cited

Bousquet, Chris. “Where is Gentrification Happening in Your City?” Data-Smart City Solutions, 5 June 2017, datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/where-is-gentrification-happening-in-your-city-1055.

Newman, Kathe, and Elvin K. Wyly. “The Right to Stay Put, Revisited: Gentrification and Resistance to Displacement in New York City.” Urban Studies, vol. 43, no. 1, 2006, pp. 23–57

Stabrowski, Filip. “New-Build Gentrification and the Everyday Displacement of Polish Immigrant Tenants in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.” Antipode, vol. 46, no. 3, 2014, pp. 794–815

Vigdor, Jacob L. “Does Gentrification Harm the Poor?” Brookings-Wharton Papers on Urban Affairs, vol. 2002, no. 1, 2002, pp. 133–182