Although the poster I am talking about wasn’t the most beautiful of the bunch, the research and whole project was/is super interesting. The Brooklyn College group did their research on restaurants and what they tell us about socioeconomic status in three different areas of Kings County: Flatbush, Williamsburg, and Bushwick. With changing neighborhoods and controversy over “gentrification,” the group examined prices of restaurants in each of the areas to see what exactly is going on; specifically, they looked at the relationship between how much the restaurants charged and the average family incomes in each area. They sampled 25 random restaurants (not including fast food joints and chains) and then averaged out the top five entrees each location served to get a value for each place. After averaging the restaurant prices in each area, they were able to compare the data they found to 2013 income statistics. I thought that was a great way to sample the restaurants.
The group found that restaurant prices do reflect socioeconomic status (at least in the places they sampled). Bushwick and Flatbush had closely comparable statistics and Williamsburg showed higher prices and a higher income (see blow).
Restaurant Prices – Bushwick: Approx. $11, Flatbush Approx. $12, Williamsburg: Approx. $26
ACS Income Data – Bushwick: Approx. $52,000, Flatbush: Approx. $53,300, Williamsburg: Approx. $70,800
The group presented their research and data really well, so I was impressed and interested. They made me wonder about my own neighborhood and its surrounding areas as well, so maybe one day, when I have a lot of free time, I am going to try what they did. It also made me think about gentrification and changing neighborhoods, which is a really interesting thing to talk and learn about.
Sounds like it was an interesting poster! Unfortunately, I was unable to see that one at the poster session and look at all their data and methods of data collection. When hearing about this group’s method of data collection, I wonder how they decided which restaurants within the three neighborhoods to check the prices of. I know they said it was a random selection but were they randomly selected from every single restaurant in each neighborhood? Where the restaurants close to each other? Sometimes, especially in neighborhoods that are experiencing gentrification, sections within the same neighborhood can vary drastically. They probably had thought of some way to get a somewhat representative sample of each neighborhood they looked at, but I wonder exactly what it was. Furthermore, I found their findings interesting that higher restaurant prices are directly related to higher income. Makes me wonder how people can continue to survive in unaffordable areas. The prices of food in Williamsburg are ridiculous, and people still living there from before the neighborhood underwent total gentrification are probably struggling since the costs have risen so much.
Why were fast food joints and chains excluded? Aren’t they the cheap food? It would also be interesting to look at the relative proportion of fast food, chain restaurants and other categories. Aren’t “farm to table” restaurants the surest sign of gentrification? I think Bay Shore is gentrifying. We’re about to get our own gourmet grilled cheese joint.
Professor Branco and Samip,
Initially, I thought the same thing about the exclusion of fast food places. I think the main reason they left them out it because if you look at fast food prices, for the most part, they are standardized across the board. For instance: a dollar menu McChicken at a McDonalds in Harlem is still going to be one dollar on the Upper West Side. Fast food restaurants wouldn’t have affected any contrasting data that they were intending to find. I think if they added a dimension to their research and looked at the frequency of fast food chains in the area, it would have been a little different. From what I saw of their project though, I feel like they had some thorough information and research.
And gourmet grilled cheese sounds amazing! Haha
Like Professor Branco said, I think fast food restaurants and chain restaurants should be included. An abundance of these in an area would maybe represent lower income in that area.
I think this poster was highly interesting as well, especially because it wasn’t your typical life or physical sciences topic. It’s also very relevant, because there are many neighborhoods in Brooklyn that are going through gentrification, while others are in need of it.
You said you would like to try out what they did in your free time; maybe you can look at other surrounding neighborhoods in Brooklyn too.