The racial dynamics of gentrification are perhaps no better illustrated than in Chicago. In a telling article, NPRs Gene Demby reported that the size of a Windy City neighborhoods black population — as exemplified in areas like Englewood, Austin and Roseland, all more than 85% black — directly correlates with the speed at which it gentrifies. His source is a study by Harvard researchers Robert Sampson and Jackelyn Hwang. Sampson refers to this phenomenon as white avoidance — [gentrifiers are] not moving into neighborhoods where there are lots of black people. In Chicago, he said, the [neighborhoods] that are gentrifying are the ones where there was a white working class, or Latinos, but not many blacks. This is especially interesting when you look at how this pattern plays out in other cities. Williamsburg and Greenpoint, viewed as the hotspots for gentrification in Brooklyn, New York, supports Sampsons point. Both had large Polish-American and Latino populations before the influx of gentrifiers, but very few blacks. Similar claims can be made about Boston and Seattle, the top two (and statistically whitest) cities on this list, while historically black neighborhoods like Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant are outliers, according to the report. Of course, this doesnt change the fact that, due to policies like redlining and government-sanctioned housing discrimination, the people most likely to be affected by rising home prices in urban cores are black or brown. It just means that gentrifiers may tend to gravitate toward poor white neighborhoods first. Its hard to say whether people should be happy or extremely offended by this.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:31:15 +0000
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