Some media commentary suggests that fast-gentrifying cities such as Washington are unable to attract families. In Washington, the reality is more complex; the city's high-income neighborhoods actually gained children over the past decade.
One response to urban gentrification are the claim that even prosperous cities are childless cities, able to retain twenty-somethings but not to retain families. A recent study of Washington by the Urban Institute allowed me to analyze this theory on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, rather than merely relying on citywide data.
In particular, I examined the Institute's division of the city into neighborhood clusters: groups of two or three similar areas. I found that some types of neighborhoods were indeed losing children, but that other parts of the District actually became more attractive to families over the past decade.
The city's traditionally low-income areas east of the Anacostia River did indeed lose children; every single neighborhood cluster east of the river had fewer children in 2010 than in 2000. In Ward 8 (the city's far southeastern corner) the number of children decreased by 16 percent during the 2000s. Other poor areas in eastern Washington sustained similar losses.
In newly gentrifying areas just east of Rock Creek Park, the number of children declined even more rapidly. For example, in the Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights neighborhood cluster (where the non-Hispanic white population nearly tripled between 1990 and 2010) the number of children decreased by 32 percent over the past decade. In this area, it appears that working-class families left and middle-class singles and couples took their place.
But in the city's always-affluent areas west of Rock Creek Park, the number of children increased in six out of seven neighborhood clusters. For example, in Georgetown/Burleith, the child population increased by 46 percent.
So it appears that (at least in Washington) long-established affluent neighborhoods are able to retain families.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Google Maps Introduces New Transit, EV Features
It will now be easier to find electric car charging stations and transit options.
Ohio Lawmakers Propose Incentivizing Housing Production
A proposed bill would take a carrot approach to stimulating housing production through a grant program that would reward cities that implement pro-housing policies.
Chicago Awarded $2M Reconnecting Communities Grant
Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Write for Planetizen
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.