Study: Not All Gentrification Effects Are Equal

"A new study [pdf] released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia finds that the consequences of gentrification for original neighborhood residents are often better than they are typically perceived," reports Caitlin McCabe.

Authors are billing the new study as the first "comprehensive, national, causal evidence" into the effects of gentrification on longtime residents of neighborhoods.

"Specifically, the authors find that gentrification reduces 'original' adult residents’ exposure to neighborhood poverty, raises home values, and increases rent only for 'more-educated renters,' but not for 'less-educated' ones," according to McCabe. "Similarly, the study finds that children living in a neighborhood before it gentrified also are exposed less to neighborhood poverty and receive better opportunities for education and employment."

The study didn't just find benefits, also finding "that gentrification causes both less-educated renters and less-educated homeowners to leave a neighborhood at higher rates than they normally would during a typical 10- to 14-year period," according to McCabe.

Writing from Philadelphia, McCabe also presents an infographic from the study that maps the findings of the study specific to that city. Another infographic compares gentrification effects between American cities. According to that finding, Washington, D.C. has the most gentrifying effects of the major cities reported. Boston follows distantly with the second most gentrifying areas.