‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods

A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

1 minute read

May 19, 2025, 11:12 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


"Units for sale - contact your local realtor" sign in front of homes.

Roman / Adobe Stock

A new report from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, “Displaced By Design,” highlights the impacts of gentrification on Black neighborhoods.

As Eliana Perozo explains in Next City, “From 1980 to 2020, gentrification impacted more than 1,800 downtown census tracts in major metro areas, with Washington, DC, New York City, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Atlanta and the San Francisco Bay area topping the list.” This amounts to roughly 15 percent of urban U.S. neighborhoods.

According to the report, “Nearly half of mostly-Black neighborhoods that experienced gentrification in 1980 were no longer mostly-Black by 2020; of those, about 29% saw a full racial turnover and became mostly white or Hispanic neighborhoods, and about 23% became racially-mixed.” This raises concern about new patterns of segregation and loss of opportunity and wealth for Black households.

The study’s authors emphasize that the study focused on “developer-driven and urban planning-driven gentrification” rather than displacement caused by individual home flippers, and suggests ways that cities can mitigate the negative impacts on longtime residents of gentrifying areas including “community-led development, affordable housing preservation, homestead exemptions on property taxes.”

Monday, May 19, 2025 in Next City

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Woman and young girl looking at subway map, woman pointing.

Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?

Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.

June 9, 2025 - John Pobojewski

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

June 19 - Transportation for America

Group of e-scooters messily parked on street in London with black cab in background.

The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t

Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.

June 19 - Bloomberg CityLab

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19 - Outdoor Life