Gentrification Provides an Opportunity to Diversify Urban Schools

Segregated schools are an enduring problem in urban America. But with young affluent (often white) professionals flocking to cities, and enrolling their children in public schools, a historic opportunity exists to create diverse schools.

1 minute read

April 18, 2013, 5:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Emily Badger examines how smart school placement policies could help improve educational outcomes for low-income and minority students in America's cities, and facilitate the integration of entire neighborhoods. 

As gentrification sweeps through some urban neighborhoods, "cities and school districts have a narrow window to figure out how to leverage the arrival of affluent families willing to bet on public schools before this newfound diversity in their classrooms disappears," says Badger. "The school districts in Seattle, San Francisco, Louisville, Raleigh, New York City and Boston have all been working on this question lately, rethinking how they assign children to schools and what 'school choice' should mean."

"If school systems could figure out how to create diverse schools amid gentrification, that might also enable what Jennifer Stillman, the author of Gentrification and Schools, calls the missing piece in most gentrifying neighborhoods: 'meaningful social interaction' between a neighborhood's new arrivals and its existing residents. These two groups are likely to go to different restaurants, different churches, even different grocery stores," adds Badger.

"'But schools, to me, are the one place in the community that really are the anchors of the neighborhoods where meaningful social interaction can happen,' Stillman says. Integrate schools, in other words, and that might help better integrate the neighborhoods around them."

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 in The Atlantic Cities

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

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

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.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

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

‘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.

May 19 - Next City

Turquoise blue Pyramid Lake near Reno, Nevada.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan

A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

May 19 - Inside Climate News

Alpine Recreation Center sign in park in Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA.

More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown

Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.

May 19 - American Community Media

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.