Recession No Match for Gentrification in Many Cities

Rachel Dovey details a new report that finds boom-era trends of gentrification persisted in urban areas throughout the effects of the post-2007 recession.

1 minute read

July 21, 2014, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Seattle Skyline from Kerry Park

David Herrera / Flickr

The conclusion of the report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, as summarized by Dovey: "Urban neighborhoods were hot spots for redevelopment before the economy collapsed, and some have continued to gentrify post-recession."

"Portland, Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. continue to see incomes rise in their urban core. Atlanta, where city-center wealth spiked before the recession, has not continued to gentrify. And post-boom Cincinnati is witnessing a surprising surge in city-center income," writes Dovey.

"The report points out that changes in income ranking over time were actually driven largely by poor neighborhoods that gained wealth, not wealthy neighborhoods that became even wealthier — a trend the report calls “consistent with gentrification.'"

Thursday, July 17, 2014 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

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

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

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 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder