Gentrification has famously, and controversially, changed the face of many neighborhoods. Less well known is the process that geographer Markus Moos calls "youthification," in which neighborhoods don't become richer so much as they become younger.
Gentrification often means that you wake up one morning to find that your lower-income neighborhood is now crushed by high rents and awash in espresso. It can also means that longtime residents have been pushed out. In some cases, though, it's lower ages—rather than higher rents—that marks a neighborhood's transformation.
Geographer Markus Moos has described "youthified" neighborhoods as those that are "forever young," in which young people move in, stay a while, and then are replaced by successive waves of young people. This process may entail gentrification, but it does not have to. Gentrification often means that a neighborhood becomes inexorably more expensive. Youthification involves more of a cycle.
Not surprisingly, the places that experience the greatest levels of youthification are those awash in urban amenities and services. They tend to be relatively dense, too. The top-five cities with the largest shares of young adults are:
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Austin, TX
- Calgary, Alb.
- Edmonton, Alb.
- Denver, CO
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Buffalo, NY
- Rochester, NY
- Cleveland, OH
- Hartford, CT
FULL STORY: Is Your Neighborhood Changing? It Might Be Youthification, Not Gentrification
Property Tax Relief on the Table for Pittsburgh's Developing Neighborhoods
Pittsburgh is considering a gentrification and displacement prevention measure for longtime residents of rapidly changing neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Tries to Get Ahead of Gentrification with Community Land Trust
After years of decline, some Pittsburgh neighborhoods are beginning to see an uptick in popularity, so the city is seeking to protect the existence of affordable housing.
Black Residents Displaced in Pittsburgh
Rents are on the rise in Pittsburgh, prompting some longtime residents to relocate farther away. Race, as well as class, figures heavily in this narrative.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
Dallas Surburb Bans New Airbnbs
Plano’s city council banned all new permits for short-term rentals as concerns about their impacts on housing costs grow.
Divvy Introduces E-Bike Charging Docks
New, circular docks let e-bikes charge at stations, eliminating the need for frequent battery swaps.
How Freeway Projects Impact Climate Resilience
In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.
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
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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.
