Abstract

My Independent Study, Gentrification of Inner-City Neighborhoods, and its ultimate effects of displacement involves an indepth look at a phenomena that has been a subject of much positive and negative literature. At first, gentrification was seen as a positive phenomena for a city to experience. That is true when one looks at who a gentrifier is, (higher income, white, middle to upper class, and educated), and what he or she does, which is to move into a center city area experiencing somekind of deterioration and revitalize or upgrade that particular unit and area. Along with the positive effects, I point out that there are also some negative effects that are caused by gentrification too. I present this problem of displacement in the same manner as with the gentrification issue. Here I try to identify who are typically the displacees, whether it be minority blacks, women, or single headed households, and how they get displaced, forced physically or mentally. Once I have established an understanding of the cause/gentrification and the effect/displacement, I then present my theory of whether or not gentrification causes integration where it occurs. The three types of neighborhoods I selected to test this are: all black, all white, integrated. The next step in my I.S. was to research and analyze empirical literature that pertained to certain sections of my theory. I selected literature on: extent of gentrification, who the gentrifiers are and who the displacees are. I also analyzed one article on the issue of black to white succession as an indicator of gentrification. My Methodology chapter involved gathering data on six selected cities. I chose four indicators of gentrification and used these indicators to distinguish gentrified tracts within the six cities. Once I established my gentrified tracts and the previous authors' gentrified tracts, I was able to test my hypothesis on whether gentrification caused integration. My conclusion relates my findings to my hypothesis and also involves a critical evaluation of this phenomena.

Advisor

Galster, George

Department

Urban Studies

Publication Date

1988

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

Available for download on Thursday, January 01, 2150

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© Copyright 1988 Timothy M. Abrams