Integrating Demographic and Visual Approaches in the Measurement of Gentrification

Approaches commonly used to describe neighborhood change such as invasion-succession, tipping, and lifecycle models rely on demographic data for measurement and insight into these processes.  However, a limited amount of empirical data on microbehavioral factors overlooks other indicators that might precede the more macro-level demographic shifts usually employed to measure change.  An assessment of the neighborhood change literature demonstrates two shortcomings: the tendency to focus on individual residents without attention to other neighborhood organizations and institutions such as businesses and the place-based mechanisms underlying changes in race and socioeconomic status.  Most models of neighborhood change miss a deeper understanding of the social processes involved in the construction of value.  These cultural practices matter because they lead to increasing values (both monetarily and symbolically) that ultimately fuel further demographic transitions. 

Using a comparative and mixed methods approach, this project examines neighborhood change in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit.  Data from the Neighborhood Change Database spanning the years 1990-2010 are used to investigate census-based measures of gentrification.  Systematic social observation of select neighborhoods using photography will also be used to document change visually, with an emphasis on commercial storefronts.  This research seeks to integrate cultural and spatial analyses into demographic methods to ask how their combination can better assess the contours of neighborhood change.  The three central research questions are: 1) Do traditional demographic measures (i.e. race and class) adequately capture the phenomena of change?  2) Why do neighborhoods experiencing gentrification seem to look similar to each other and utilize the same semiotic tropes?  3) What are the physical indicators of neighborhood change and how are they involved in symbolic boundary construction between old and new residents?