Demographic Research on Gentrlfication and Displacement

Abstract

Generally, empirical studies of gentrification have concurred on the socioeconomic and racial characteristics of gentrifier households. There is less research and therefore, less uniformity, in findings about the characteristics of displaced households. Empirical research leans strongly on the conclusion that by national and regional norms, displacement is a relatively infrequent occurence; there is more agreement that its incidence is higher in a few central cities. Studies of the net effects of gentrification on central cities during the late 1960s and early 1970s suggest that there was relatively little impact on population, income and racial, and secioeconomic succession patterns. The existing state of knowledge about gentrification and displacement begs further research on the mobility patterns of migrants both to and from gentrifying neighborhoods. It also implies that the central housing policy issue is not the amount or effects of gentrification-induced reinvestment but rather, the impact of all forms of disinvestment and reinvestment on the total supply of lowand moderate-income housing in metropolitan areas and central cities.