Causes
Gentrification increases property values and changes the social and physical makeup of neighborhoods that were previously thought to be unappealing to newcomers. [7]
Private real estate investment and zoning regulations guide the creation of housing across the city. New development may be disproportionately concentrated in densely zoned low-income communities of color, while areas covered by lower density zoning are disproportionately white and middle- and upper-income residents who can marshall greater political capital to fight upzoning and new housing development. [8] [9]
Political policies
A wave of displacement of people in New York City started in the 1970s and 1980s with a significant increase in middle-income housing in the form of rehabilitated single-family dwellings, mostly in historic districts, driven by affluent, educated young professionals with "an increasing desire for the kinds of cultural and intellectual pursuits that are generally found only in the central cities—performing arts, museums, libraries, seminars, and etc." [10] Normal succession appears to be accountable for changes in gentrifying districts in New York City, at least during the 1990s. [10] [11]
Housing regulation
In the wave of new policies in the 1990s the state stopped promoting public housing and allowed private institutions to lead the housing production. [12]
Upzoning
Neighborhoods in New York City have been upzoned since the early 2000s in order to enable the creation of more housing. The results of such policies are complex and contentious. Housing economists generally agree that strict zoning, by constraining the extent to which housing supply can respond to increases in demand, has a broadly negative effect on housing affordability. However, the details of how upzonings are executed, including their scope and whether they mandate new buildings to include subsidized units, and the extent to which existing housing is demolished can lead to varied outcomes. Some research points to upzoned neighborhoods that have become whiter and wealthier as space is made for new residents of those characteristics to move in. [13] However, neighborhoods may also experience this effect due to more privileged residents being able to outbid existing residents for a constrained housing supply, resulting in greater displacement driven by a lack of sufficient zoning flexibility. Additionally, construction of new housing can absorb residents who would otherwise live elsewhere, relieving demand pressure across a metro area and slowing gentrification on a broader scale. [14]
Effects
Gentrification is viewed by some as a source of contention between renters and working people who live in New York City and real estate interests. Additionally, some view a subset of this opposition to be an antagonism between longtime working-class residents of the city and the influx of new residents. [15]
The process of low-income displacement in New York City is often associated with increases in rent; rent rises to the point that tenants can no longer afford to live in their apartments. Residents are forced to leave their homes in search of a more inexpensive location, yet this is a problem that affects many locations. Many persons who have been displaced face a serious dilemma, as displacement can lead to homelessness. [16] The constantly trends with increasing household income, which is compatible with gentrification hypotheses. When income growth is broken down by race, Blacks and Latinos either have no effect on gentrification or slow it down by 2010. These findings back up widespread claims that as gentrification spreads across the city, even middle-class Blacks and Latinos are finding it increasingly difficult to stay in gentrifying areas. [17] [18] [19] For example, Long Island City and Downtown Brooklyn are now whiter, affluent, and more crowded. "The predicted increase in commercial development never happened," according to the report. Instead, a barrage of high-end, high-rise residential building has altered these areas." At the same time, the public schools in the area are overcrowded. [20]
Another large consequence of gentrification in New York City has been the increase of peripheral and metropolitan development of illegal housing, often at risk zones such as seismic areas, flood zones and dangerous slopes. [21] In 2003, Michael Bloomberg had chosen the "right people" from the business, governmental, and nonprofit sectors. He has created clear criteria and measurement tools to enable performance review. Bloomberg and his former private sector colleagues were leveraging their corporate management skills and extensive knowledge of the private sector to build the organizational capacity required to achieve achievements. Agencies were reformed, key missions redefined, and strategic plans [22]
Positive impact of gentrification
Gentrifying neighborhoods in New York City witness an increase in commercial activity. [23] Gentrification has also been tied to controversial urban renewal policies.
