Researcher(s)
- Carl Webster, Geography, Vassar College
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Lindsay Naylor, Geography & Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
The term ‘gentrification’ derives from the word gentry, in reference to the influx of higher-earning individuals into spaces historically occupied by low-income groups. And though its existence has been noted since the 1960s, the phenomenon has garnered particular significance within the past two decades as widening income inequality exacerbates the housing crisis in several major cities within the United States. The canon of gentrification is rich with documentation of its economic impact on residents and businesses alike. What I found lacking, however, was the repository of research investigating the social ramifications of gentrification. Thus, I found it imperative to look into gentrification’s impact on social cohesion within the marginalized spaces situated at the epicenter of the issue. In this work, I discuss how gentrification manipulates the social fabric of marginal urban spaces while looking at lower-income tracts within sections of North and West Philadelphia.
The primary strategies employed in this research were: (1) interviews; (2) surveys; (3) a review of the literature on gentrification in urban spaces; and (4) observation of various neighborhoods within Philadelphia. Within the areas observed, there was a dichotomy between gentrified segments and the pre-existing sections of the community—a divide that becomes hazy in some parts and more distinct in others. Residents in these areas have identified their neighborhoods as experiencing gentrification and are aware of its effects on community spaces. In this, we can understand gentrification as a separatist force negatively impacting low-income communities both economically and socially.