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Portraits of Gentrification: When Neighborhood Change Becomes News By Zawadi Rucks Ahidiana A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Claude Fischer, Co-chair Professor Margaret Weir, Co-chair Professor Sandra Smith Professor Carolina Reid Summer 2018 © 2018 Zawadi Rucks Ahidiana ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Abstract Portraits of Gentrification: When Neighborhood Change Becomes News By Zawadi Rucks Ahidiana Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology University of California, Berkeley Professor Claude Fischer, Co-chair Professor Margaret Weir, Co-chair The term gentrification was coined in the mid-1960s to describe the process by which neighborhoods were changing from predominately low-income to middle-class. While the term has expanded in usage in the academy since then, we know little about what gentrification means in its every day use and how that might vary depending on city size, demographic composition, and housing and labor market conditions. In this study, I investigate the representations of gentrification by one cultural institution, the media, to understand the depictions that contribute to public opinions, attitudes, and assumptions about what the term means, who is affected, what is driving the change, and how those representations vary by context. Using data from 4 newspapers published in Baltimore, Maryland and San Francisco, California between 1990 and 2014, as well as Census data, I found that the news media replicates and reinforces racial and class hierarchies in its representations of gentrification by reflecting the patterns of uneven (re)development of the past and present, and reinforcing stereotypes of racial and class groups. How gentrification was framed in the news unfolded through three mechanisms that are embedded in reporting. The news media associated race and class with gentrification through descriptions of neighborhood residents and recent in-movers, categorized certain types of neighborhood change as gentrification, and spun the changes as positive, negative, or mixed. All three of these mechanisms were shaped and influenced by the racial and class demographics of the gentrifying neighborhood and the larger context of race, class, and space of the surrounding city. Despite distinct racial and class demographics, the Baltimore and San Francisco articles represented gentrification in similar ways. Gentrification was frequently associated with poor and black neighborhoods in articles from both cities. Changes in poor and black neighborhoods that were categorized as gentrification were most often about new and state-led development and given a more positive spin by the journalists and their sources. In contrast, residential and 1 commercial changes were most often categorized as gentrification for working-class and white ethnic neighborhoods in Baltimore, and diverse and Latino neighborhoods in San Francisco and presented with a negative spin. These differences reflect both the history and current patterns of (dis)investment by racial and class demographics in the cities and the influence of racial and class-based stereotypes on the opinions of journalists and their sources. That is, poor and black neighborhoods have historically experienced less investment in infrastructure and amenities, which have made them spaces that need some form of structural investment. However, most modern-day processes of residential gentrification by which developers and higher income homebuyers invest in a community are not occurring in high poverty and majority black neighborhoods, but are happening in working-class and white ethnic neighborhoods in Baltimore and Latino and diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco. Thus, new development funded by and implemented by the City was more frequently occurring in poor and black neighborhoods. The actual patterns of (dis)investment and (re)development reinforce common stereotypes about poor and black neighborhoods as blighted, high in crime, and high in poverty. These findings demonstrate how the historical patterns of investment and decline by racial and class composition influence how neighborhood change is understood today. The neighborhoods we see as blighted, disinvested, and in decline are frequently the same neighborhoods that have been purposefully overlooked and ignored by developers, banks, city governments, and homebuyers. The differences in how gentrification was interpreted and spun in the media representations studied here suggest that policy responses to gentrification are likely to vary by the racial and class demographics of the affected neighborhoods, meaning that residents of some neighborhoods are more likely to experience protection than others. Thus, we are likely to see more demolishment of homes and continued large-scale dispersal of poor and black communities under the guise of “investment,” while residents of working-class, white, and diverse neighborhoods are more likely to be protected from having to leave their homes. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii Chapter 1: Constructing Narratives of Neighborhood Change: The News Media’s Role in Defining Gentrification …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1 Chapter 2: The Cases …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..… 18 Chapter 3: Who is Gentrified? Who is Gentrifying?: Race and Class Associations …………………. 31 Chapter 4: Gentrification of Some Other Neighborhood Change: Categorization ………………….. 48 Chapter 5: Gentrification as Improvement, Gentrification as Harm: Spin …………………………….… 64 Chapter 6: Summary and Implications …………………………………………………………………………………… 82 References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 90 Appendix A: Race and Class Demographics Over Time …………………………………………………………. 102 Appendix B: Coding for Association ……………………………………………………………………………………… 104 Appendix C: Coding for Concerns and Benefits ……………………………………………………………………. 106 i Acknowledgements It took a village to produce the pages before you, so I’d like to take some space to properly acknowledge all those who made this journey possible. None of this would have been possible without my family. My rock, Montaigne, left his lifetime home of New York to let me follow my dream. He’s had my back in every step along the way, always there to pick me up and remind me that I could do this. My mother, Anayezuka, was there for every step along the way to cheer me on, support my personal and professional moves, and remind me how proud she is to be “Zawadi’s mom.” My father, Mack, who we moved closer to in coming to Berkeley, was a constant reminder of home and a great source for original jazz. Monte cannot possibly understand how much he has motivated me and may not fully grasp his contributions until he has a child of his own. It was his birth that pushed me forward full force despite the delays and challenges of data collection. Monte’s “aunties” Elena Spitzer, Nancy Rosas, and Traci Sanders have been the best friends along the way despite distance, busy schedules, and a new baby. Finally, my sisters Monica and Tahllia, brother Najee, second dad Renard, step-mom Michelle, mother-in-laws Margareth and Linda, aunt-in- laws Mireille and Evelyne, and sister-in-law Jennie all cheered me on from the east coast. I wouldn’t have even thought to apply to a Ph.D. program without a number of key mentors and role models. Core to my trajectory to graduate school was my prior work in evaluation, which was my first exposure to research. As my mentor at MDRC, Alissa Gardenhire pushed me on my educational goals and made me seriously consider a Ph.D. instead of stopping at a Master’s. Donna Wharton-Fields, Frieda Molina, and Nandita Verma encouraged my growth and development in research and advocated for me to get new opportunities to learn and apply my skills. Alissa Gardenhire, Jim Riccio, Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, Nandita Verma, and others served as role models for what I might get out of Ph.D. program. Finally, I was lucky enough to make some amazing friends during my 6 years at MDRC including my work wife, Nancy Rosas, who knows me like the back of her hand, and LaFleur Stephens-Dougan who I’ve been lucky enough to get advice and support from at every point in my graduate school process. At the Community College Research Center, I had the pleasure of working with an amazing team of women who inspired and motivated me. Nikki Edgecombe, Melinda Mechur Karp, and Shanna Smith Jaggars gave me the opportunity to be a first author on a paper, gave me countless rounds of feedback, and were amazing role models and mentors. Rachel Hare Bork, my CCRC work wife, made the hard days tolerable and pushed me on my grad school applications to make sure they saw my best me. Sue Bickerstaff and Melissa Barragan were brilliant co-authors and colleagues. I am so glad to have had the opportunity, albeit short, to join the CCRC family. Finally, there were several people outside of work who saw what I was capable of before I could even see it in myself. My life coach, Susan Carroll-Berck, pushed me professionally and academically to pursue bigger things. At NYU, Ellen Schall and Angela Hendrix Terry saw how I ii was holding myself back with negative thinking and pushed me to stop being my own worst enemy, without which I would not have survived graduate school. David Schacter gave me the space and exercises to figure out that my next step was a Ph.D. in Sociology. Finally, Colleen Gillespie, Erica Foldy, Ingrid Ellen, Kathy O’Regan, and Lisette Garcia all gave me invaluable advice about graduate school and supported my decision to leave the world of policy. When I got to Berkeley, I was lucky enough to find an amazing group of friends along the way. I don’t know if this process would have been possible without the camaraderie and support of my grad school friends. When I was miserable during qualifying exams, they understood my struggle and pushed me to the finish. When I had those rare moments of success, they celebrated with me. I have ended this process a whole and healthy human being thanks in part to them.

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