Dealing with Gentrification
Comparative Gentrification Policy Displacement, Housing Instability, and Homelessness University of Pennsylvania, School of Design, Department of City Planning CPLN-702 Planning Studio This working paper was completed by Marcus Artusio, Zoe Axelrod, Brett Davis, Danielle Dong, Claudia Elzey, Joanna Joye, Alana S. Kim, Justine Kone, Gabriella A. Nelson, Katherine Randall, and Alexandra San Roman as part of the University of Pennsylvania's City & Regional Planning Fall Studio, 2017. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 INTRODUCTION 3 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 METHODOLOGY 14 CITY-BY-CITY FINDINGS 16 Denver 17 Los Angeles 22 New York City 26 San Francisco 30 Seattle 34 Summary of Patterns 39 STRATEGIES FOR LOCAL AND NATIONAL POLICY 46 Policy Development 46 Local Policy Toolkit 47 Local Goals 48 NEED FOR A NATIONAL URBAN POLICY 53 NATIONAL POLICY AGENDA 55 Right to Housing 55 Gentrification Index 55 Expansion of the Social Safety Net 56 CONCLUSION 57 APPENDICES 59 A. Recent Policies in Case Study Cities 59 B. Detailed Information of Proposed Policies 60 ENDNOTES 91 ABSTRACT Gentrification—a form of neighborhood change in which an influx of capital into urban neighborhoods prompts a shift in socioeconomic demographics and an improvement of public space—too often benefits newcomers to the detriment of long-term residents and communities. This phenomenon is the latest in a series of forced displacements of the United States’ most vulnerable populations, who can face housing instability and homelessness as a result. This paper investigates the conditions of five case study American cities — Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle — to illustrate the commonalities of this country’s most at-risk neighborhoods, as well as to distinguish the diverse local variables that influence the causes and consequences of gentrification.
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