Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2011 Brownfields redevelopment and gentrification: A socio-economic evaluation of the EPA Brownfields Pilot Program Benjamin Harrison Fisher Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons Recommended Citation Fisher, Benjamin Harrison, "Brownfields redevelopment and gentrification: A socio-economic evaluation of the EPA Brownfields Pilot Program" (2011). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 12021. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12021 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Brownfields redevelopment and gentrification: A socio-economic evaluation of the EPA Brownfields Pilot Program by Benjamin Harrison Fisher A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING Major: Community and Regional Planning Program of Study Committee: Monica A. Haddad, Major Professor Susan Bradbury David Peters Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2011 Copyright © Benjamin Harrison Fisher, 2011. All rights reserved. ii Table of Contents LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Brownfields and the Environmental Protection Agency ........................................................ 2 1.3 The Origin of Brownfields ..................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Significance of Brownfields ................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Research Objectives and Questions ........................................................................................ 7 1.6 Thesis Outline ......................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL & CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS ............................................... 10 2.1 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................ 10 2.1.1 Tiebout‟s Local Public Goods Theory .......................................................................... 10 2.1.2 Smith‟s Rent-Gap Theory ............................................................................................. 12 2.2 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 16 3.1 Environmental Justice .......................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Environmental Justice and Brownfields ............................................................................... 18 3.3 Gentrification ........................................................................................................................ 22 3.4 Gentrification and Brownfields ............................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH DESIGN .................................................................................................. 28 4.1 Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Approaches .................................................................... 28 4.2 Study Area ............................................................................................................................ 29 4.3 Data Sources ......................................................................................................................... 35 4.4 Variables ............................................................................................................................... 36 4.5 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 41 4.5.1 Spatial Procedures ........................................................................................................ 41 4.5.2 Analytical Method: Cross-Sectional Analysis .............................................................. 44 iii 4.5.3 Analytical Method: Longitudinal Analysis .................................................................. 45 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 53 5.1 Cross-Sectional Study Results .............................................................................................. 53 5.1.1 Non-White population .................................................................................................. 53 5.1.2 Median Household Income ........................................................................................... 54 5.1.3 Owner Occupied Housing Units ................................................................................... 55 5.2 Longitudinal Study Results .................................................................................................. 56 5.2.1 MANCOVA Omnibus Test Results ............................................................................. 57 5.2.3 MANCOVA Univariate Test Results ........................................................................... 58 5.2.4 MANCOVA Multiple Comparison Procedure Results ................................................ 60 5.2.5 MANCOVA ex post Assumptions ............................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 69 6.1 Brownfields and Environmental Justice ............................................................................... 69 6.2 Brownfields Redevelopment and Gentrification .................................................................. 70 6.3 Implications of Research ...................................................................................................... 73 6.4 Limitations of Research ........................................................................................................ 74 6.5 Future Studies ....................................................................................................................... 77 References ............................................................................................................................................ 80 Appendix A: Cross-Sectional Study Descriptive Statistics .................................................................. 85 Appendix B: Longitudinal Study Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................... 86 Appendix C: Trends Observed in Longitudinal Dependent Variables ................................................. 92 Appendix D: Histograms of Standardized Residuals ........................................................................... 97 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2: Treatment and control brownfields ....................................................................................... 31 Figure 3: Three buffers used to determine spatial extent of gentrification ........................................... 35 Figure 4: Average % non-White population for 0.5 mile buffers and cities ........................................ 38 Figure 5: Average median household income for 0.5 mile buffers and cities ...................................... 38 Figure 6: Average % owner occupied housing for 0.5 mile buffers and cities..................................... 39 Figure 7: Selection of block groups for the cross-sectional study with Cedar Rapids as an example.. 42 Figure 8: Longitudinal study and selection of block groups ................................................................ 43 Figure 9: Two-sample t-test equation ................................................................................................... 45 Figure 10: Distribution of standardized residuals for housing units (1.5 mile buffer and year 2009) . 67 Figure 11: Average change in total housing units for treatment and control groups............................ 92 Figure 12: Average change in total population for