Neighborhoods on the Rise: A Typology of Neighborhoods Experiencing Socioeconomic Ascent

an article by Ann Owens (Stanford University, USA) published in City & Community Volume 11 Issue 4 (December 2012)

Abstract

Neighbourhoods are an important source of inequality, and neighbourhood change may lead to changing opportunities for residents. Past research on neighbourhood upgrading tends to focus on one process: gentrification.

I argue that a broader range of types of neighbourhood socio-economic ascent requires examination.

This article documents the different types of neighbourhoods ascending from 1970 to the present.

Using principal components analysis and cluster analysis, I report the prevalence of socio-economic ascent, based on increases in neighbourhood income, rents, house values, and educational and occupational attainment, among five to seven types of neighbourhoods in each decade.

I also examine population and housing changes that co-occur with ascent to identify processes of ascent beyond gentrification.

Overall, findings suggest mixed implications for neighbourhood inequality. While white suburban neighbourhoods make up the bulk of neighbourhoods that ascend in each decade, minority and immigrant neighbourhoods become increasingly likely to ascend over time, though displacement may occur.

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