Gentrification and Violent Crime in New York City

Abstract

Research has frequently referenced the influence of gentrification on crime, but only a few studies empirically assessed this relationship. Recent research has utilized innovative measures of gentrification and advanced statistical techniques, but many questions remain unanswered. One such question is whether and to what extent gentrification influenced crime in New York City. The current study used a quantitative operationalization of gentrification that was grounded in qualitative information and hybrid fixed-effects regression to assess whether changes in violent crime rates in New York City were associated with gentrification. Results indicate that sub-boroughs that experienced greater rates of gentrification featured significantly larger declines in assault, homicide, and robbery and that this relationship did not vary significantly over time.

A spatial analysis of the relationship between violent neighborhood crime rates and alternative gentrification indicators in Louisville, KY (2010-2016).

“…Gentrification in New York City was associated with a decline in violent crime rates over the past decade (Barton 2014). These studies provide the clearest basis for the underlying assumption of this paper: that change in alternative gentrification indicators (e.g.…”

“…Some literature points out that this coincides with the gentrification movement, which began to occur in nearly all U.S. cities during the 1980s and continued during the 1990s and 2000s (Barton 2014). In 2016, the presence of gentrification is readily apparent in Mid-Western cities including Louisville, KY. Cities such as Louisville are experiencing gentrification later than larger cities such as Chicago, New Orleans, and New York.…”

“…Gentrification draws middle class residents to the city by being attracted by job and recreational opportunities, low and appreciating housing prices, stabilization of negative social conditions (such as crime), and lifestyle or aesthetic considerations (Zuk et al 2015). Barton (2014) found a negative association between gentrification with violent crime that was consistent with Papachristos et al (2011), whose analysis focused on fixed-effects regression.…”

“…Crime rates in most major U.S. cities increased between 1960 and 1980, and then declined dramatically during the 1990s (Barton 2014). Some literature points out that this coincides with the gentrification movement, which began to occur in nearly all U.S. cities during the 1980s and continued during the 1990s and 2000s (Barton 2014).…”

“…Many scholars have explored the behavior of crime rates within neighborhoods that are considered to have been completely gentrified or are still currently undergoing the process of gentrification (Barton and Gruener 2016;Sheppard 2015;Aikman 2014;Barton 2014;Skogan 1990;Covington et al 1989). The differences in how people shed light on gentrification can lead to multiple assumptions on its direct and indirect impacts on neighborhood crime.…”