Policies needed to build inclusive cities and schools

Abstract

Race and class segregation have long governed patterns of residential sorting in the American metropolis. However, as urban neighborhoods across the country experience an influx of white and middle-class residents, they could alleviate the stark economic and racial segregation that is ubiquitous to urban neighborhoods and school systems. This paper argues that gentrification is a growing phenomenon with great potential to influence neighborhoods as well as cities and the schools within them. Key steps are discussed that policymakers can take to foster neighborhood and school change that is both inclusive and equitable.

Does Neighborhood Gentrification Create School Desegregation?

“…These recommendations include preserving existing affordable housing through rental assistance demonstrations, housing choice vouchers, preservation-friendly incentives, and creating realtor outreach programs to start to bridge the "perception" gap between schools and the real estate community. In addition, greater development of rental units at all levels can reduce pressure on the rental market, lowering housing costs and expanding housing choice for residents, particularly in gentrifying areas with significant rent growth (Mordechay & Ayscue, 2018). One concern is that without a broader set of policy solutions, many of these gentrifying neighborhoods will quickly resegregate in one direction or another.…”

Modes of Belonging: Debating School Demographics in Gentrifying New York

“…A half-century after Brown , increasing numbers of white, affluent families across the nation are enrolling their children in urban schools that have historically served low-income communities of color (Cucchiara, 2013; Freidus, 2016; Keels, Burdick-Will, & Keene, 2013; Kimelberg & Billingham, 2012; Mordechay & Ayscue, 2017; Posey-Maddox, 2014; Siegel-Hawley, Thachik, & Bridges, 2016). While some parents, educators, and policymakers see these demographic shifts as opportunities to promote integration, others see the same changes as threats to their access to quality education or community schools.…”

Diversifying Neighborhoods, Diversifying Schools? The Relationship Between Neighborhood Racial Change and School Segregation in New York City

“…At the school level, efforts to integrate primarily gentrifying families into racially segregated schools must include policies, practices, and effective leadership to attract gentrifier families. In addition to promoting the existing successes at the schools, school leaders should assess the needs of new and long-time residents in order to develop programming that meets the needs and interests of both groups of families (Mordechay & Ayscue, 2018). For example, magnet schools, which were historically a tool for desegregation, provide a unique theme and curriculum that can be used to attract diverse groups of students to gentrifying schools (Ayscue et al, 2017).…”