Postrecession Gentrification in New York City

TLDR

Gentrification has evolved since the early 1990s recession, yet a comprehensive contemporary overview remains lacking. The study synthesizes postrecession gentrification literature and examines its manifestation in three New York City neighborhoods. The author reviews the literature and analyzes three NYC neighborhoods to illustrate how postrecession gentrification unfolds. Four key shifts characterize postrecession gentrification: corporate developers dominate initial gentrification, state actors increasingly drive the process, anti‑gentrification movements are marginalized, and altered land economics accelerate specific neighborhood changes.

Abstract

Although multiple authors have identified changes to gentrification since the early 1990s recession, there is not yet a composite sketch of the process in its contemporary form. The author synthesizes the growing body of literature on postrecession gentrification and explores its manifestation in three New York City neighborhoods. The literature points to four fundamental changes in the way that gentrification works. First, corporate developers are now more common initial gentrifiers than before. Second, the state, at various levels, is fueling the process more directly than in the past. Third, anti-gentrification social movements have been marginalized within the urban political sphere. Finally, the land economics of inner-city investment have changed in ways that accelerate certain types of neighborhood change.