Background/Context Race and class inequality have long governed patterns of residential and school segregation across America. However, as neighborhoods across the country that have historically been home to residents of color experience an influx of White and middle-class residents, new questions arise as to whether these demographic shifts in neighborhoods correspond to school-level demographic changes. Purpose: This study examines Washington, DC's, most gentrifying areas, and the impact on racial diversity in local public schools. Research Design This quantitative study draws on data from the decennial census, the American Community Survey, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. Findings/ Results: This study finds evidence that school enrollment patterns in Washington, DC's, most rapidly gentrifying areas have seen a reduction in racial segregation, more so in traditional public schools than in charters. Although this trend is promising, a high level of racial segregation remains, and progress is still needed to ensure that newly integrated neighborhoods also mean desegregated schools. Conclusions/Recommendations Given barriers to school desegregation efforts, gentrification is offering a unique opportunity to create racially and economically diverse schools. However, managing the process of gentrification such that it supports school desegregation requires coordinated and targeted policies that underscore the fundamental relationships among housing, communities, and schools.
College-educated White households have increasingly opted to live in central urban neighborhoods, transforming many parts of the urban core. While there is emerging evidence that schools may play a key part in this process, little is known about the extent of racial contract between children of gentrifier households and original residents. This study examines NYC’s gentrifying areas, and the changing racial diversity in schools. Using data from the Census and the National Center for Educational Statistics, this study finds that schools in NYC’s gentrifying areas have seen a reduction in racial segregation, more in traditional public schools than in charters. While this trend may be promising, high levels of segregation persist. Policy and research implications are discussed.
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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.