The impact of gentrification on residential evictions

Abstract

Gentrification, a process of transforming working-class areas into middle-class use, is a pervasive process in many cities around the world. Although researchers recognize the dangers of displacement in this process, the magnitude of dislocation is highly contested. Literature on gentrification offers little guidance with regard to understanding the timing of displacement in a gentrifying neighborhood. Moreover, evictions have been neglected as a form of gentrification-led displacement, which may have led to underestimating displacement effects. This study sheds light on the geography of displacement through an analysis of 59,415 eviction applications in the City of Toronto from 1999 to 2001, which are compared with the timing of gentrification at the census tract level (n = 502). The study finds that evictions are positively associated with (1) neighborhoods in early stages of gentrification, and (2) "pre-gentrified neighborhoods" that are beginning to be marked by changes in social composition, that is, an increasing number of artists and people with higher education, but no significant increase yet in aggregate income or the number of owner-occupied dwellings. By illuminating the timing and magnitude of displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods, this study fosters a better understanding of gentrification outcomes that may inform policies to ameliorate its negative impacts.

Residential eviction and exposure to violence among people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada

“…This is an important gap in current knowledge given the documented association between unstable housing and exposure to violence among PWID (Marshall et al, 2008; Wenzel et al, 2001; Wenzel et al, 2004b), and given evidence suggesting that housing displacement may have health and social impacts distinct from those related to homelessness (Cooper et al, 2012; Desmond & Kimbro, 2015; Kennedy et al, 2016; Pollack & Lynch, 2009). Moreover, residential eviction is common among PWID, particularly among those living in inner-city neighbourhoods characterized by ongoing gentrification and redevelopment (Chum, 2015; Kennedy et al, 2016). One such neighbourhood is Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES), a postindustrial area marked by an open drug market, poverty and increasing levels of homelessness and housing instability (Kennedy et al, 2016; Sutherland, Swanson & Herman, 2013).…”

Gentrification-Induced Displacement in Detroit, Michigan: An Analysis of Evictions

“…An emerging body of work has investigated the relationship between evictions and gentrification. For example, in his study of evictions data in Toronto, Canada, Chum (2015) found that there is a significant relationship between gentrification and evictions, and his findings suggest that "excluding evictions in the study of gentrification may lead to the underestimation of displacement effects" (p. 1092). Further, he found that the timing of gentrification was an important factor in this relationship.…”

Social and Cultural Aspects of Modern Urban Space Gentrification

“…In other words, there is no single answer on whether gentrification is a universal tool in the implementation of urban policy or not (Chum, 2015).…”