{"id":282440,"date":"2026-03-11T10:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=282440"},"modified":"2026-03-03T15:26:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T20:26:27","slug":"does-gentrification-push-people-out-the-answer-depends-on-how-it-is-measured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/does-gentrification-push-people-out-the-answer-depends-on-how-it-is-measured\/","title":{"rendered":"Does gentrification push people out? The answer depends on how it is measured"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gentrification is one of those hot-button topics where people can look at the same city and see opposite truths. Some see disinvested neighborhoods finally getting access to grocery stores, improvements in public transit and safer neighborhoods while others see decreased affordability, the loss of cultural identity and the exit of longtime residents – often people of color – who are no longer able to afford to stay. Central to this disagreement is the question of whether the displacement of minority residents is inherently an inevitable outcome of gentrification.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the main reasons this disagreement persists is because gentrification hasn\u2019t historically been defined in one consistent way. Different researchers set different eligibility rules (i.e., which places could gentrify), different thresholds (i.e., how much change counts as gentrification) and different indicators (i.e., income, housing costs, college degrees or property values). Depending on the indicators used, the map continually changes \u2014 along with the conclusions about the causes of gentrification and its relationship to displacement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In response to this, NCRC and our partners at the University of Michigan recently published <\/span>an article<\/span><\/a> in the <\/span>Journal of Urban Affairs <\/span><\/i>that assesses several widely used methods for measuring gentrification. Instead of picking one definition and defending it, the central analysis sought to figure out which definitions best track the kinds of changes most people associate with gentrification. We utilized an approach borrowed from data science and medical testing protocols called the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis, which scores how well each definition lines up with real-world changes without getting stuck on any one single threshold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our starting point is basic: gentrification isn\u2019t just about buildings and prices. It\u2019s about who has the means and the power to live in any given place. To that end, we looked at indicators of economic change (income, property values, rents, education) <\/span>and<\/span><\/i> indicators of social change (who\u2019s moving in, who\u2019s moving out and whether higher-status jobs are concentrating).<\/span><\/p>\n

We then took each gentrification method\u2019s analysis map and compared it with three independent signals of neighborhood transformation:<\/span><\/p>\n