Baltimore Among Most Gentrified Cities In U.S.: Study

BALTIMORE, MD — A new interactive map shows which Baltimore neighborhoods have been gentrified and which groups of people were ultimately forced out of their homes as a result. The map was one element in a groundbreaking study published this week by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Between 2000 and 2013, more than 1,000 neighborhoods across the country experienced gentrification, or the process of new investment in low-income neighborhoods that raises home values and often forces lifetime residents to move because they can no longer afford to live there.

The study used U.S. Census Bureau tract data, with each tract serving as an imperfect proxy for a neighborhood, according to the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that conducted the review as part of its mission to create opportunities for people to build wealth.

Seven cities — including Baltimore — accounted for nearly half of the country’s gentrification overall, the study found: Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego and Washington, D.C.

In the largest cities, such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago, gentrification and displacement were spread across different neighborhood clusters, the report said.

But in smaller cities — like Baltimore Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia — gentrification was more concentrated, near downtown business districts and adjacent neighborhoods, waterfronts and commercial areas that tend to attract jobs and amenities.

The nation’s capital saw the highest percentage of gentrified neighborhoods at 40 percent. More than 20,000 people were displaced in Washington, D.C. alone.

Here are the 10 cities where gentrification has been most intense, according to the study:

1. Washington, D.C. — 40 percent
2. San Diego, CA — 29 percent
3. New York, NY — 24 percent
4. Albuquerque, NM — 23 percent
5. Atlanta, GA — 22 percent
6. Baltimore, MD — 22 percent
7. Portland, OR — 20 percent
8. Pittsburgh, PA — 20 percent
9. Seattle, WA — 20 percent
10. Philadelphia, PA — 17 percent

"We've shown, with census and other data, that the influx of new, wealthier people into once struggling neighborhoods also drove out more than 135,000 people from a handful of booming cities," Jason Richardson, the organization’s director of research and one of the study’s authors, said in a release.

"We've also shown that revitalization of struggling neighborhoods is unevenly distributed," Richardson said. "The big investments that fuel gentrification and cultural displacement didn't reach most of the nation's poorest neighborhoods and rural areas."

Gentrification In Baltimore

Accompanying the study was an interactive map where users can search any town in America to see neighborhoods most affected by gentrification.

In Baltimore, you can see several pockets of the city experienced gentrification.

Pink areas show gentrified neighborhoods where blacks were displaced most. Salmon shows Asian displacement, orange shows Hispanic displacement and gold represents white displacement.

Most pronounced was the area near Patterson Park, between Monument Street and Baltimore Street around Butchers Hill. The median home value more than doubled in a decade there, increasing from $101,864 in 2000 to $225,000 in 2010.

At the same time, the population shrank from 2,292 to 1,390, and the displacement impacted the black population the most. There were 1,951 African-Americans living there in 2000, compared with 820 in 2010, according to the study.

Revitalization Can Happen Without Gentrification

While gentrification and cultural displacement often go hand in hand, there are ways to usher in new investment while keeping longtime residents in their homes.

For starters, areas can take advantage of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit to keep housing affordable.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development calls the credit the “most important resource” for affordable housing. Created by the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the program gives state and local agencies nearly $8 billion a year to dole out tax credits for buying, rehabilitating or building rental housing for low-income households.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition stressed that strong national policies and local action are also essential to keep housing affordable and maintain commercial options.

"Inclusive zoning rules, tax and rent controls, opportunity zones, split rate taxes and other policies are not exclusive of investment," said Richardson. “They create the circumstances for inclusive neighborhood revitalization that preserve the vitality and character of neighborhoods.”

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.