Gentrification & Food

Gentrification in Major Cities

^{Source - https://ncrc.org/gentrification}

Gentrified tracts are the census tracts that have been gentrified either due to a large influx of development or other factors contributing to gentrification. It is a thin line between neighborhood revitalization and gentrification. As you can see from the visualization all these cities have had a large population of African American people displaced. Pittsburgh is a small city, still has 14 gentrified tracts but the number of black people displaced is significantly high. In the case of New York, the gentrified tracts are significantly high but the population displacement is low as compared to Pittsburgh owing to the Tax Freeze and rent regulation which the city provides to check and control gentrification.

Gentrification and its Causes

Gentrification can be attributed to a number of reasons, the inflow of high-income residents to the neighborhood, an increase in property prices owing to an increase in real estate taxes, rent increment forcing the already existing population to struggle and eventually move out. One of the causes that is often ignored include the socio-economic difference which a neighbor feels with the inflow of rich and affluent neighbors (as compared to them). It is crucial to identify what acts as an anchor to attract the tenants to move into these neighborhoods. Premium grocery stores such as Whole Foods and coffee chains like Starbucks have been at the center of such debates. Even though they may not be the one who causes gentrification but are often attributed to accelerating the whole process.

Whole Foods Presence

The growth of Whole Foods is a study in itself. A chain based out of Austin, Texas, has tapped a market that hardly any food chain could have thought about. Organic stores are generally associated with the local farmer’s market but turning that concept into a multinational food chain is impressive. The long leases and their store design help in attracting development to the neighborhood.  The above graph shows the presence of Whole Foods across the United States.

Effect of Premium Food Chains on Home Value

Zillow, an online real estate portal conducted a study in 2014 to study the effect of Whole Foods and Trader Joes on property prices in that area. The study has been published in their book Zillow Talk. The study examines houses within a one-mile radius of Whole Foods and how their prices were before the opening of stores and how they showed a sharp growth when the store entered the neighborhood.