Gentrification, Desegregation, and Educational Equality

• In Event: Segregation, Gentrification, and Inequality in Public Schooling

Abstract

Gentrification is generally associated with revitalized neighboorhood amenities, but we know little about whether the improvements extent to local public schools. Since gentrifying neighborhoods have the requisite residential integration necessary for school integration, this study asks whether or not the potential educational and social benefits that could come from greater race and class diversity are being realized in some of the nation’s fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in Washington D.C. Drawing on data from the Decennial Census, the American Community Survey, and the National Center for Educational Statistics, this study finds evidence that although gentrifying neighborhoods in Washington D.C. remain predominantly nonwhite and highly segregated, they have become more diverse and less segregated since 2000. Research and policies implications are discussed.

Authors

• Kfir Mordechay

• Jenn Ayscue, University of California - Los Angeles