Students Shifting Urbanization

Gentrification is a phenomenon by which the character of a poor neighborhood is exploited by wealthier individuals who improve housing and attract new and upcoming businesses. This process is usually created by displacing current, or poorer residents in the neighborhood. This is a global phenomenon, and is most visible in developing and large metro areas.

Gentrification in Boston has been highly apparent over the last few years, despite the efforts to retain and support low-income housing. A study from 2020 ranked Boston as the third most intensely gentrified city in the United States from 2013-2017 (National Community Reinvestment Coalition).

The city's gentrification process has become increasingly relevant as new businesses take affordable locations by storm. To mention East Boston, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury only cover a large portion of land that has begun and continues to be gentrified. As Boston began to become affordable, safe, and attractive in the second half of the twentieth century, wealthier people began to trickle in, wanting to live closer to transportation and work based in the middle of the city. 

Another factor that plays into the gentrification of Boston is segregation. Boston has long been one of the most segregated nations in the United States which has deep roots in the implications of this on Boston’s public housing and education. Historically, the Civil Rights Movement and the Federal Housing Act of 1968 allowed many neighborhoods to be free from discrimination in housing practices. Although with the upcoming free market economy the imminent change has led Boston to be one of the fastest-growing hyper-gentrified cities in the United States.

Gentrification in Boston has been further exacerbated by universities and colleges in the city. In particular, debate on whether universities building new dormitories for students in the city harms or benefits Boston residents and the ongoing housing crisis. In the following text, we will focus on two major universities in Boston that have contributed to gentrification in Boston: Northeastern University and Emerson College.

Colleges in Boston find themselves at the intersection of vulnerable populations, actively shaping the outcomes of gentrification.

Northeastern University and its relationship with the Roxbury area and its residents have sparked much debate on whether Northeastern’s dorms are shifting Roxbury from a state of disinvestment into forced displacement.

According to 2010 U.S. Census data, the African-American population of one of Boston’s last majority-black neighborhoods [Roxbury] has declined from nearly 63 percent in 2000 to 55 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, the white population of Roxbury has grown from less than 5 percent in 2000 to nearly 7 percent in 2010. -Sasani, 2010

Northeastern used to be a commuter school, but as a result of its rapidly increasing student body, there became a need for more student housing. Two major housing projects of Northeastern have had particularly significant impacts on Boston displacement: International Village and Lightview.

In response to vocal opinion from the Northeastern student body that demanded affordable, additional student housing options, Northeastern built International Village, a dormitory complex made up of three buildings that go up to 22 floors, in 2009. Though Northeastern already owned the land that International Village was eventually built on, Northeastern had obtained the land via an agreement with Columbia Plaza Associates (CPA), a local black-owned development association, who had originally been granted rights to the land from the Boston Redevelopment Authority through a program called the Boston Linkage Program, which serves to encourage minority-based development in Boston. The CPA sued Northeastern, claiming that Northeastern had unlawfully represented their consent to the development of International Village; however, Northeastern won the lawsuit. By 2016, Northeastern had already earned hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the development of International Village, in comparison to the mere $320,000 that the CPA had earned. 

Controversy and conflict between Northeastern and the Roxbury community was only exacerbated with the construction of LightView, a luxury apartment complex. LightView was built as a response to Northeastern’s housing crisis, as it added 825 housing spaces to Northeastern’s housing system. Some Roxbury residents, as well as Bostonian politicians, viewed the construction of LightView as a positive addition to the neighborhood. In particular, former Mayor Walsh of Boston claimed that through LightView, there would now be many more open spaces for Roxbury residents to stay living in the neighborhood, and it would also relieve pressure off of college students who struggle to find on-campus housing. He stated that with more Northeastern students living in buildings like LightView, college students would be occupying less residential home space that would be taken off-market for residential community members. On the other hand, Kim Janey, who was councilwoman at the time of her statement, countered that it was policies that enable gentrification and racial discrimination against black homeowners that led to the construction of buildings like LightView in the first place. Some students were also quoted to believe that construction of buildings like LightView were proof that Northeastern was further cementing the boundary between Roxbury residents and the university and encroaching into residential neighborhood space. 

Between 2013 and 2019, Northeastern grew by slightly more than 6,300 students (24.1 percent). Nearly 5,300 (84 percent) were graduate students. Northeastern’s growth accounts for much of the increase in Boston’s student population, which otherwise would have declined by just over 1,000 students (1 percent) -Boston Student Housing Report, 2018-2019

Emerson College is another college that has often been cited as a major instigator of gentrification in the city of Boston, particularly of the Theater District and Chinatown. In particular, as Emerson College has purchased buildings in downtown Boston, the arrival of wealthier students and Emerson as an institution has pushed out local businesses in the neighborhood in exchange for chain restaurants. For example, sales for a local Mexican restaurant that many Emerson students frequented in past years were placed at a dramatic hit with the arrival near Emerson of a location of El Jefe’s, a Mexican chain restaurant across Boston. Furthermore, because of this rapid influx of college students looking for housing as Emerson College’s student population expands, residents of the Theater District, Chinatown, and other areas near downtown Boston have expressed that they can feel the price of rent increasing rapidly as their neighborhoods increasingly cater toward the incoming college population. 

While colleges argue that they bring invaluable resources to a community and foster economic development, the opposing view that they push out low-income residents in favor of wealthier college students cannot be neglected. Northeastern University, itself, has a controversial past as it develops housing projects that may provide more opportunities for Northeastern students, but also pushes out members of Boston communities. Other colleges, as well, have riddled histories as they overtake these communities, especially as these are communities primarily of color, and it contributes to further segregation in Boston. The problem of gentrification has long been occurring, and continues now as wealthier residents move in, and colleges continue to develop new projects and propose new housing.

Measuring gentrification is a controversial topic among economists, as it is difficult to define an issue that intersects so much with race, health, education and income into one conclusive model of measurement. There are several models developed specifically for measuring gentrification, specifically the Ellen and O’Regan Model, the Freeman Model, and the McKinnish Model. Each looks at a different aspect of gentrification in order to define it.

The Ellen and O’Regan is measured by the ratio of the neighborhood’s household income at the start of the decade compared to the metro average household income. If it is less than 0.7, and there is at least a 10% increase in the ratio of neighborhood to metro average household, then the area is considered gentrified. This particular measure of gentrification intends to view gentrification solely in relation to income progress in a neighborhood. However, it also gains critics as focusing solely on income change can ignore other reasons for economic development, and it ignores factors of demographic changes and exit rates that also comprise gentrification. Yet, as a 10% increase in average income is unlikely without some form of gentrification, it is often used to define whether or not an area has been gentrified. 

Although household incomes in Boston have been increasing at a rate higher than the national average, the growth has only continued to widen the gap between high-income and low-income households. Between 1990 and 2016, high-income households increased by 65 percent, low-income households also increased by 16. The middle class has seen nearly no growth at all between that time (Hermann et al., 2019).

The Freeman Model for gentrification covers areas that the Ellen and O’Regan Model does not. Freeman defines gentrification as when the median income and share of housing built in the 20 years prior are both less than the metro-area values. As of 2016, Boston’s median home value was 120% greater than the national average (Hermann et al., 2019).

The share of residents with college degrees and house prices also need to increase. Although more difficult to find data on and calculate, the Freeman Model fixes some of the gaps that the Ellen and O’Regan model exhibits. By factoring in social changes such as college degrees, it demonstrates demographic transitions necessary to gentrification. Furthermore, increases in newly-built housing and house prices demonstrate the movement of new, wealthier people into older areas. 

As rent, median home value, and number of adults with bachelor's degrees in gentrified neighborhoods trends upwards, the opposite happens in low-income areas that have not been reached by gentrification.

On average, the median income in non-gentrified low-income tracts [in Boston] declined 2 percent between 1990 and 2016. In contrast, median incomes in the region as a whole increased by 9 percent in this time. -Hermann et al., 2019 

The McKinnish Model differs in its definition of gentrification as it does not compare an area solely to itself. Rather, it classifies gentrification as occurring if the neighborhood average family income is in the bottom 20% of all urban neighborhoods nationwide at the beginning of the decade, and if there has been a real increase of at least $10,000 in the neighborhoods average family income within the last decade. The McKinnish Model is useful if one wants to view gentrification within the context of the entire nation and real numbers, rather than an isolated process a neighborhood goes through by itself. It is useful in excluding non-gentrifying economic development that occurs in wealthier neighborhoods that the other models may classify as gentrification.

While all these models are useful for defining gentrification, it is still a debated and intricate topic. Communities may be fighting against gentrification without the data or vocabulary to communicate it, but many visible indicators are used to understand that gentrification is occurring. Economic factors such as household income now, as compared to household income 10 years ago, or median house value now versus median house value 10 years ago are major indicators.

Education also plays a role, as significant increases in high school graduation rates or college degree holders can signify a gentrifying neighborhood. Furthermore, as gentrification inherently intersects with race and ethnicity, the demographic makeup of a community now versus demographic and ethnic of a community ten years ago can show changing community makeups and signify potential gentrification.