A Case Study of Green Gentrification: Schuylkill River Park
In urban designers' attempt to renew Philadelphia after observations of the "hazards" of the city -- not solely aesthetically, but also socially -- they gentrified a Black community known as Black Bottom to make room for more "civilized" green space. This led to white residents moving in and raising rents, transforming the nature of the neighborhood-- even displacing Marian Anderson's childhood church which once thrived in the area (Johnson, Thomas).
Housing Data for neighborhoods surrounding Schuylkill River Park between 2000-2014
The further residents live from the park, the worse the quality of the neighborhood is.
This map highlights the areas of Philadelphia that have been affected by gentrification. The black areas are places that were previously predominantly black, but due to gentrification are now predominantly white.
Poverty Map
This interactive map displays the percentage of people below the poverty line in each corresponding census tract of Philadelphia. The darker colors represent higher rates, while lighter colors represent lower rates. Evidently, central and southern Philly have higher poverty rates.
Black Population Map
This interactive map displays the percentage of Black people living in each corresponding census tract of Philadelphia. The darker colors represent higher rates, while lighter colors represent lower rates. Evidently, central, southern, and northwestern Philly are predominantly Black.
White Population Map
This interactive map displays the percentage of White people living in each corresponding census tract of Philadelphia. The darker colors represent higher rates, while lighter colors represent lower rates. Evidently, western, northern, and southeastern Philly are predominantly White.
Above is a map of overall gentrification in Philadelphia. The dark blue areas are predominantly black areas that are gentrifying, while the brown areas are predominantly white areas that are gentrifying. As the pie graph shows, just about 15% of areas in Philly are currently being gentrified, and green gentrification plays a large role in this process. Also, compared to the other maps, it is clear that these gentrified areas are often in predominantly Black communities with higher poverty rates.