Report: Boston Is 3rd 'Most Intensely Gentrified City' In America
BOSTON (CBS) -- A new report says Boston is one of the most gentrified cities in the country. The study from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition found that 21.3% of Boston's eligible neighborhoods gentrified between 2013 and 2017.
Boston came behind only San Francisco and Denver in the ranking. Miami and New Orleans rounded out the Top 5. The report described "a stark racial divide in these communities. . . with gentrifying neighborhoods overwhelmingly populated by people of color."
"Gentrification remains a significant threat to minority and low- and moderate-income families in some of the largest and most prosperous parts of the country," researchers stated.
A 2019 study identified Roxbury as one of the Boston neighborhoods most vulnerable to gentrification, as 81% of residents there are renters.
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NCRC found most low-income neighborhoods continued to deal with a chronic lack of investment. Researchers predict the lack of investment in those communities will be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In those communities where gentrification existed, the ability for residents to resist displacement will be harder," researchers stated.