Mapping Gentrification in Washington D.C.

Assessing public and private investment in Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza. Creative Director: Patrick Coldivar-Valencia. Contributors: Carmen Salazar, Louis Perz

Mapping change

How Can We Measure Gentrification and Racial Change in Washington, DC?

Anyone who visited or lived in the nation’s capital in the twentieth century would easily conclude that the city has changed. See, for example, these two photos of downtown DC – one from the 1980s and one from 2017.

The image shows the corner of 7th and T Streets NW in the 1980s. Click on the arrow to the right to view the corner of 7th and T Streets NW in 2017.

This website uses a variety of tools to measure visible changes such as these. By quantifying these changes, we can show which neighborhoods in the city have changed the most, and compare these measures of visible change to other indicators at the Census tract level. In this case, the area around 7th and T Streets NW has changed dramatically: the number of Black residents has declined precipitously, and the number of high-income residents has increased. But, do these visible indicators of change always correlate with socio-economic changes? Our housing survey allows us to assess the extent to which these indicators correlate both with socio-economic changes and with other indicators such as arrest rates.

How Can We Measure Gentrification and Racial Change in Washington, DC?

Anyone who visited or lived in the nation’s capital in the twentieth century would easily conclude that the city has changed. See, for example, these two photos of downtown DC – one from the 1980s and one from 2017.

The image shows the corner of 7th and T Streets NW in 2017. Click on the arrow to the left to view the corner of 7th and T Streets NW in the 1980s.

This website uses a variety of tools to measure visible changes such as these. By quantifying these changes, we can show which neighborhoods in the city have changed the most, and compare these measures of visible change to other indicators at the Census tract level. In this case, the area around 7th and T Streets NW has changed dramatically: the number of Black residents has declined precipitously, and the number of high-income residents has increased. But, do these visible indicators of change always correlate with socio-economic changes? Our housing survey allows us to assess the extent to which these indicators correlate both with socio-economic changes and with other indicators such as arrest rates.

Neighborhood-level changes

The maps of racial change make it clear that the city has changed. They also show that the change has not been even as some areas of the city have remained majority Black and others have remained majority White.

Black population decline

Between 2000 and 2018, the Black population declined from 60% to less than 50%. As this map shows, this decline was not even across the city. Some areas experienced much more marked decreases. In tract 72, which is the area near Navy Yard, the Black population declined 72% - the greatest decrease in the city. In contrast, the percent Black increased slightly in a few places.

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. Please click on any region of the map to access information on the change in black population.

These maps focus on racial change, but there have also been changes in socioeconomic status, as more college-educated and wealthier people have moved to the city. When highly-educated and high-income people move into a neighborhood that was previously poor, this process is called gentrification.

Gentrification can be measured by neighborhood-level changes in property values, increases in the number of college-educated residents, and changes in median household income. We used these measures to create this map, which shows which neighborhoods have gentrified according to these data.

In this map, we only include tracts that meet one of two eligibility criteria: 1) they were below the median income in 2000; or 2) they were majority Black in 2000. If they do not meet either of these criteria, we did not calculate their level of gentrification or racial change. The tracts colored white are not eligible for gentrification or racial change. Tracts colored gray are missing data for that measure.

Home value

Between 2000 and 2018, the citywide median increase in home value was 91%. In tract 34, which is the area around Howard University, the increase in home value was 354% - the highest in the city. In contrast, in tract 76.03 in SE near the Maryland border, housing prices decreased 14% - from $258,270 in 2000 to $221,700 in 2018 (in constant 2018 dollars).

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. If you click on the map, you can see the change in median home value for each eligible tract.

Median household income

Between 2000 and 2018, the citywide median of  median household income  in DC increased from $60,276 to $85,750, an increase of 29.7%.

In tract 72, which is the area near Navy Yard, the increase in median income was 872% - the highest in the city. In contrast, in tract 74.01 in SE where the Barry Farm Dwellings housing project is located, median household income decreased 34%.

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. If you click on the map, you can see the change in median home value for each eligible tract. You also will notice that a fair number of tracts experienced a decrease in income as those are all shaded orange. 

College degree

In 2000, 39.1% of DC residents over the age of 25 had a  college degree . By 2018, 57.6% had a college degree – constituting a 32.1% increase citywide.

In tract 72, which is the area near Navy Yard, the increase in percent college educated was 80% - the highest in the city. Although most Census tracts experienced an increase, there were six that experienced a decrease, including tract 98.03, near Congress Heights in SE, where the percent college educated decreased from 11% to 7%.

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. Click on any indicator to access information about the change in college educated population.

Neighborhood profiles

District of Columbia Census tracts in-depth analysis

We selected five neighborhoods for an in-depth analysis, based on the above patterns of socio-economic change. These in-depth analyses show how gentrification and racial change have distinct histories and lead to different outcomes across neighborhoods.

Here are the neighborhoods we selected.

Census tract 72 (Navy Yard) is, by some measures, the most gentrified neighborhood in the city. It has experienced complete redevelopment and displacement of most of the Black residents.

Census tract 74.01 (Barry Farm) had very few signs of redevelopment in 2018, and thus had not gentrified at that time nor had it experienced high levels of Black displacement.

Census tract 21.02 (Kennedy Street) is in the early stages of gentrification and has experienced a decline in the number of Black residents.

Census tract 99.03 (Central Avenue) has experienced some indicators of gentrification yet has not had a significant loss of Black residents.

Census tract 87.01 (Eckington) has experienced some indicators of gentrification aand has experienced a decline in the number of Black residents.

We used a housing survey to code every block in these four Census tracts. We also created interactive story maps so that DC residents (and others interested in gentrification) can take a close look at how the neighborhoods have changed – as well as how they have not changed. Please follow the links below to explore the Story Maps for each census tract and learn more about the history of each of these neighborhoods.

Census Tract 21.02 | Kennedy Street | Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza. Creative Director: Patrick Coldivar-Valencia. Contributors: Carmen Salazar, Briana Aguilar, Jorge Alvarez, and Mary Valbaneda

Census Tract 74.01 | Barry Farm | Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza. Creative Director: Patrick Coldivar-Valencia. Contributors: Carmen Salazar, Briana Aguilar, Diana Alvarado-Cuevas

Census Tract 72 | Navy Yard | Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza. Creative Director: Patrick Coldivar-Valencia. Contributors: Carmen Salazar, Briana Aguilar, Erika Estrada

Census Tract 99.03 | Central Avenue | Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza.

Census Tract 87.01 | Eckington | Washington, D.C.

Principal Investigator: Tanya Golash-Boza.

Dis/investment survey

(Dis)investment score

We used all of these measures to create a (dis)investment score for each census tract in Washington, DC eligible for gentrification or racial change. For each eligible tract, we randomly selected 10 block faces to code. We included at least one block face with a commercial street – when there was one available – for a total of 10 block faces for each tract.

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. Click on any region of the map to access information on the (dis)investment score.

The score was calculated by including a measure of abandoned structures, signs discouraging disorder, vacant areas and public street beautification, litter, unkempt vacant areas, structures with minor exterior decay, commercial uses that align with cultural aspects of gentrification, and metal fences and gates. The qualitative analysis compares before and after pictures for the following gentrification indicators: new public courtesies, new signs or structures controlling traffic, large scale developments, residences with new patio furniture for landscaping, residences with minor upgrades, and residences with major upgrades.

We used this formula to calculate the score: "tract_litter" + "track_unkempt" + "tract_major_decay" + "tract_minor_decay"

Reinvestment score

We used all of these measures to create a reinvestment score for each census tract in Washington, DC eligible for gentrification or racial change. For each eligible tract, we randomly selected 10 block faces to code. We included at least one block face with a commercial street – when there was one available – for a total of 10 block faces for each tract.

Please click on the double arrows in the upper-left corner of this map to access a visual detail of the symbols used on this map. Click on any region of the map to access information on the reinvestment score.

The reinvestment score was calculated by including a measure of vacant areas and public street beautification, signs discouraging disorder, commercial uses that align with cultural aspects of gentrification, new public courtesies, new signs or structures controlling traffic, large scale developments, residences with new patio furniture or landscaping, residences with minor upgrades, and residences with major upgrades.

Public & private dis/investment

We adapted  Jackelyn Hwang’s (2015) Google Street View Gentrification Observations Supplementary Material  to develop a survey of investment and disinvestment in Washington, DC. For each eligible tract, we randomly selected 10 block faces to code. We included at least one block face with a commercial street – when there was one available – for a total of 10 block faces for each tract. A team of students “walked” down each of these ten blocks and used our housing survey to assess the level of investment and disinvestment. For example, For example, new traffic signs are considered an indicator of public investment. In contrast, abandoned structures are indicative of private disinvestment.

The chart on the right shows each of the factors included in the housing survey.

We have used the data gathered from this housing survey to map each indicator. The section below includes a series of maps - each of which maps one indicator. You can use these maps to compare, for example, if Census tracts that have experienced a change in household income also have fewer structures with major decay.

Returning citizens

Returning Citizens Interviews

What do returning citizens have to say about gentrification?

Every year, thousands of Black men return to Washington, DC after having spent years in prison. Many of these men were incarcerated in the twentieth century and are returning home to a completely different city. Many feel a deep connection to the neighborhood where they were raised, yet few can afford to live in those neighborhoods.

The map below includes testimonies from 31 men who were born in Washington, DC and were incarcerated in the 1980s and 1990s, and have now returned home.

Click through the map below to see what they have to say about gentrification.

Please note that the map below shows the general neighborhood where they grew up. However, the exact location and their names have been changed to protect their privacy.