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Boston still has quite a few middle class households. The poor aren’t going to be easily pushed into Boston’s wealthy and expensive suburbs. People say they will buy it’s really not feasible. The housing thomey need really isn’t there.
Despite all of Boston’s gentrification it hasn’t seen a net loss in Black, Latino or poor families/households. In fact it’s still gaining. This stand in contrast to SF, Chicago, NYC, DC, Atlanta (city propers). Naturally, it should see more displacement but I think that the high immigrant population base population means that its population really isn’t that well connected to other parts of the US to be able to easily move out of state. And it’s very difficult to get pushed into suburbs because suburbs offer scant affordable housing in relation to Boston. There’s very little housing availability or turnover in Dorchester Roxbury Mattapan. People are anchored there or confined there by various affordable housing programs and government programs.
A quick peruse of Zillow or trulia will reveal that the cheapest and most abundant apartment are in Allston/Brighton where college students have always even.
All this being said between 2018 and 2019 Boston registered growth of less than 2,000 people. I don’t see the city continuing to attract and inordinate amount of white collar professionals
DC is not losing people of any race since 2010. DC has gained over 10k black people since 2010.
DC is not losing people of any race since 2010. DC has gained over 10k black people since 2010.
Right but it has seen a pretty significant decrease in black percentage. Boston has seen its percentage maintain or a slight increase
You know what I mean more or less. Boston area really isn’t even able to facilitate that kind of gentrification that DC has seen. There’s no PG County. Or Charles County.
For the most part you have to have a bit more of a means to buy out into theBoston area burbs. Strict town zoning ensure that much. There are cheaper places but still more expensive than PG and further away from job center.
The lack of liquor license also keeps many parts of Boston more or less off the radar of gentrifiers. Also the distance from the southern edge of Boston to the downtown area is much greater than any part of DC to it core/downtown.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 11-06-2020 at 05:50 PM..
Right but it has seen a pretty significant decrease in black percentage. Boston has seen its percentage maintain or a slight increase
You know what I mean more or less. Boston area really isn’t even able to facilitate that kind of gentrification that DC has seen. There’s no PG County. Or Charles County.
For the most part you have to have a bit more of a means to buy out into theBoston area burbs. Strict town zoning ensure that much. There are cheaper places but still more expensive than PG and further away from job center.
The lack of liquor license also keeps many parts of Boston more or less off the radar of gentrifiers. Also the distance from the southern edge of Boston to the downtown area is much greater than any part of DC to it core/downtown.
DC has added way more people since 2010 compared to Boston so the black percentage will continue to fall. A city growing like DC does can’t be compared to Boston when it comes to percentages because the growth rate is so high. That doesn’t mean DC is losing people in raw numbers. DC added over 100,000 people in 10-years across only 61 sq. miles. The city has thousands upon thousands of units under construction. The percentages are going to continue to fall.
The only possibility is Boston really ramping up its biotech sector even more - it’s already one of tops in world. If this pandemic is to end remotely soon it will largely be dependent on Boston.
There are 4 vaccines that give us hope for an end to this soon...3/4 have direct Boston ties
Moderna - based out of Cambridge
Biontech - us headquarters in Cambridge (being mass produced with Pfizer)
Johnson and Johnson - made with Beth Israel Boston
As the world understands these types of things can happen again and again Boston’s hold on biotech may take off even more. This may be a way to bridge gap.
DC has added way more people since 2010 compared to Boston so the black percentage will continue to fall. A city growing like DC does can’t be compared to Boston when it comes to percentages because the growth rate is so high. That doesn’t mean DC is losing people in raw numbers. DC added over 100,000 people in 10-years across only 61 sq. miles. The city has thousands upon thousands of units under construction. The percentages are going to continue to fall.
My initial point wasnt about DC though-it was mentioned with several other cities. That's not really the point. The point is that in comparison to other cities, Boston while still adding people really hasn't seen the marginalized groups decline in share. Since 200 Boston has added 105k people, only about 14k have been white (17k have been black)- this is a very different dynamic than in DC.
One of the reasons Boston probably wont see the type of gentrification GeoffD is talking about is because our local form of government and development process doesn't facilitate large swaths of workforce housing. And there's a very high share of subsidized housing in Boston relative to most other major cities (not so much DC). And because a good portion of the city is somewhat far from downtown and lack rapid transit access, combined with the lack of quality dining and liquor licenses its a disincentive for would-be gentrifier to look south of say Columbia Road/Mass Ave or East of Washington Street (Roslindale). The equivalent type of space in DC would be like Hayes Road in Northeast or Far Southeast near Seat Pleasant.
The difference is a lack of rapid transit though. The space between the green line and Orange and Red line is all inner city Boston. Ashmont to Mattapan is a single car trolley through a cemetery/bike path. That grey stop that says "Readville is expensive diesel commuter rail but its still in Boston city limits. Most of the rapid transit on the green line and north is outside of Boston itself.
Gentrification in Boston is much slower and more constant than in most other cities-based upon my observation. Its much less of a vigorous and physical force than it is in DC-and the reasons for that are multiple. There are any more forces keeping people in the inner city (one of them is livable crime rates that don't push people out like Chicago but are high enough they dont invite people in like Seattle) in Boston versus DC.
Youd have to live in both IMO to understand the difference fully.
My initial point wasnt about DC though-it was mentioned with several other cities. That's not really the point. The point is that in comparison to other cities, Boston while still adding people really hasn't seen the marginalized groups decline in share. Since 200 Boston has added 105k people, only about 14k have been white (17k have been black)- this is a very different dynamic than in DC.
One of the reasons Boston probably wont see the type of gentrification GeoffD is talking about is because our local form of government and development process doesn't facilitate large swaths of workforce housing. And there's a very high share of subsidized housing in Boston relative to most other major cities (not so much DC). And because a good portion of the city is somewhat far from downtown and lack rapid transit access, combined with the lack of quality dining and liquor licenses its a disincentive for would-be gentrifier to look south of say Columbia Road/Mass Ave or East of Washington Street (Roslindale). The equivalent type of space in DC would be like Hayes Road in Northeast or Far Southeast near Seat Pleasant.
The difference is a lack of rapid transit though. The space between the green line and Orange and Red line is all inner city Boston. Ashmont to Mattapan is a single car trolley through a cemetery/bike path.
Gentrification in Boston is much slower and more constant than in most other cities-based upon my observation. Its much less of a vigorous and physical force than it is in DC-and the reasons for that are multiple. There are any more forces keeping people in the inner city (one of them is livable crime rates that don't push people out like Chicago but are high enough they dont invite people in like Seattle) in Boston versus DC.
Youd have to live in both IMO to understand the difference fully.
I understood what you were saying, but I don’t believe you understood what I was saying. DC is building to be a short Manhattan. I’m going to give you an example:
If 400,000 black people live in a city in buildings next to empty parking lots, and then developers decide to build huge massive high-rise buildings that can hold 500-1000 people in each of those buildings on those parking lots, did the city lose black people? No, the city added 300,000 people from other races but retained or gained on the 400,000 black people to now have 700,000+ people.
There is a false narrative in DC that the city has boomed since 2010 lowering the percentage of black people who have been pushed out of the city. Basic math shows that if you add more of something else, the percentages will change. That doesn’t mean you’re losing anything. The narrative is incorrect. DC hasn’t lost people from any race since 2010. The city is gaining people from all races. As DC continues to gain headed to over 1,000,000 people in 61 sq. miles, the city will build enough housing and affordable housing to accommodate everyone. No city in America builds as much affordable housing as DC period.
Ward 7 and Ward 8 in DC will always be black in our lifetime and represents the new Harlem Renaissance of the 21st century with middle class black people buying homes in droves. This has been well documented on here. As shown in the other thread, black people in the DC MSA have a median family income of over $93,000 which leads the nation by a lot (not counting the speck of black people in San Jose) and those families are moving back into the city.
I understood what you were saying, but I don’t believe you understood what I was saying. DC is building to be a short Manhattan. I’m going to give you an example:
If 400,000 black people live in a city in buildings next to empty parking lots, and then developers decide to build huge massive high-rise buildings that can hold 500-1000 people in each of those buildings on those parking lots, did the city lose black people? No, the city added 300,000 people from other races but retained or gained on the 400,000 black people to now have 700,000+ people.
There is a false narrative in DC that the city has boomed since 2010 lowering the percentage of black people who have been pushed out of the city. Basic math shows that if you add more of something else, the percentages will change. That doesn’t mean you’re losing anything. The narrative is incorrect. DC hasn’t lost people from any race since 2010. The city is gaining people from all races. As DC continues to gain headed to over 1,000,000 people in 61 sq. miles, the city will build enough housing and affordable housing to accommodate everyone. No city in America builds as much affordable housing as DC period.
Ward 7 and Ward 8 in DC will always be black in our lifetime and represents the new Harlem Renaissance of the 21st century with middle class black people buying homes in droves. This has been well documented on here. As shown in the other thread, black people in the DC MSA have a median family income of over $93,000 which leads the nation by a lot (not counting the speck of black people in San Jose) and those families are moving back into the city.
I understand the false narrative thing people say this is a thing in Boston as well.
My point is losing as much of a percentage as the black population in DC did is very significant and while not displacement I think the has the same effect. I mean you’re going for. 71% black to 44%. You can’t tell me you’re not losing anything there.
And lets be honest. DC has lost tens of thousand of Black people since 2000 let alone 1970.
In 2013 DC had 5117 birth to black mothers in 2018 it had 4,252. Black families are declining in number.
I understand the false narrative thing people say this is a thing in Boston as well.
My point is losing as much of a percentage as the black population in DC did is very significant and while not displacement I think the has the same effect. I mean you’re going for. 71% black to 44%. You can’t tell me you’re not losing anything there.
And lets be honest. DC has lost tens of thousand of Black people since 2000 let alone 1970.
In 2013 DC had 5117 birth to black mothers in 2018 it had 4,252. Black families are declining in number.
All cities lost black people from 1970-2000 as black flight to suburban living took off. From 2000-2006, DC continued to lose black people, but from 2007-2010, it began to slow and then reverse. Anybody who experienced DC prior to around 2005 knows DC was basically Baltimore. Anybody with money would not choose to live in a city that lead the nation in murder rate and had blight all across the city. The revitalization took hold in DC around 2006 and if you compare the city now to then, it makes sense why black people want to be in the city again. DC was losing black people by choice from 1970-2005. Black people were leaving to escape poverty, crime, and blight.
From 2006-2020, black people have been returning to the city for the same reason White people, Asian people, and Hispanic people are moving into the city. As for children, young black people are the ones moving into the city. Many are single and most don't have children which is similar to the people moving into most cities. It's very telling that DC has dropped the number of black children being born, yet still added thousands to the black population. That tells you all you need to know about D.C.'s black growth rate. DC is becoming a young, vibrant, dynamic booming city that most people want to be a part of if they can afford it. Fortunately for DC since people make so much money, many black people here can afford it.
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