Gentrification Index
UPDATE: On May 1, 2015, the Voorhees Center held a symposium called Taking Control of our Neighborhoods' Future. To see the presentations from the symposium, look here.
REPORT: The Socioeconomic Change of Chicago’s Community Areas (1970-2010)
REPORT SUMMARY: English, Español
TOOLKIT: Gentrification and Neighborhood Change: Helpful tools for communities
The Socioeconomic Change of Chicago’s Community Areas, also known as the Gentrification Index, examines neighborhood change across Chicago from 1970 to 2010. It uses key indicators to measure how much a neighborhood's wealth or poverty has changed in this time.
This report shows that inequality is growing in Chicago. Some neighborhoods have grown wealthier, while others have grown poorer. At the same time, the number of middle-class neighborhoods has gone down.
An Appendix, showing the detailed information for each community area, is also available.
For information about tools to mitigate the impact of gentrification, check out the toolkit.
Questions? Try the Gentrification FAQ.
For more, see WBEZ's interactive website on gentrification here.
The Community Typology shows neighborhood change based on community area scores from 1970 to 2010. Some neighborhoods are stable and did not change. Others increased in socioeconomic status, while many decreased in socioeconomic status.
The Community Area Score, above, shows the Gentrification Index score for each community area by decade. The darker areas of the map show neighborhoods with higher socioeconomic status. The lighter areas show neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status.
As the image changes, it shows the upgrading and decline of different neighborhoods in each decade from 1970 to 2010.
