Bibliography

Mujahid, M. S., et al. (2019)

"Gentrification and Displacement in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Comparison of Measurement Approaches". International journal of environmental research and public health.

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The research paper analyzes different ways to identify and classify gentrification in the San Francisco Bay Area and their impact on public health. It compares three methods: the Freeman method, the Landis method, and the Urban Displacement Project Regional Early Warning System. These methods were used on 1580 census tracts across nine counties, showing significant differences in identifying gentrifying neighborhoods. The Freeman and Landis methods found a small percentage of tracts as gentrifying, while the UDP method identified 46.7% of tracts as at risk or undergoing gentrification and displacement. The study emphasizes the importance of neighborhood environments on health outcomes and the controversy of gentrification due to its potential benefits and harms. Gentrification can improve infrastructure and amenities, boosting public health. However, it also causes displacement, disrupting social networks, reducing social capital, and worsening health disparities, especially for minority groups. The comparative analysis shows significant geographic variation in the tracts identified as gentrifying, suggesting that different methods can lead to different conclusions about gentrification's extent and impact. This highlights the need to use multiple measures to thoroughly understand gentrification's effects on health. The research calls for further study on how gentrification and displacement affect various health outcomes and how these effects differ across demographics. This understanding is essential for policymakers, urban planners, and developers to create strategies that reduce the negative effects of gentrification while maximizing its benefits, aiming for health equity and community well-being.

Kulkarni, Nirupama, and Ulrike Malmendier. (2022)

“Homeownership Segregation.” Journal of monetary economics.

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The article, “Homeownership Segregation”, discusses issues surrounding homeownership and the upward mobility of children in low-income families versus high-income families. This article veers towards a slightly different analysis than what we are planning for this project, but it offers many historical examples that we can use while discussing the history of housing in Oakland. The article analyzes homeownership throughout all of America, and offers some very interesting statistical points on income rates, homeownership/renting, racial populations, and poverty levels, which we plan to incorporate into our narrative. We are also interested in comparing the data the authors used with our data exclusively from Oakland, and see if Oakland is following the trends discussed in the paper. The paper also goes over a few laws and regulations that were intended to help reverse/stop discrimination by race, such as the Federal Housing Act. The Federal Housing act was intended to stop homeownership segregation which led to so-called “ghetto” areas. The “ghettos” created an environment that contributed to the loss of upper-mobility for children in low-income families, leading to a feedback loop that benefited the rich and continued to harm the poor. While we are not planning on talking about upper-mobility among children in poor neighborhoods in our project, this article has strong statistical examples that we would like to include within our analysis.

Goodman, Laurie S., and Christopher Mayer. (2018)

“Homeownership and the American Dream.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives.

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Laurie S. Goodman and Christopher Mayer takes a deep dive into the US homeownership from different points of view. They first look at an international perspective of homeownership which compares US homeowner-ship rates with other nations. The data that was collected showed that the US homeownership rate is at a lower range compared to the other developed countries that were observed. They then look at the changes between 1985 and 2015 and consider factors like age, race/ethnicity, education, family status, and income in the differences between these years. This article is useful in our research because after the Great Recession, the research shows how homeownership fell with credit conditions, student loan debt, and stagnant real incomes. The data collected also shows racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership remain pronounced. Additionally how specifically for black household, homeownership rates have decreased every decade consistently for the last 30 years.

Awaworyi Churchill, S., & Smyth, R. (2024)

“Ethnic diversity and homeownership.” Australian Economic Papers.

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Awaworyi’s research paper discusses the impact of homeownership on various aspects of life and the factors influencing it, primarily focusing on the Australian context. Homeownership is linked to countless benefits such as enhanced self-esteem, satisfaction with one’s life, better health, and improved outcomes for young children. However, there are downsides, such as increased unemployment rates and mortgage stress due to rising interest rates. Policymakers are growing interested in understanding the determinants of homeownership, especially as factors, macroeconomic conditions, and government policies have all been studied as influences on homeownership rates. The study overall investigates the effect of ethnic diversity on homeownership in Australia, using data from the household, income, and labor dynamics in Australia(HILDA) survey from 2001 to 2019. The researchers measure ethnic diversity at the neighborhood level and address potential interdependence issues using a two-stage least square (2SLS) approach. The findings indicate that higher ethnic diversity is associated with a lower likelihood of homeownership. This relationship is explored through channels such as trust, neighborhood satisfaction, and belongingness, which are found to be lower in ethnically diverse neighborhoods. The study contributes to ongoing debates about the implications of ethnic diversity in immigrant-receiving countries and provides evidence that could inform policy decisions.

Murphy, Daniel. (2024)

“Housing Cycles and Gentrification.” Journal of monetary economics.

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Daniel Murphy's research paper examines the relationship between housing market cycles and gentrification in U.S. downtown areas since the mid-1990s. He finds a strong link between metro-wide housing market growth and increases in downtown property values and the number of educated residents. Using extensive panel data, Murphy shows that downtown gentrification speeds up during housing booms, even after accounting for income growth among degree holders. To address potential biases, the study uses an instrumental variable approach based on regional housing price shocks. Murphy's results indicate that downtown areas see larger increases in property values and education levels compared to suburbs during housing expansions, both in the short term and over longer periods. This suggests that housing market growth raises costs for low-income, less-educated households, fueling gentrification. The findings imply that macroeconomic policies could worsen inequality by speeding up gentrification. The research conducted is important to our research because it enhances our understanding of the social impacts of gentrification and increasing housing prices, as well as the links between education and property values. We plan to incorporate the social effects of gentrification on minority groups and underrepresented populations.

Arnold, Eric K. (2011)

“Oakland Gang Injunctions: Gentrification or Public Safety?” Race, Poverty & the Environment.

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The article, “Oakland Gang Injunctions: Gentrification or Public Safety?”, discusses the use of injunctions to promote and enable gentrification in regions, like Oakland, with high crime rates. Using terms such as “Public Safety '' creates false expectations and often hides the true reasons behind these injunctions. Many special interest groups and politicians are attempting to benefit from mass gentrification, and “cracking down on crime” is an easy way for them to gain the support of the public. The article mainly discusses the two injunctions that occurred in Oakland between 2011-2012, and how they were in fact a “smokescreen for criminalizing minority and immigrant communities”. This article is important to our project as it shows the issues surrounding gentrification, and how attempts to gentrify districts often begin by the targeting of minority groups in poor neighborhoods. My group also hopes to discuss changes in the number of crimes within Oakland, as well as the types of crimes that are occurring, violent crimes versus petty thefts and burglaries, so this paper may or may not reflect what our data shows over the last decade or so. We are hypothesizing that as Oakland has become more gentrified there will be a decrease in violent crimes, and an increase in thefts and break-ins, but this paper adds an interesting perspective on how gentrification advocates can use crimes to enable the changing of demographics.

McElroy, Erin, and Alex Werth. (2019)

“Deracinated Dispossessions: On the Foreclosures of ‘Gentrification’ in Oakland, CA.” Antipode.

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This paper discusses the dynamics of displacement in Oakland through place-specific histories of racial politics. The main idea of the paper argues that “tech gentrification” results in deracinated dispossessions or displacement uprooted from histories of racial violence. The transposition of a “Tech Boom” similar to San Francisco’s model results in ignoring local histories of racial violence and resistance. These aspects are essential in shaping Oakland’s urban landscape through waves of settler theft and racial poverty. The mortgage crisis and racial poverty have driven significant displacement in Oakland, contrasting SF’s gentrification patterns. There is also a large role of policing in Oakland’s displacement through nuisance violations and fault evictions. The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project rejects the transposition of data from SF to Oakland through emphasizing the need for localized narratives. This relates to intersectionality and critical race theory, as context-specific analyses that consider the racial and colonial histories of cities like Oakland are increasingly more important. The idea of racial capitalism, a concept that reinterprets the history of capitalism as being based on the exploitation of marginalized groups, is also stressed to argue that capitalist exploitation in Oakland is intertwined with racial hierarchies. Race and class are inseparable in understanding urban displacement. Some of the implications of the paper is that there are limitations of dominant gentrification models, requiring a more nuanced and deeper engagement with the communities and people in these cities.

“Housing Data.” Zillow, (2024)

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Zillow is a popular real-estate marketplace company. Through the countless listings on its website, it has garnered a plethora of data regarding home values, rentals, for-sale listings, sales, days on market, and price cuts. The home values data is particularly interesting for our project. The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is a measure of a typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. Zillow publishes the home values for all single-family residences, condos, and the ZHVI per square foot. The home value forecasts include month-ahead, quarter-ahead, and year-ahead forecasts of the ZHVI in specific geographies. By filtering the data for the values for all homes that are seasonally adjusted, we were able to isolate the data Oakland specifically and analyze potential patterns. By graphing the home value every year for the past twenty-four, we were able to recognize a clear and significant increase in the home values. While there is a small dropoff in the past two years, the home values have increased significantly from 201433.83 to 799912.67, almost a four times increase. The increase in home values has a positive correlation with the cost to purchase a home in Oakland. This implies that housing has become more and more inaccessible since the early 2000s, which could be attributed to gentrification and the tech boom. This database is a good resource as we can isolate data of cities similar to Oakland and analyze if the patterns are similar or different.

City of Oakland. “CrimeWatch Data.” (n.d.)

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The City of Oakland's open data platform provides detailed information on crime incidents within the city. This dataset includes various crime types, dates, case numbers, descriptions, police beat areas, addresses, and geographic coordinates. The data extensively covers multiple aspects of crime reports, and is presented in a structured format. This source is also highly credible, being directly maintained by the City of Oakland. It ensures the data's reliability and accuracy, with regular updates and comprehensive documentation and metadata. The detailed nature of the dataset allows for in-depth analysis of crime patterns and trends within Oakland. For our project, this source is important in understanding the distribution of crime in Oakland. It allows us to identify hotspots and analyze how crime rates vary across different neighborhoods and time periods. This information will support our investigation into the socio-economic factors contributing to crime and help understand effective crime prevention strategies and potential policy interventions.

Data USA. “Oakland, CA.” (n.d.)

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The Data USA profile for Oakland, CA, provides a comprehensive overview of the city's demographic compositions, highlighting the percentages of various race groups. The data includes detailed visualizations and comparisons with national averages, offering insights into many aspects of racial diversity within the city. This source is highly credible as it compiles data from authoritative sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau. The clear and visually appealing presentation of the data enhances its accessibility and usability for our research purposes. For our project, this demographic data is essential to understanding the racial makeup of Oakland. It serves as a foundation for analyzing how racial diversity correlates with other socio-economic factors, such as income levels and access to various resources. This source will support our research into racial disparities and their broader impacts on the community.

City of Oakland. “Financial Health” (n.d.)

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The City of Oakland’s Financial Health dashboard provides detailed information on median income levels in Oakland, separated by ethnicity and overall population statistics. The data reveals significant income disparities among different ethnic groups, with Asians and Whites having higher median incomes compared to African Americans and Hispanics. The data is sourced directly from the City of Oakland, ensuring its reliability and accuracy. The dashboard’s interactive elements and visualizations make it easy to explore and understand income data across various demographic groups. This source is also relevant to our project as it highlights economic disparities within Oakland’s diverse population. It will help us examine how these income disparities contribute to broader socio-economic issues, such as access to education, housing, and healthcare. The information will also provide a solid foundation for discussing potential policy interventions aimed at reducing economic inequalities within the city.

Changing Cities Research Lab. “Oakland Vignette Series: A Tale of Two Cities” (2021)

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The “Oakland Vignette Series” by the Changing Cities Research Lab explores the issues of residential instability and disinvestment within Oakland, California. The series uses an illustrative narrative to depict the disparities in housing stability and economic investment across different neighborhoods in Oakland. In turn the analysis of factors such as gentrification, racial segregation, and housing affordability provides a diverse and deep understanding of urban inequality in the city. It offers significant insights into the challenges facing Oakland’s neighborhoods and emphasizes the need for strategies that prioritize equitable urban development to establish change for housing justice. Not only this article but the series itself provides lots of qualitative data, research methods, and case study analysis to explore the urban dynamics and differences in Oakland. These pieces of research and information help my group to understand and create hypotheses regarding the impact of gentrification and further relate it to current political issues as well. By creating digital humanities projects, policymakers become urged to catalyze change amongst the low-income communities as knowledge and transparency is shared with others.

Changing Cities Research Lab. “Oakland Vignette Series: Comparing the Effects of the Pandemic and the Great Recession on Residential Instability” (2021)

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This article is part five of five in the “Oakland Vignette Series” by the Changing Cities Research Lab which investigates the impact of residential instability, focusing on comparisons between the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession in Oakland, California. Some of the highlights that the article mentions include the disparities in housing stability, eviction rates, and community response to economic and societal shocks. This information contributes valuable insights into repercussions of major crises on urban neighborhoods which allows my group to get a deeper insight on how major historical events have impacted the housing crisis in Oakland. By emphasizing the urgent need for targeted policy interventions that provide relief for effects of economic repercussions in marginalized communities, the articles of this series provides a deep and valuable insight on just how the areas in Oakland have changed.

Orenstein, Natalie. “2020 Census: Oakland’s Population Growth Outpaces Housing Production.” The Oaklandside, 19 Aug. 2021

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This article focuses on the highlights retrieved from the 2020 census data, which demonstrated significant demographic and housing changes in Oakland, emphasizing the city’s acute housing crisis. With a population increase of nearly 13% over the past decade, the growth in housing units has lagged far behind. This disparity has led to a severe housing shortage, exemplified by a drop in the vacancy rate in 2020. The data indicates that the city has struggled to keep up with the demand for housing, particularly affordable units, as the influx of new residents has primarily moved into existing or previously vacant units, contributing to gentrification and overcrowding. The demographic shifts revealed by the census also highlight changes in the city’s racial composition. While there have been significant increases in Hispanic, white, and Asian populations, the Black population has declined pretty drastically. This demographic shift, as well as the inadequate production of affordable housing, points to increasing economic disparities and the displacement of long-term residents. Housing advocates argue that by increasing the number of market-rate units, this would be sufficient to address the crisis. More specifically housing advocates focus on affordable housing to meet the needs of Oakland’s diverse and growing population. The data suggests that without drastic action to accelerate affordable housing construction, the city will still confront severe housing shortages, contributing to further gentrification and overall economic inequality.