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Who Benefits from Brownfield Cleanup and Gentrification? Evidence from Chicago
Urban Affairs Review
  • Richard Melstrom, Loyola University Chicago
  • Rose Mohammadi, George Washington University
  • Tania Schusler, Loyola University Chicago
  • Amy Krings, Loyola University Chicago
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2021
Disciplines
Abstract

This paper presents research on the distribution of economic benefits from brownfield cleanup and land development. There is growing concern that cleaning up blighted areas, including brownfields, can entrench inequality by disproportionately benefiting some demographic groups more than others. We look for evidence of disproportionate benefits by relating changes in move decisions to land use activity in Chicago using a heterogeneous sorting model. Our research produces two key insights: first, Black and Hispanic households benefit less than White households from brownfield cleanup and vacant land development. Second, owners appear to benefit more than renters from cleanup and development. Overall, these results provide evidence of differences associated with race and housing tenure in who benefits from local land use actions.

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Author Posting. Copyright © 2021, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs University of Illinois at Chicago. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Urban Affairs Review https://doi.org/10.1177/10780874211041537.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Citation Information
Richard Melstrom, Rose Mohammadi, Tania Schusler and Amy Krings. "Who Benefits from Brownfield Cleanup and Gentrification? Evidence from Chicago" Urban Affairs Review (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/amy-krings/50/