Reassessing Residential Preferences for Redevelopment

While scholars argue that redevelopment and gentrification result in large part from the unique preferences of middle–class residents moving to neighborhoods after decades of flight, almost all of this evidence is extrapolated from the behavior of residents already living in redeveloped neighborhoods. I argue that understanding the consequences of redevelopment, particularly urban policies advocating redevelopment, requires measuring the preferences for redeveloped neighborhoods among the broader metropolitan population. Using data from a representative sample of Chicago metropolitan area adults, I find that homeowners and renters differ in their patterns of preferences for redeveloped neighborhoods: city or suburban residence is more important for homeowners while race is a much stronger factor among renters. This reassessment of preference patterns highlights the potential for redevelopment policies to fall short of intended goals to attract investment and alleviate racial segregation.