Measuring Gentrification in Chicago Community Areas: 2024 Update
This report updates the Gentrification Index completed in 2014 with 2019 American Survey data, providing insights into shifts in neighborhood trends in Chicago. The Index is a research tool that tracks gentrification and quantifies neighborhood changes in Chicago’s 77 community areas and census tracts by creating a composite score based on 13 variables.
Since the 1970s, Chicago neighborhoods have undergone significant transformations, widening the gap between neighborhoods experiencing rapid gentrification and those enduring population loss, divestment, and marginalization. The Voorhees Center created this tool to enhance understanding of how Chicago’s neighborhoods changed over time and assist community leaders and stakeholders develop strategies and policies to offset displacement and disinvestment.
Changes
At the city level, the 2019 data shows that the distribution and geography of index scores across community areas is similar to 2010. However, the difference between “high” and “low” scoring community areas is becoming starker.
At the community level, few experienced significant index score changes in either direction between 2010 to 2019. Two communities—Logan Square and Uptown— were the only two identified as “Type 5: Positive Change, No Gentrification.” While community areas undergoing gentrification tend to be concentrated around the northern lake front, neighborhoods experiencing the most decline are typically located on the Southwest, Far South, and Far Southwest sides.
Twenty-six (26) more communities were classified as “Type 9: Negative Change, Serious Decline” based on 2019 data compared to 2010. The addition of census tract-level analysis in the current study highlights clusters within community areas experiencing significant positive change, most notably on the North and West sides, and across the South and Far North sides.
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