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“I Live in This Neighborhood Too, Though”: the Psychosocial Effects of Gentrification on Low-Income Black Men Living in Washington, D.C.

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Abstract

Gentrification—the process by which middle-class individuals (often White) move into lower-income neighborhoods (often Black), consequently displacing existing residents and changing the neighborhood’s social character—is a relatively new and rapid phenomenon in Washington, DC. From 2000 to 2010, DC had the second fastest rate of gentrification in the USA. Gentrification is a major and disproportionate source of disadvantage for low-income Black DC residents. In light of the relative dearth of psychological research focused on gentrification, this study sought to answer the following research questions: What are Black men’s experiences with gentrification in DC and how are Black men psychosocially affected by the gentrification of their neighborhoods? Data used in this study were obtained in Fall 2013 via nine semi-structured focus groups from nine DC neighborhood clusters. Participants were 83 self-identified Black men between the ages of 18 and 48 (M = 29.96, SD = 6.90) who reported predominantly low socioeconomic status. Black men’s experiences with gentrification in DC included experiencing changing demographics and spaces, being discriminated against by police, blaming the Black community for gentrification and displacement and recognizing the positives of gentrification. Gentrification had negative psychosocial effects on participants, including race-based social exclusion, restricted mobility, reduced social cohesion and sense of community belonging, loss of control, and internalized blame. It is imperative that psychologists and other health professionals recognize and further explore the psychosocial and health consequences of gentrification on longtime Black residents and promote solutions to reduce the stress associated with this understudied driver of racial/ethnic health inequities.

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Acknowledgements

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. We are grateful to the study’s participants for sharing their experiences with us.

Funding

This research was supported by the US National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental Health under award number R01 MH100022–01 to Lisa Bowleg, PhD.

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  1. Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, 2125 G Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

    Sidney L. Holt, Ana María del Río-González, Jenné S. Massie & Lisa Bowleg

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  1. Sidney L. Holt
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  2. Ana María del Río-González
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  3. Jenné S. Massie
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  4. Lisa Bowleg
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Contributions

The first and fourth authors, Sidney L. Holt and Lisa Bowleg, contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed the first three authors, Sidney L. Holt, Ana María del Río-González, and Jenné S. Massie. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Sidney L. Holt, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Holt, S.L., del Río-González, A.M., Massie, J.S. et al. “I Live in This Neighborhood Too, Though”: the Psychosocial Effects of Gentrification on Low-Income Black Men Living in Washington, D.C.. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 8, 1139–1152 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-020-00870-z

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