Gentrification Is Making Schools Less Segregated

You may have heard about gentrification when discussing how trendy cupcake shops take over mom-and-pop shops that have come to define a neighborhood, but gentrification doesn't only change the food options in an area. Critics point out that gentrification often changes the racial make-up of a neighborhood, too, but a new study found that gentrification can actually increase school diversity when researchers examined Washington, D.C.'s public school system. These findings are counter to the popular narrative that gentrification ultimately decreases neighborhood diversity.

“Gentrification is a growing phenomenon that influences neighborhoods, cities and schools,” Kfir Mordechay, one of the co-authors of the study, which was published by the Civil Rights Project at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), said in a press release. “It presents both challenges and opportunities. Smart policies and thoughtful leadership can manage neighborhood changes in ways that could potentially keep communities affordable, inclusive, dynamic, and diverse.”