Prime Time 7/8, Writing, Arbeitsheft

3 14 3 Home and surroundings 3.1 Text input How to know if your neighbourhood is being gentrified A new study on gentrification shows that the addition of a coffee shop or restaurant to your neighbourhood could be an early indicator that housing prices are about to increase sharply. The research also casts some doubt on the often-expressed belief that gentrification can ruin neighbourhoods by forcing out existing businesses that serve the needs of the locals. “We found that changes in the local economy – such as a new coffee shop opening – can predict gentrification,” says Harvard Business School’s Michael Luca, associate professor of business administration, who co-authored the study. “Our results also suggest that a range of local businesses actually expand during periods of gentrification.” The findings are included in the new paper “Nowcasting Gentrification: Using Yelp Data to Quantify Neighbourhood Change”, written by Luca, Harvard University Economics Professor Edward L. Glaeser and HBS doctoral student Hyunjin Kim, who combined data from US Census reports, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Google Street View and Yelp to explore gentrification in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Among the findings: • The opening of a Starbucks – and cafes more generally – is a leading indicator of gentrification and is associated with an increase in local housing prices of 0.5%. • Gentrifying neighbourhoods tend to spawn a growing number of grocery stores, cafes, restaurants and bars. But there is a chicken-and-egg question of what causes that development. • Although it’s possible some existing shops could be squeezed out by the influx (the report didn’t specifically study that question), the overall trend is that the number of businesses in that area will expand. • Yelp measures of local business activity, such as prices and user ratings, provide a new way of studying the economy. This data can provide indicators that gentrification is occurring, forecast an increase in housing prices and shed new light on the evolution of the local economy at the neighbourhood level almost in real time. […] Private developers and other supporters argue that new restaurants and retail shops, high-rise housing and other upgrades revitalise communities by attracting outside investment and luring new residents. Critics counter that the improvements come with downsides, starting with the loss of affordable housing and the tearing apart of established communities. The escalation in housing prices often forces the poorest residents to move out, making way for new occupants who are richer – and whiter. These social pressures often put city planners in the uncomfortable spot of trying to maintain the tricky balance of bolstering economic development without completely killing cultural diversity. (Dina Gerdeman, www.forbes.com , 29 May 2018; adapted and abridged) 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 3.2 Focus on content What is gentrification? a) Tick the correct definitions of the term “gentrification”. Gentrification is … 1. … the process of conserving a house or district so that it still exemplifies its original state. 2. … the process of renewal and rebuilding, accompanying the influx of middle-class or affluent people into deteriorating areas that often displaces poorer residents. 3. … the process of moving up the social scale as an individual and thus achieving more than one’s ancestors. 4. … the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste. 1  Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv