Concentrated Poverty Is a Much Bigger Problem Than Gentrification, and It’s Spreading

(April 26) – As Americans endlessly discuss the perils and pitfalls of gentrification, the national conversation about poverty and affordability can overlook a more pernicious problem: the country’s poorest neighborhoods are getting even poorer. Analysis from City Observatory tracked rates of displacement and poverty for the nation’s 50 largest metro areas from 1970 to 2010. The findings? Neighborhoods with a poverty rate double the national average in 1970 stayed poor 75 percent of the time. They also lost roughly 40 percent of their population.