From Segregation to Gentrification

Lessons from Seattle and Detroit: How city policies and NIMBYism lead to unimpeded market forces displacing poor people of color

What can cities do to disrupt systemic economic forces threatening to gentrify every poor black community in America? Lessons from Seattle and Detroit.

Seattle and Detroit are two cities with similar population sizes (684K and 677K respectively). Thirty-five is the median age of residents, with a home ownership rate of 46.6% in both cities. Both have a vibrant downtown district located adjacent to large bodies of water.

But that’s where the major similarities end.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Seattle is one of America’s top economically competitive tech-innovation ecosystems. It has more than 415,000 employees, 6% job growth and a poverty rate of only 12% (compared to a national rate of just over 14%). Median household income is more than $80K and growing at 13%. Median property values are $530K and growing at more than 12% annually. The most populous demographic groups are white (66%), Asian (14%) and black (7%).

DETROIT, MICHIGAN