Turning the Corner: Monitoring Neighborhood Change to Prevent Displacement

Turning the Corner: Monitoring Neighborhood Change to Prevent Displacement piloted a research model in five cities to monitor neighborhood change, drive informed government action, and support displacement prevention and inclusive revitalization.The project was guided by the Urban Institute’s National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and the Federal Reserve-Philanthropy Initiative, a collaboration between the Restoring Prosperity in Older Industrial Cities Working Group of the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and several Federal Reserve district banks. Turning the Corner was motivated by a desire to understand neighborhood revitalization and related displacement pressures in cities with recovering or moderately strong housing markets.

Local teams in Buffalo, New York; Detroit, Michigan; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Phoenix, Arizona; and the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota) conducted independent research to understand neighborhood change and displacement risk in their communities. Key design elements included qualitative and quantitative methods to capture various aspects of neighborhood change; exploration of various types of displacement, such as residential, cultural, and commercial; and practical application of research to urgent program and policy questions through local advisory groups.

CROSS-SITE PUBLICATIONS

Synthesis Documents

• Turning the Corner Project Overview: Monitoring Neighborhood Change to Prevent Displacement. A report describing the origins of the cross-site project and a summary of the activities and insights from each of the five sites.
• Turning the Corner: Lessons from Five Cities on Displacement Risk in Changing Neighborhoods. A brief providing lessons about displacement risk in recovering or moderately strong housing markets and recommendations for governments and the civic sector to ensure revitalization benefits longer-term residents.
• Turning the Corner: Implications of Neighborhood Revitalization for Public Safety, Small Businesses, and Capital Investments. A brief discussing insights on three topics related to equitable development that emerged across the five sites.

Resources for Communities to Monitor Change

• Guide to Measuring Neighborhood Change to Understand and Prevent Displacement. A guide on data sources and methods for monitoring neighborhood change, drawn from the experiences of the Turning the Corner local research and from NNIP.
• Turning the Corner Qualitative Toolkit on Neighborhood Change. Protocols and related materials for conducting resident focus groups and business manager interviews about perceptions of neighborhood conditions and trends.
• Turning the Corner Literature Catalog. A listing of recent literature and projects on neighborhood change and displacement, categorized by topic and method.

See the recording of the May 2019 webinar.

LOCAL PUBLICATIONS

• Buffalo
• Detroit

• Milwaukee
• Phoenix
• Twin Cities

EXTERNAL POLICY RESOURCES

• Local Housing Solutions: Displacement (National Community of Practice on Local Housing Policy)
• All-In Cities Policy Toolkit (PolicyLink)
• NHC Housing Policy Guide (National Housing Conference)