Neighborhood perspectives on gentrification around light rail in Denver

Recent research in Denver aimed to provide a more nuanced answer to the question of how light rail and transit-oriented development have contributed to gentrification. Researchers found that residents generally feel positively about changes to the area around the station studied, with age and tenure in the neighborhood correlated to how they feel about the changes. The most common theme in participants’ verbatim responses was improved “accessibility.”

Maintaining Diversity In America’s Transit-Rich Neighborhoods: Tools for Equitable Neighborhood Change (Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, 2013)

As communities across the country plan for and build transit-rich neighborhoods there is a growing need for planning and policy tools to guide this effort. This report provides a detailed analysis of how the introduction of high quality transit can spark neighborhood change, positive and negative. This change may have the unintended consequences of displacing existing residents or not meeting transit ridership goals. The report introduces an on-line tool kit to help planners and policy makers address these and other concerns.