They Over-Promised and Under-Delivered

For the last 50 years, scholars have studied and contested the definitions and impacts of gentrification and displacement and its relation to individual, market, and government interventions. Central to these debates are questions of who bears the cost and who reaps the benefits of neighborhood change and the differential impacts on long-term and new residents. Although displacement is a central concern of gentrification, it is not a phenomenon that is distinct to gentrification. According to Peter Marcuse, there are four forms of displacement. For this dissertation, we will focus on the pressure of displacement, which is the combination of subjective fear of the possibility of displacement and what is occurring in the neighborhood (e.g., increases in rent and property taxes). As municipalities move towards redevelopment projects that center urban greening, it is important we examine the impact of this strategy with an equity lens on the pressure of displacement. The introduction of green spaces, such as parks and trails, is often discussed within the context of its benefits for the ecosystem and public health, but redevelopment centered on producing new environmental amenities such as green space, parks, trails, and alternative modes of transportation can also inflate the desirability of previously disinvested neighborhoods. Earlier studies have made significant contributions to our understanding of how economically disadvantaged neighborhoods are associated with poorer sleep quality. However, none of these studies considered how neighborhood improvement efforts could also have an impact on sleep. This dissertation used a structural racism lens to develop a displacement risk index that reflects the sociopolitical and historical factors that impact residential displacement. The displacement risk index identified neighborhoods that have a concentration of residents who are most susceptible to residential displacement, measures demographic and housing market changes over time, and classifies the neighborhood’s risk from low to high risk of displacement by combining two indexes: vulnerability index and housing market index. I used these results to identify a set of control census block groups similar to the census block groups characterized as high risk of displacement in all aspects other than the Atlanta BeltLine. I employed robust regression models on survey data to investigate the effects of social and environmental stressors associated (i.e., everyday discrimination, heightened vigilance, housing inaffordability, and financial strain) with green redevelopment on sleep quality among African-American adults. I performed direct and conventional content analysis on interview data to explore participants’ perceptions. My regression models revealed that the independent effect of everyday discrimination, heightened vigilance, housing inaffordability on subjective sleep quality is the same for cases and controls, controlling for other factors. The effect of financial strain on subjective sleep quality is different for cases and controls with cases having a poorer sleep quality, controlling for other factors. The combined effect of these social and environmental stressors showed that everyday discrimination and financial strain on subjective sleep quality persists. When case and control participants were prompted with interview questions on their perceptions of their neighborhood, its changes, and the impacts of these changes, there were three major themes that emerged: (1) neighborhood history and sense of community are important to case participants, (2) neighborhood changes are not benefiting people of color, and (3) white and black vigilance, financial strain, and housing inaffordability are factors influencing the pressure of displacement. The findings of this dissertation improve our understanding of the factors contributing to the susceptibility of current residents to residential displacement and the impact of social and environmental stressors on sleep quality among African-American adults. Planners can use the displacement risk index, in combination with their tools, to better understand the vulnerability of populations to displacement in an effort to provide policy and plan recommendations that may limit residential displacement. Employing a structural approach to social justice and equity, could assist us in understanding the impacts of green redevelopment projects that are using federal and local policies and economic development tools to protect white privilege. In this area of research, it would be important to carry out prospective studies that can examine the temporal order of neighborhood changes, social and environmental stressors, sleep quality, and other chronic health outcomes. A greater understanding of the temporal ordering of these associations will have implications for city planning and public health strategies that are focused on creating healthier and more equitable communities.