Gentrification of the Willy Street Neighborhood: an Assessment

Abstract

Recent modifications in the physical and social environment of the Willy Street Neighborhood parallel characteristics found in gentrification theory. Through analysis of interviews, landscape observations, and census data, we evaluate whether or not gentrification is an explanation for recent changes. While overall improvements in appearance and safety and an increase in income and property values point to the occurrence of gentrification, poverty rates, consumption habits, and political values remain the same. The ideology of Willy Street has been and continues to be environmentally and socially aware, which now coincides with global consumption trends.