Document Type
Research Brief
Date
11-1-2025
Keywords
Institutional gentrification; displacement; Black homeownership; urban inequality; Buffalo, briefs
Language
Eng
Disciplines
Urban Studies and Planning
Description/Abstract
In many mid-sized U.S. cities, university and hospital expansion has spurred new development while displacing long-established Black communities. This study examines how Black homeowners and tenants in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt neighborhood navigate institutional gentrification driven by the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Using interviews and story circles with 50 residents, the research reveals that most residents support neighborhood improvement but demand development without displacement. Participants report rising property taxes, rent hikes, and exclusion from planning processes that threaten community stability and wealth. Despite these challenges, residents organize through efforts like the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust to resist displacement and promote community-led development. The study argues that equitable revitalization requires policy tools such as inclusionary zoning, good cause eviction laws, and community benefits agreements that prioritize housing security and ensure that institutional growth strengthens, rather than uproots, historically Black neighborhoods.
Recommended Citation
Coley, J, "Neighborhood Impacts of Gentrification on Urban Communities" (2025). The Lender Center for Social Justice. 89.
https://surface.syr.edu/lender/89
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
