Mass Transit Doesn't Cause Gentrification

An intriguing new study by Michael S. Barton and Joseph Gibbons published in the journal Urban Studies explores the connection between mass transit access and household income in New York. The researchers wanted to see if the conventional wisdom on transit corridors—both subways and buses—held true: the idea that rising real estate values near transit stops contributes to the displacement of low-income households.

New York is an intriguing case to address this issue for several of reasons. It has the nation’s most extensive transit system, and a high proportion of its residents use transit to get to work. New York is also thought to have witnessed extensive displacement over the past decade, not just in Manhattan, but in Brooklyn and now even Queens as well.