In defense of the "gentrification building"

Summary

The video script explores the housing crisis in the US, where demand exceeds supply, driving up home and rental prices. It discusses how new, modern, and affordable housing—often criticized for its appearance—actually helps alleviate housing scarcity and displacement. Despite concerns about gentrification, research shows that increasing housing supply can reduce displacement and lower rents. However, restrictive zoning laws in wealthier areas prevent the development of multi-family and affordable housing, exacerbating inequality. The debate is further complicated by rhetoric that frames new housing as a cause of displacement, even when the opposite is true.

Takeaways

• 🏠 The U.S. is facing a significant housing shortage, which has been worsening over the past decade.
• 📈 Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years, while rental vacancy rates are at their lowest in 30 years.
• 🏢 New, boxy, modern multi-family homes are often seen as symbols of gentrification, raising concerns about displacement.
• 💰 However, many of these buildings, like the one in Camden, New Jersey, are actually affordable housing developments aimed at low-income residents.
• 🔨 The distinct look of modern apartment buildings is due to cost-effective, strategic designs that comply with regulations, like the common 5-over-1 structure.
• 🛠 To provide affordable housing, buildings need to be inexpensive to construct, even if that means they look bland or artificial.
• 🕰 The perception of modern buildings as inauthentic mirrors past criticisms of now-iconic structures like Brooklyn's brownstones, which were also seen as artificial when first built.
• 📉 Research suggests that new construction, even market-rate housing, reduces overall displacement by increasing housing supply and decreasing rent pressure.
• 🌳 Gentrification and displacement are different: gentrification changes the demographics of a place, while displacement forces people to move out.
• 🚧 Wealthy neighborhoods often block new housing developments with restrictive zoning laws, contributing to housing scarcity and unequal distribution of affordable options.

Q & A

Why is the current housing supply in the US a concern?

The housing supply in the US is a concern because it has been dropping for a decade, and current supply shortages could lead to higher housing prices and limited availability, particularly affecting lower-income individuals.

What is the relationship between new buildings and the perception of gentrification?

New buildings, especially modern, boxy multi-family homes, are often perceived as symbols of gentrification, with concerns about rising rents, displacement, and the transformation of neighborhoods to accommodate wealthier residents.

What is a '5-over-1' or '1-plus-5' building design, and why is it common in the US?

'5-over-1' or '1-plus-5' buildings consist of multiple levels of wood-framed construction (Type 5) above a concrete base (Type 1). This design is common because it is one of the cheapest and most efficient ways to build apartment buildings while complying with safety, height, and cost restrictions.

Why do some people criticize the appearance of newer apartment buildings?

Critics often say newer buildings look bland, mass-produced, and artificial, which echoes criticisms from the past, such as when brownstone homes in Brooklyn were dismissed as modern and poorly built in the 19th century.

How do new market-rate buildings affect rent and displacement, according to research?

Research suggests that new market-rate buildings increase the supply of housing, which helps decrease rent pressures and reduce displacement in the areas closest to new construction.

What is the difference between displacement and gentrification?

Displacement refers to residents being forced to move out due to factors like rent increases, while gentrification refers to demographic changes in a neighborhood, where lower-income residents are replaced by higher-income ones. These shifts can happen without forced displacement.

Why is it important to build both affordable and market-rate housing?

Building both affordable and market-rate housing helps prevent displacement and gentrification by increasing the overall housing supply. This ensures that people at all income levels have access to housing.

What role do zoning laws play in the housing crisis?

Zoning laws, particularly single-family zoning, restrict the construction of multi-family buildings and affordable housing, especially in wealthier neighborhoods. This limits the housing supply and exacerbates the housing crisis by preventing equal distribution of new developments.

How do wealthy neighborhoods block new housing developments?

Wealthy neighborhoods often use their political power to block new housing developments through zoning laws and community resistance, limiting the construction of multi-family or affordable housing and maintaining exclusivity in these areas.

Why do some activists oppose zoning changes meant to increase housing supply?

Some activists oppose zoning changes, claiming they would fuel gentrification and displacement. However, research suggests that building more housing, especially affordable housing, helps reduce displacement rather than causing it.

Outlines

00:00

🏠 The US Housing Crisis: A Growing Problem

The US is experiencing a severe housing shortage that has been worsening for over a decade. As the supply of housing dwindles, prices have skyrocketed, making housing unaffordable for many. Rental vacancy rates are at a historic low, and rent prices continue to rise. However, public sentiment toward new housing developments is often negative, with people associating these new, boxy, modern buildings with gentrification, displacement, and a transformation of neighborhoods into wealthier, less diverse areas. A TikTok example from Camden, New Jersey, highlighted public distrust of new constructions, but further investigation revealed that the building in question was actually affordable housing.

05:03

🏗️ Affordable Architecture: The 5-Over-1 Design

Many new apartment buildings across the US share a distinct look, which some criticize for being bland and artificial. However, this design is intentional and cost-effective, known as '5-over-1' architecture. It combines wood-framed levels for residential units (Type 5) with a concrete base for commercial or parking spaces (Type 1). These designs allow for affordable housing development, with features like light-frame construction and simple windows helping keep costs low. Comparisons are drawn to the iconic brownstones of Brooklyn, which were once criticized in similar ways for being modern and artificial when they were first introduced.

🏙️ The Impact of New Construction on Displacement

There is a growing narrative that new buildings, particularly market-rate ones, lead to displacement by driving up rents and forcing out existing residents. However, research indicates the opposite is true: the 'supply effect' shows that increasing the housing supply, even if it’s market-rate, actually reduces scarcity and helps decrease rent pressures, especially in areas near the new buildings. While displacement decreases, gentrification can still occur as wealthier residents move in over time, not necessarily because people are being forced out, but due to demographic changes.

🌆 Gentrification Without Displacement: The Complexity of Housing Change

Gentrification and displacement are often confused, but they are distinct processes. Displacement involves people being forced to leave due to rising costs or evictions, whereas gentrification refers to demographic shifts where wealthier residents replace lower-income ones. This change can happen without displacement, as research suggests wealthier people naturally move into areas as others move away for various reasons. To combat both gentrification and displacement, more affordable and market-rate housing is needed, alongside policies like rental assistance to maintain income diversity in neighborhoods.

🏘️ Zoning Laws and the Barrier to Housing Development

Wealthy neighborhoods in the US, like Woodbridge, Connecticut, often use restrictive zoning laws to block new housing developments, particularly multi-family or affordable housing units. Single-family zoning laws dominate these areas, making it difficult to build diverse housing options. Residents sometimes oppose these developments, fearing that they will change the character of their neighborhood, even using the language of gentrification to argue against new housing projects. This resistance leads to an unequal distribution of housing, exacerbating the housing crisis by making it harder to build in areas where it's most needed.

Keywords

💡Housing supply

Housing supply refers to the number of homes available for people to live in. In the video, it's mentioned that the U.S. has been experiencing a decline in housing supply over the past decade. This scarcity has caused housing prices to rise significantly, contributing to affordability issues for many people.

💡Gentrification

Gentrification is the process where lower-income neighborhoods undergo changes as wealthier people move in, often leading to rising property values and rents. In the video, gentrification is discussed as a phenomenon where new buildings and developments, particularly modern, multi-family homes, signal demographic shifts in neighborhoods, making them richer and whiter.

💡Displacement

Displacement refers to the forced movement of residents out of their homes or neighborhoods, often due to rising rents or eviction. In the video, displacement is a concern that new housing developments can cause people to be priced out of their neighborhoods. However, research cited in the video suggests that building more housing can actually reduce displacement.

💡Affordable housing

Affordable housing refers to housing units that are priced so that lower-income individuals or families can afford them. The video discusses how new, affordable housing, like the building in Camden, New Jersey, is crucial for preserving income diversity in neighborhoods and preventing displacement. This is especially relevant as more affluent areas resist affordable housing development.

💡5-over-1 / 1-plus-5 construction

This construction method refers to buildings that have five or more levels of wood-framed apartments (Type 5 construction) over a concrete base (Type 1 construction), often used for commercial space or parking. The video explains that this method is an affordable way to construct modern apartment buildings, which is why many new structures in the U.S. look similar.

💡Market rate housing

Market rate housing refers to homes or apartments that are rented or sold at prices determined by the current market conditions, without subsidies or price controls. In the video, there’s a discussion about how new market rate buildings are often seen as symbols of gentrification and displacement. However, research shows that building more market rate housing can reduce overall housing scarcity.

💡Zoning laws

Zoning laws regulate how land can be used in different areas, often determining where single-family homes, apartments, or commercial buildings can be constructed. The video highlights how wealthier neighborhoods use restrictive zoning laws to prevent the development of multi-family or affordable housing, leading to an unequal distribution of housing opportunities.

💡Brownstone architecture

Brownstone architecture refers to a type of building style that became iconic in Brooklyn, New York, characterized by its sandstone façade. The video contrasts modern housing critiques with historical criticisms of brownstones, showing how once, these buildings were considered artificial and monotonous, much like the modern 'boxy' apartments of today.

💡Supply effect

The supply effect refers to the economic principle that increasing the availability of a product—in this case, housing—leads to lower prices and reduced scarcity. The video explains that research shows a supply effect from new housing developments, which can lower rents and reduce displacement, countering the belief that new buildings raise prices and cause people to be forced out.

💡Wealthy neighborhoods

Wealthy neighborhoods are areas where affluent individuals live, and these communities often have significant influence over local policies. In the video, wealthy neighborhoods are shown to be resistant to new housing developments, especially multi-family or affordable housing, by using zoning laws and political power to block such projects. This contributes to the housing shortage and rising prices.

Highlights

The US housing supply has been dropping for a decade.

Housing prices have skyrocketed in the past year.

Rental units have the lowest percentage of empty buildings in 3 decades.

New buildings are often disliked and associated with gentrification.

A TikTok video about a building in Camden, New Jersey, sparked controversy.

Newer apartment buildings have a distinct look due to strategic design and cost constraints.

The '5-over-1' or '1-plus-5' design is one of the cheapest ways to build an apartment building.

New buildings can actually lead to more affordable housing.

Authenticity of new buildings is a historical concern, similar to how Brooklyn brownstones were viewed in the 19th century.

The Camden, New Jersey building was built using low-income housing tax credits.

New market-rate buildings are often incorrectly seen as causing displacement.

Research suggests that new buildings can decrease rents and risks of displacement.

Gentrification and displacement are not the same thing.

To reduce displacement and gentrification, more market rate and affordable housing is needed.

Wealthy neighborhoods often block new housing developments.

Political power in the hands of wealthy homeowners can lead to unequal housing distribution.

Activists use the language of gentrification to oppose zoning law changes.

The actual policy solution of building new housing is mistakenly seen as part of the problem.

Transcripts

The US doesn't have enough homes.

This line shows how many months it would take

for the current supply of housing to run out.

It's a measure of housing supply and it's been dropping for a decade.

And this line shows how housing prices have changed.

They've skyrocketed in the past year.

For rental units, the percentage of empty buildings is the lowest it's been in 3 decades

while rent prices keep going up.

But here’s the thing.

Often, when new buildings go up in these places

people hate them.

"It's hard to describe... but...

you know it when you see it."

"Gentrification building."

Most often, they’re talking about new buildings like this:

boxy, modern, multi-family homes.

I saw one one day that sort of hit me.

And it was a TikTok that was showing this building in Camden, New Jersey.

That’s Jerusalem Demsas, a Vox policy reporter.

You know, the comments range from a bunch of different things.

It was people kind of deriding the building itself

saying that it was causing displacement

saying, get ready for a Starbucks to come and pop up.

Comments like this are a common narrative.

To many, these buildings don’t just look bland and artificial.

They signal raised rents, displacement, and

the complete transformation of a neighborhood

to a place that’s richer and whiter.

But in this case, what happened next might surprise you.

So I started like, kind of like, going around

trying to find the specific location, walking around Google Maps.

And eventually, I find it.

And I find the building, I look at the address.

I look into property records to figure out what this building was.

And not only is it new housing, it's actually new affordable housing.

Turns out, there’s a lot we get wrong

about how we see new construction in the US.

Whether it’s DC, Oakland, or Austin

newer apartment buildings in the US have a distinct look

one that sticks out against older architecture.

But these buildings don’t look like historic homes for a reason.

This building is actually one of the cheapest ways

to build an apartment building right now.

The design is strategic.

According to reporting from Curbed

this kind of architecture is built to fit within restraints

like cost, height limits, and safety requirements.

It’s why many of these structures are what’s known as “5-over-1” or “1-plus-5”.

That means there’s several levels of wood-framed construction

which usually contain apartments and is known as Type 5 in building code.

That’s over one level with a concrete base

which usually contains commercial space or parking, known as Type 1.

The light-frame wood construction, flat windows, and paneling around the building

are all ways to build as affordably as possible.

And that means you're able to build more affordable housing.

I think a lot of the time people don't understand that

in order to get affordable housing, the actual components of the building have to be

cheap to develop and to construct.

The results can be bland and look artificial

but that authenticity problem is an old one.

In this book, "The Invention of Brownstone Brooklyn"

Suleiman Osman writes about the iconic brownstones of Brooklyn

a design that today, is widely considered to be deeply authentic to New York.

But in the 19th century, compared to the mostly wooden homes which predated them

critics actually dismissed brownstones as "modern and artificial”.

They called them out as “products of the mechanical age”

”poorly built and subject to decay” with a “dehumanizing monotony”.

Sound familiar?

Comments in a lot of those Tik Tok videos, they say things like,

"Oh, it looks mass-produced. They look phony."

I mean, that's literally the exact same language that was being used

in the 1900s to talk about the brownstones.

That building we mentioned earlier in Camden, New Jersey

was built using low-income housing tax credits.

It has 245 units, geared towards seniors

and families making less than 60 percent of the area’s median income.

It’s easy to see why the construction of affordable housing like this is a good thing

but what about the new, market rate buildings that service middle and higher-income people?

They’ve come to symbolize displacement.

Or the idea that existing residents could be forced, involuntarily, to move out.

Often for reasons like rent increases or eviction.

Since developers like to build in places where prices are already rising

new buildings tend to correlate with those increased rents and displacement.

But a growing number of researchers have tried to find out whether these new buildings

are the cause of displacement.

They were testing “the demand effect”

or the idea that the new buildings increase demand for the neighborhood

which in turn causes rent hikes that force people to leave.

But the research suggests the opposite.

An overwhelming “supply effect”.

Where increasing the supply of new buildings

even if they are market rate

made housing less scarce and decreased rents and risks of displacement

especially in the areas closest to the new buildings.

New housing freed up space within a neighborhood

for new residents to move in without taking up existing homes.

And it also meant when they moved from theirpast homes

they freed up housing units in those neighborhoods as well.

But here’s the thing:

less displacement was happening near new construction

but it didn’t necessarily mean less gentrification was happening.

Because gentrification and displacement aren’t the same thing.

While displacement happens to people, gentrification happens to a place.

When an area experiences demographic change

typically going from lower income tenants to higher income ones

shown here in the darker green.

Over time, demographic shifts in the neighborhood could still occur

not because existing residents were displaced

but for other reasons: maybe people decided to move to more desirable neighborhoods

or some passed away.

And the research suggests when that happened

residents were more likely to be replaced by richer people.

Meaning gentrification was happening, but without forced displacement.

So, to reduce both displacement and gentrification

you need more market rate and affordable housing

like that building in New Jersey.

Affordable housing, along with policies like rental assistance

preserve income diversity, making sure those with lower incomes

can always live in a particular neighborhood.

If there is a scarcity of a product, we know this in every market:

when there is not enough of something, the only people who get anything are rich people.

And so you have to make sure that there's enough for everyone at every level.

But there’s one very big obstacle to building housing for everyone, everywhere.

Wealthy neighborhoods across the US are really good at blocking new housing developments.

Take a look at this map of New Haven, Connecticut

compared to the nearby, wealthier town of Woodbridge, Connecticut.

When we take a look at local zoning laws and where multi-family developments

are allowed in these areas.

There’s virtually no land in Woodbridge zoned for them.

Single-family zoning laws block the vast majority of apartments

or affordable housing in this area.

When you have political power concentrated in the hands of very few wealthy homeowners

and they say, "We're not going to allow housing here."

Of course, there's going to be an unequal distribution of housing.

In 2020, after a 4-unit multi-family building was proposed in Woodbridge

a group of residents even created these flyers saying “Do we want this next door?”

Pitting single-family homes against multi-family buildings.

And this kind of conflict happens everywhere

from Woodbridge, to Soho, to San Francisco.

In some places, activists have found a way to use the language of gentrification

against changing zoning laws.

For example, in response to a proposed California bill

pushing for more housing near areas with transit

including a specific percentage of affordable housing

a group called Livable California said

building more housing would add “jet fuel to a gentrification crisis.”

They see the power of this rhetoric

and they are using it as a tool to muddle the debate to make it seem like

building new housing is actually going to create displacement

when we know what creates displacement

is not building new housing.

That's what's so kind of dangerous about this entire debate.

We have gotten to a place where the actual policy solution

is seen as part of the problem.