Researchers at Rutgers University-Newark released a report on how gentrification is impacting Newark, Paterson, and Jersey City, and discovered the experiences of three urban centers vary, though in each case, job creation is lacking.
The report, “The Other Cities: Migration and Gentrification in Jersey City, Newark and Paterson,’’ was published by Rutgers Law School’s Center on Law, inequality & Metropolitan Equity (CLiME) and explores how each city fits the traditional model of gentrification and how they depart from it.
To summarize the findings, Jersey City is fully gentrified, Newark is in transition, and Paterson is on a different path. In all three cities, long-time residents are being uprooted by rising property values, and each city struggles with job creation that’s normally part of gentrification, according to the researchers.
The report describes housing trends and neighborhood changes in these cities — which have experienced large population growth — a persistent lack of housing affordability, and a decrease in African American residents. The researchers said mid-sized cities such as the ones studied are often overlooked.
“Quietly, their costs are rising, and homelessness is expanding,” said the report. “They are grappling with change amid efforts to revitalize and jobs are not attracting newcomers,’’ according to the report.
Of the three cities, Jersey City and Newark show signs of gentrification, driven by an influx of more affluent newcomers who commute to jobs in New York City, said David Troutt, director of CLiME. He cited Jersey City’s “street level gentrification assets” such as restaurants, bars, and cafes. Newark, by contrast, “privatizes many of those attractions within the developments themselves. That’s why you see buildings that contain their own playrooms, theatres, gyms and other amenities,’’ he said.
In contrast, Paterson is experiencing a sharp increase in real estate values without the trendy commercial spots that often result from gentrification, said Troutt.
The study divides the cities into three categories:
- Jersey City is the “Bedroom City,” a fully gentrified place where population growth and higher prices are associated with its proximity to jobs across the Hudson River in New York City. People moving into and around Jersey City, where development is booming, are more affluent and highly educated than in Paterson or Newark. International migration is still a primary catalyst for growth in Jersey City. Forty-one percent of Jersey City residents are foreign-born, with roughly half from Asia, including India, China and the Philippines.
- Newark is experiencing “Jobless Gentrification,” where investment in expensive market-rate new housing and investor-led renovations raise prices without the corresponding job growth seen in traditional gentrification. The city has tried to ensure that a portion of new units are affordable, like Paterson and Jersey City, but it still has a shortage. Most people moving into Newark are coming from nearby areas. Others are part of the ongoing flow of people from the Caribbean, South America, and West Africa.
- Paterson is the “Migrant Metro,” a species of municipalities that have become mosaics of working-class immigration whose density alone—not jobs or new housing—have intensified a lack of affordability. Its population is at least two-thirds Latino, with a substantial number of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Paterson also has a growing Arab American community.
Additional findings from the report:
- Jersey City, Paterson and Newark each challenge the belief that people come to cities for work. Instead, immigration is the driver. The report said “working class centers of immigration are no longer the affordable places they once were. People may not come for work but [to be with] other people like them.”
- All three cities saw a displacement of Black residents within the last ten years. Since 2013, Jersey City has lost 2,936 Black residents and Paterson has shed 4,540 Black residents. Newark has had a large influx of Black, Caribbean and West African people. So, while it has gained 1,810 Black residents since 2013, this suggests some African Americans have left the city.
