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Annotated Bibliography

Mass Transit Systems, Gentrification, and the Charlotte Blue Line Extension

Elissa Miller
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
24 October 2016

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Annotated Bibliography
Gillespie,Patrick."HowGentrificationMayBenefitthePoorNov.12,2015."CNNMoney,12
Nov.2015.Web.21Oct.2016.
ThissourceisanarticleonthewebsiteCNNMoney,apartofthenewssourceCNN,that
focusesprimarilyonbusinessandinvestmentrelatednews.Thearticlewaspublishedlast
yearandmakestheclaimthatgentrificationisnotabadthingfortheinhabitantsofthe
areabeinggentrified.ItcitesastudybythePhiladelphiaFederalReserveasproofofthis,
aswellastestimonyfromLanceFreemanofColumbiaUniversity.Thearticlearguesthat
thebenefitsthatcomewithgentrification,suchasrisingpropertyvaluesandbettercredit
scores,outweighthecosts.Italsostatesthatlowincomepeopleingentrifyingareas
arentactuallymorelikelytomoveoutofthearea.Thisalmostsoundsasifthearticleis
statingthatgentrificationdoesntexist.However,itdoesacknowledgeafewnuancesof
theissue.Itconcedesthatlowincomepeoplethatmoveoutofthegentrifyingareamost
oftenmovetopoorerneighborhoods.Itsalsomoredifficultforalowincomepersonto
moveintothegentrifyingarea.
CNNisgenerallyareliablesource.Itisawellestablishednewsorganizationthattendsto
befreeofmajorbiases.Thesourcesthearticlecitesarealsoexpertsintheirfield,onea
governmentagencyandoneaprofessorofurbanplanningatamajoruniversity.
However,thearticleseemsmisleading.Itfirstmakesthecasethatgentrificationmaynot
evenexist.Bytheend,itthencontradictsitselfbyacknowledgingthattherearenuances
andthattheissueismorecomplicatedthanthearticleoriginallymadeitsound.Italsois
onlyfocusedongentrificationstudiesinthecityofPhiladelphia.Findingsshowing

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gentrificationasgoodinonecitymaynotapplytoothers.Thesestudiesalsocontradict
otherstudiesofgentrificationandthecommonconsensusthatitisanegativeevent.
Iplantousethisarticleasapossiblecounterargumenttomyresearchpaper.Icanuse
theideasbroughtupinthearticleandrefutethemusingotherresearchandinformationI
havefoundonthetopic.Thiswillinturnimprovemypaperandargument.Thearticle
alsohelpsmetobetterunderstandbothpointsofviewaboutthecomplicatedissueof
gentrification,somethingthatisnuancedanddifferentineverycity.Itisimportantto
listentoalltheinformationcomingoutaroundit.
Jones,CraigE.,andDavidLey."TransitorientedDevelopmentandGentrificationalong
MetroVancouver'sLowincomeSkyTrainCorridor."TheCanadianGeographer/Le
GographeCanadien60.1(2016):922.AcademicSearchComplete.Web.17Oct.2016.
ThissourceisapeerreviewedjournaloriginallypublishedinFebruaryofthisyear.It
studiesthegentrificationofalowincomeareaalongtheCityofVancouversSkyTrain.
Thejournalfirstusespreviousresearchtogivebackgroundinformationonthesubject.
Specifically,itestablishesthatproximitytotransitleadstohigherpropertyvaluesand
gentrification.ItthenfocusesontheareaalongVancouversSkyTrainrouteandthe
characteristicsofthepeoplethatlivethere.Theareaislowincomeandhasanextremely
highproportionofimmigrantsandrefugees.Thetwomajorneighborhoodsstudiedwere
thoseofMaywoodandRichmondPark.65%ofthepeoplelivingintheseneighborhoods
werebornoverseas.Dwellingstherescorelowonneedandqualityindicators,indicating
thattheygenerallyarentingoodcondition.Yet,manyoftheresidentsfeeltheareaisa
greatplacetolive,praisingitsproximitytotheSkyTrain(desperatelyneeded,asmanyof

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theresidentsoftheareacannotdrive)andthesenseofcommunitycreatedbybeing
aroundotherimmigrantsfromthesamecountry.However,thepriceofhousingisamajor
concern.Rentscontinuetoriseasthecityfailstoconserveaffordablehousing.Anew
zoningresolutioncalledSzoninghasallowedforolderaffordablehousingoptionsto
betorndown,makingwayforhighrises.Thegovernmenthasdonerelativelylittleto
help,takingastancesummedupbyacouncilmemberas,nooneowesyouanything.
WhileresidentsofRichmondParkhavelargelynotyetfelttheeffectsofgentrification,
thoseinMaywoodexpressfeelingsofhelplessnesstowardsthesituation.Theydescribeit
astheattackofthehighrises.
CraigE.JonesandDavidLeyauthoredthejournal.JonesisaPhDcandidateatthe
UniversityofBritishColumbiawhileLeyisaprofessorthere.Thejournalregularlycites
itssourcesanddrawsonpreviousresearch.Itisclearthattheauthorsconsiderably
studiedtheissue,especiallyinthequotationstheygarneredfromtheirinterviewsubjects.
However,Icansensesomebiasintheirwords.Thereareafewinstancesofpolitically
chargedlanguagehiddeninthejournal.Overall,Idsayitdoesreliablyrecountthe
informationthoughIwilllikelylookintopossibleothersidesoftheissue.
ThisjournalwillbeextremelyhelpfultomeinpredictinghowtheLynxtrainextension
willaffectCharlotte.Thereareveryfewresourcesdirectlyattemptingtoprovealink
betweengentrificationandmasstransit,yetthisoneisextremelyapplicable.Thelow
incomecorridordescribedinthejournalstronglyresemblestheareawherethenewLynx
trainextensionwillbeput.Thenewlinerunsdirectlyinanareaofmostlylowerincome
inhabitantsinhousesbelowCharlottesmedianaverageprice.Itisanalsoareawherethe

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surgingLatinoandimmigrantpopulationinCharlottehasprimarilysettled.Basedon
howVancouverhasbeentransformed,Ishouldbeabletomakesomepredictionsabout
Charlotte.
Perman,David."NycSubway:MainPage."Nycsubway.org.N.p.,n.d.Web.18
Oct.2016.
ThissourceisawebsitemanagedbyDavidPerman.Itisnotaffiliateddirectlywiththe
MTA(MetropolitanTransitAuthority),however,itcontainslotsofofficialmapsand
information.Oneofitslargestresourcesisacollectionofhistoricalarticlesand
documentsaboutthehistoryoftheNewYorkSubway.Documentsrangeinoriginfrom
articlesbytheHistoricAmericanEngineeringRecordtoabookfrom1918aboutNew
YorkCitysfirstsubway.Thewebsitealsofeaturesacollectionofmaps,bothcurrentand
historical.Otheraspectsofthewebsiteincludealistofsubwaycars(pastandpresent)
andarticlesonhowthesubwayisrun,suchasalistofsubwaysignalsandtheirmeanings
onhowpowerisgenerated.
Isthisareliablesource?Generally,manyofthearticlesonitIwouldconsiderreliable.
Theycomefrompublishedbooksorgovernmentrecords.Authorscaneasilybelooked
upandfactchecked.Mostcontributorshavebiographieslisted.However,thereislittleto
noinfoonthemanagerofthewebsite,DavidPerman.Therearealsodisclaimersstating
thatthewebsiteisnotaffiliatedwithMTA.Mybestconclusionisthatwhilethearticles
andinformationonthewebsitearelargelytrue,IwouldsuggestusingtheofficialMTA
websiteforthemostreliablemapandrouteinformation.

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IplantousethissourcetostudyandbetterunderstandNewYorkCityssubwaysystem
anditshistory.DiscussionofmasstransitinfluencedgentrificationinNYCwillbemuch
easiertounderstandknowingthehistoryandgeneralrouteofthesubway.Also,basedon
howthesubwayhasimpactedthecity,Ishouldbeabletopredictsomeoftheeffects
expansionsofmasstransitcouldhaveonCharlotte.SinceNewYorkCityssubwayis
mucholderthanmostothersintheUnitedStates,itgivesmeawindowintothetruly
longtermeffectsmasstransitexpansioncanhaveratherthanjusttheshortterm.
Portillo,Ely."CanLightRailTurnUniversityCityintoaWalkableDowntown?"TheCharlotte
Observer,20May2016.Web.17Oct.2016.
This source is an article by the Charlotte Observer written in May of this year. It
discusses how the new Charlotte Lynx Blue Rail extension could change the University
City area. The article first states that the building of the original light rail in 2007 gave
rise to a building boom of new breweries, apartments, and new residents along the line.
The group University City Partners has brought in six area property owners (including
UNC Charlotte) to discuss the possibility of creating similar growth in University City.
Their main idea is to turn the area, one mostly of spaced out shopping centers and cul-desacs, into a dense and developed space centered around the light rail station. Essentially,
they envision buildings with stores on the ground floor and apartments above. However,
this will present a challenge. University City is extremely car centric and has heavy
traffic. Ownership is split between many people and thus it will be hard to approve any
changes. Still, Tobe Holmes, the previous director of Historic South End, sees a future.
University City is the second largest employment center in Charlotte and has many
residents. Thus, people already live and work in the area. Bill Leonard, president of

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Carolina Healthcare Systems University, believes that pedestrian and bicyclist friendly
development would be the most help in transforming University City.
I generally consider The Charlotte Observer to be a reliable source. It is the largest
newspaper in the Carolinas and has won Pulitzer Prizes in the past. The reporter, Ely
Portillo, has been working for The Charlotte Observer for seven years. He should be
familiar with the area, its people, and its issues. While I wouldnt exactly call it biased, it
is very odd to me that an article about development ignores the concept of gentrification.
It also doesnt mention the incomes or types of people who live in the area, something
that would definitely influence the kind of development possible in University City.
I find this article extremely helpful in being able to see how Charlotte and University
Citys leaders want the area to develop. They have goals, though they may not be entirely
possible. Based on my current research on gentrification, lots of the kind of development
mentioned echoes examples of gentrification in other cities. The discussion of adding
more bike paths and sidewalks references back to transit oriented development, a subject
linked to gentrification in Jones and Leys journal. There is also a suggestion of adding
apartments and new people to the area. If people are coming, are others going to be
pushed out? There is no discussion or mention of low-income housing or poorer
communities in the article. The idea of gentrification is either being ignored/forgotten by
University City Partners or by the newspaper.