What Drives Neighborhood Trajectories in Legacy Cities?

This paper explores the dynamics of neighborhood change in legacy cities in the United States through a review of salient research and an analysis of neighborhood characteristics and trends in a cluster of cities. The data shows widespread patterns of sustained neighborhood decline in legacy cities, driven by demographic changes, residential economic sorting, workforce erosion, housing obsolescence, and continued suburban competition. Based on those findings and reflecting the research literature, the author offers a series of directions designed to lead to development of an integrated model of neighborhood change, suggesting that observable phenomena need to be better linked to changes in behavior and perceptions in order to understanding the dynamics of neighborhood change.