Gentrification in London & New York

According to CityLab Greenpoint & Williamsburg, Bushwick, Central Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Chinatown and Lower East Side are five New York neighborhoods currently experiencing gentrification.

CityLab teamed up with Esri to map New York City Comptroller data. This data compares economic and demographic profiles of New York neighborhoods in 2000 and 2015. In Mapping the Modern Transformation of New York City CityLab uses the data to map which neighborhoods have experienced the biggest increases and decreases in average income levels.

CityLab also uses the data to show the changing racial makeup of New York's neighborhoods.


In London there is a far simpler method for working out which areas are experiencing gentrification. The 'Fried Chicken Method' compares the density of coffee shops in a neighborhood to the density of fried chicken shops. If a neighborhood has a higher density of coffee shops than fried chicken shops and the cost of property in the neighborhood is below the London average then the neighborhood is in the process of gentrification.

The 'Fried Chicken Method' was invented by Sam Floy. In How to know if where you live is “up and coming”: fried chicken vs. coffee shops Floy compares heat maps of coffee & fried chicken shops to identify the areas with more coffee shops. He then overlays these areas on a property value heat map in order to identify which of these areas are in parts of London where it is relatively cheaper to buy property.