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[55] How Has the Covid-19 Pandemic Affected Neighborhood Gentrification?

Case studies of two Seattle neighborhoods

○Naomi Uchida¹ (1. Saitama University)

Keywords:Gentrification, Pandemic, Investment inflows

This study examines the hypothesis that the pandemic in the United States may have accelerated gentrification as an influx of investment, focusing on two neighborhoods in the city of Seattle, South Lake Union, and Capitol Hill. The former is a case study of new-build gentrification and the latter is a case study of retail gentrification. Local newspaper reports, the status of the development sites and their owners, changes in commerce during the pandemic, and changes in real estate valuations were analyzed to determine the impact of the pandemic on gentrification and to verify the hypotheses. Although property valuations declined during the pandemic, the study found that store closings and new inflows were accelerated in the retail gentrification case area, while investment inflows continued in the new build gentrification case area.