Does Inclusionary Housing Alleviate the Negative Health Impacts of Gentrification?

Abstract

This study explores whether inclusionary housing (IH) is a mediating factor that explains the connection between gentrification and health outcomes at the city level. The research relies on new nationwide IH data from Grounded Solutions Network, data from the City Health Dashboard to measure health outcomes, and U.S. Census data to quantify the stage and scope of gentrification. Applying both descriptive methods and regression models, we find that the association between gentrification and health is mixed: the scope of recent gentrification in a city is associated with higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension, but also with better access to healthy food. The positive effect of gentrification on better access to healthy food, however, is not observed for the Black population. The presence of IH is positively associated with all three health outcome measures. In addition, the association between IH and health outcomes is stronger than, and independent from, the association between recent gentrification and health outcomes. The results support health benefits of IH programs and imply the need for proactive and race-conscious affordable housing policy interventions to foster better population health outcomes.