Why do some neighborhoods evolve and gentrify while others don’t? This fascinating story is about a joint research program between MIT and Harvard to identify what causes urban change. Tested with five American cities, this system quantifies the physical improvement or deterioration of neighborhoods. The early results are already surprising: “Contrary to popular belief, raw income levels and housing prices do not predict change in a neighborhood. Instead, it had more to do with other factors. The researchers found that the density of highly educated residents, proximity to central business districts or other physically attractive neighborhoods, and the initial safety score assigned by the computer vision system all lead to improvements in the physical condition.” This is the kind of research that we all should hope city planners and local governments will actually read and act upon.
Read the full story on Digital Trends >
Love non-obvious stories? Get my weekly newsletter with stories like this one along with a short but useful analysis of why it matters … all delivered directly to your inbox every Thursday morning!
Subscribe to the Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter here >
TRENDING CURRENTLY
- How MindValley Is Building the Next TED (Only More Useful) »
- What Does Chacha Mean To You? (The Power Of A Name) »
- My 500th Blog Post – A Big Thank You »
- Is “Sludge” a Real Customer Service Tactic to Avoid Irate Customers? »
- Manifesto For The Content Curator: The Next Big Social Media Job Of The Future ? »
0 thoughts on "MIT Shares Theory On Why Some Neighborhoods Evolve"