How the Land Use of Meatpacking District Has Been Changed Since 1840? A Geographic Information System (GIS) Application for Mapping Gentrification Using Historic Data of Land Use and Ownership Changes

The possibilities for mapping gentrification using the capabilities of a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the historic data of property land use and ownership changes are explored by constructing GIS and then analysing and mapping the change patterns in the Meatpacking District from 1840 to 2003. In contrast to previous studies, this analysis was conducted by using historic information, with narrower definition of gentrification only as the pattern of land use change from particular businesses such as, meatpacking to other activities for instance, galleries, five star restaurants, offices, or luxury apartments. It was found that, the Meatpacking District is a definite gentrified neighbourhood, and GIS is an appropriate tool for gentrification research, particularly, once wealth information is available.