The Association Between Gentrification and Social Determinants of Health in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Gentrification is a process of neighborhood change characterized by capital investment in historically disinvested neighborhoods and an influx of residents of higher socioeconomic status. While gentrification generates neighborhood improvements that benefit newcomers, it has been recognized as a public health issue encompassed by inequities in housing, economic, and health opportunities for longtime residents, specifically low-income and Black populations who are at high risk of physical and social displacement. Thus, this cross-sectional ecological study based in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania sought to 1) identify the relationship between gentrification status and three neighborhood-level indices and 2) determine if the rate of Black population change from 2010-2020 modified such relationship by interaction with each of the indices. We used separate logistic regression models for three neighborhood-level indices quantifying the relationship between gentrification status and each index. Gentrification status was statistically associated with housing value (OR=0.66; 95% CI: 0.57-0.77), community need (OR=0.42; 95% CI: 0.27-0.65), and environmental justice (OR=0.62; 95% CI: 0.47-0.81). This analysis contributes to the growing body of literature on the relationship between gentrification and health by examining neighborhood-level social determinants of health in Allegheny County, a matter of great public health significance