Monday, January 26, 2009

Changing Neighborhoods in New York City

The NY Times recently published some interesting statistics about changes in various neighborhoods since the last census in 2000.
Here's what they said about my neighborhood, "Sunset Park/Windsor Terrace," labeled #7 in Brooklyn on the graphic.

  • 72% more adults with bachelor's degrees but no higher degrees
  • 33% fewer residents who work in construction and manufacturing

None of that surprised me at all. My gentrifying neighborhood has changed a lot over even the past few years, let alone looking back to 2000. I wish I had more statistics about how rents have gone up in line with these demographic changes!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't think you can link those two. There could be other reasons why fewer people work in construction.

Madame X said...

I'm not sure why the article focused on those two particular facts, but I don't think a cause/effect relationship is implied. The neighborhood has a lot more college educated people moving in because it has recently become more popular as an inexpensive alternative to other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, places like Park Slope and Carroll Gardens that used to be considered somewhat affordable for teachers, writers, people in the arts, etc.
The fewer people in construction and manufacturing is probably due to general trends in Brooklyn that have been happening for a long time now-- the disappearance of those kinds of jobs, of which there used to be many in waterfront areas not far from where I live.