Can urban renewal policies reverse neighborhood ethnic dynamics?

Abstract

This article assesses the impact on neighborhood population dynamics of a major urban renewal policy that was implemented in Catalonia (Spain) between 2004 and 2010. The policy involved sizeable investments in the public spaces and facilities of some of the most deprived neighborhoods in the region. Besides seeking to improve the quality of life in the treated neighborhoods, one of the policy's goals was to attract natives and high income individuals and, as a consequence, reduce the concentration of poverty and immigration. (...)