Does an Urban Wilderness Promote Gentrification? A Case Study from Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Jilleah G. Welch, Charles Sims and Michael L. McKinney
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Jilleah G. Welch: Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, University of Tennessee, 1640 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Michael L. McKinney: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 1621 Cumberland Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: The Knoxville Urban Wilderness (KUW) is a successful example of a growing global movement to utilize vacant urban land as many cities “de-urbanize”. A key question is whether this particular kind of green space promotes social inequality via green gentrification. Our analysis shows how the KUW has affected nearby home prices. Socioeconomic data including income, educational attainment, and race is also presented to explore the possibility of gentrification in South Knoxville. Our findings do not support strong evidence of gentrification, which implies that lower-income households are benefiting from advances in environmental amenities. Other households in specific areas are benefiting from both increases in home values and from expansions of the KUW. These are encouraging results for urban planning efforts that seek to utilize large areas of vacant urban land while also having positive social and economic impacts.

Keywords: urban wilderness; gentrification; green space; social inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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