Studentification and the Political Displacement of the Black Worker Electorate

Abstract

Studentification research shows how urban universities transform surrounding neighborhoods into more transient, dense, renter, and segregated places. Despite work on economic, social, physical, and cultural changes, there is a dearth of literature that examines racial and political changes. This dimension is especially important given the impact of many American universities upon historic Black neighborhoods which played a crucial role in struggles for political and economic democracy. This paper examines census data aggregated at the political district level and maps election data to understand the extent to which political districts surrounding Philadelphia universities have studentified, whether studentified and Black Worker neighborhoods emerge as distinct political cleavages, and whether these divisions played a role in two recent elections that saw the unseating of Black Worker incumbents. It argues that the studentification of the Black Worker political districts is correlated with the political displacement of the Black Worker electorate.