Gentrification and Business Closures in Maryland’s Purple Line Corridor

Abstract

The State of Maryland is investing in a new light rail line, the Purple Line, in the suburbs of Washington, DC. Whether or not the corridor it travels through is gentrifying is unknown, as are the impacts of both the construction and neighborhood gentrification on the local economy. In this paper, census data are used to identify neighborhood gentrification along the rail line. With a novel data source, employment, wages, and firm closures are tracked and analyzed. Even in advance of completion of the light rail line, much of the Purple Line Corridor is gentrifying, and impacts to businesses are potentially significant.