May 2021 - Rainier Beach Action Coalition, the Multicultural Community Coalition and Puget Sound Sage came together to develop a shared analysis of the threats of the COVID-19 pandemic. Scroll through this page to learn about what we refer to as ‘Disaster Gentrification’. 

Disaster Gentrification occurs when people with wealth take advantage of a disaster to buy and/or take land and housing for cheap from lower-income people, and then sell or rent to higher-income people for a profit.

 

In the United States, this often results in the dispossession of land, loss of wealth, and forced relocation for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

Without intervention, disasters contribute to a cycle of dispossession and displacement that creates deeper vulnerability for BIPOC communities when the next disaster inevitably comes.

A Recent Cycle of Disaster Gentrification in King County: the 2007-2008 Mortgage Crisis 


 

In 2008, the United States experienced an economic disaster. The subprime mortgage market, which preyed on BIPOC families, crashed resulting in a foreclosure crisis for millions. The crash of this market had a ripple effect, resulting in massive unemployment and foreclosures across all kinds of mortgages.

Our Federal and local governments did not intervene quickly or aggressively enough, but corporate entities were ready. They bought up land across King County and thousands of BIPOC families across King County were displaced through the cycle of Disaster Gentrification.

Where in King County did Foreclosures hit hardest?

The Seattle Times mapped foreclosures between 2008 and 2014. Foreclosures occurred disproportionately in BIPOC neighborhoods in Seattle and South King County. In zip code 98118 – located in the Rainier Valley – lenders foreclosed on 1,496 homes, amounting to 8% percent of 2014 housing stock. In comparison, Madison Valley (98112), with a current median home price of $959,000 and a 75.6% white population, only 242 foreclosures occurred amounting to just 2% of the housing stock.

Corporate Landlords Bought BIPOC Homes and Land in King County

This article gives a snapshot of the scale of corporate real estate entities in our communities in the aftermath of the Great Recession. In April of 2013, Invitation Homes bought an average of 10 homes per day; by year’s end Blackstone had purchased 1,585 homes in the Seattle metro area. In all of 2013, major investors bought about 3,100 single-family homes, five times more than in 2012.

The Aftermath: One in Eleven Black adults was evicted between 2013 and 2017

The University of Washington’s Eviction Project Researchers studied evictions In King and Pierce County, data suggests one in 11 Black adults was evicted between 2013 and 2017—and it’s even worse in Pierce County, with 1 in 6 Black adults evicted in the same period.

A Recipe for COVID-19 Disaster Gentrification


 

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted BIPOC communities in King County, compounding existing threats of skyrocketing housing costs and displacement pressures. Two of the four steps in a Disaster Gentrification cycle have happened:

Vulnerability

BIPOC communities are extremely vulnerable to dispossession, with high risks of widespread evictions and foreclosures.

Speculation

Global investors and giant equity firms wait in the wings with billions in dollars to speculate on distressed properties.

Our local governments need to act now to prevent dispossession and displacement to stop Disaster Gentrification from happening.

How do we stop Disaster Gentrification?


 

Our local governments can stop disaster gentrification by passing policies that stop the dispossession of our BIPOC communities and increase BIPOC control over how our neighborhoods change. These policies include:

Take Action: Share this page


 

While we are still in the early stages of economic recovery from the pandemic, it's important for our local governments to take action as soon as possible to prevent history from repeating itself.

Share this page with your fellow community members and elected officials!

In the News

Stopping Disaster Gentrification Post-Pandemic Will Require Robust Action by Gregory Davis, Managing Strategist at Rainer Beach Action Coalition, South Seattle Emerald

Disaster Gentrification Series Part 1 by Jerrell Davis, Rainier Beach Action Coalition

Disaster Gentrification Series Part 2 by Jerrell Davis, Rainier Beach Action Coalition

Art by Jing Wei

This is a joint research project with Multicultural Community Coalition and Rainier Beach Action Coalition.