International Migration, Gentrification, and Neighbourhood Change: Insights from Buffalo's Refugee and Immigrant Communities

Information from the organisers

This study examines how immigrant and refugee settlement has intersected with socioeconomic and demographic change in Buffalo, New York, USA. Using a systematic case-study design that integrates multiple data sources, the analysis traces uneven transformations across the city over the past fifty years. In many neighborhoods, the growth of diverse refugee and immigrant groups has contributed to population stabilization, housing revitalization, new commercial activity, and shifting social dynamics. At the same time, other areas continue to experience sharp inequality, while others are undergoing gentrification driven largely by white in-movers, producing contrasting pathways of neighborhood change. These patterns show how international migration has become a central, though uneven, force in Buffalo’s urban redevelopment.

Robert Adelman is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Buffalo. His research specialises in urban sociology.