New Faces, Changing Spaces: How Gentrification Shapes Household Demand for Policing

How does gentrification impact household demand for policing? Previous research finds that gentrification is associated with more calls to the police but cannot show which types of residents make these calls or evaluate explanations for why these calls occur. My household-level approach allows me to test ethnographic findings about gentrifiers’ demand for policing. Using a within-subject design that matches 2014–2021 voter file data with call records from Austin, TX, I show that gentrifiers make more calls to the police than long-term residents in gentrifying neighborhoods and that this increasing call volume is associated with the act of moving. Specifically, I show that gentrifiers demand more policing when they move into spaces with relatively greater poverty and more non-White residents net changes in crime. These findings highlight the impact of race and class in shaping how privileged citizens wield power in gentrifying contexts.