The future of cities
Shownotes
Jackelyn Hwang is an expert on the social dynamics of cities. In one line of research, she combines AI and Google Street View to measure quality-of-life factors – such as trash, blight, new construction, and the pace of recovery from climate disasters – to analyze gentrification, racial equity, and overall resident well-being. Her work has shown, for instance, that predominantly Black neighborhoods are last and slowest to gentrify and that displaced Black residents often end up in worse neighborhoods. She recently worked with policymakers at the housing department of Oakland, California, on anti-displacement and anti-homelessness programs and is now working with policymakers across the Bay Area to strengthen neighborhoods. We are clearing a path to more stable communities for everyone, Hwang tells host Russ Altman on this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of Everything podcast.
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Episode Reference Links:
- Stanford Profile: Jackelyn Hwang
- Learn more about Jackie's work on housing instability in Oakland
Connect With Us:
- Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
- Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
- Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook
Chapters:
(00:00:00) Introduction
Russ Altman introduces guest Jackie Hwang, a professor of sociology at Stanford University.
(00:02:53) Path into Urban Sociology
How Hwang’s experiences near Philadelphia shaped her interest in cities, inequality, and neighborhood change.
(00:04:56) The 21st-Century American City
How gentrification, immigration, crime, education, housing, and climate change are reshaping cities.
(00:08:03) Defining Gentrification
How sociologists understand gentrification as a class-based transformation of neighborhoods.
(00:10:02) Studying Gentrification
Why race, segregation, and neighborhood inequality complicate simple stories of urban renewal.
(00:11:50) Displacement and Instability
Why gentrification does not always increase moving rates, but still affects where people end up.
(00:14:48) Policy and Anti-Displacement
How Hwang’s research informs local policy, housing strategy, and homelessness prevention.
(00:18:10) Measuring Neighborhood Change
How technology can help researchers study changing neighborhoods at scale.
(00:18:55) Google Street View and Cities
How Street View opened new ways to observe gentrification and neighborhood conditions.
(00:20:36) Computer Vision for Urban Research
How AI and computer vision are being used to analyze neighborhood conditions.
(00:21:53) What Neighborhoods Reveal
How visible signs like trash, blight, vacant lots, and construction signal neighborhood change.
(00:23:10) Eye Tracking and Perception
How researchers study what people notice in neighborhoods and how those cues affect stress.
(00:24:09) Climate Change and Recovery
How disasters can widen neighborhood inequality through uneven rebuilding and abandonment.
(00:26:14) Neighborhoods and Wellbeing
How better measurements of neighborhood conditions could guide interventions for safer, more stable communities.
(00:28:00) Future In a Minute
Rapid-fire Q&A: affordable housing, neighborhood change, and better urban data.
(00:29:32) Conclusion
Connect With Us:
Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook
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