Gentrification represents a striking reversal of decline in many US cities, yet it

is controversial because of its perceived negative consequences for original neighborhood

residents. In this paper, we use new longitudinal census microdata to provide

the first causal evidence of how gentrification affects a broad set of outcomes for

incumbent adults and children. Gentrification modestly increases out-migration,

though movers are not made observably worse off and aggregate neighborhood

change is driven primarily by changes to in-migration. At the same time, many

original resident adults stay and benefit from declining poverty exposure and rising

house values. Children benefit from increased exposure to neighborhood characteristics

known to be correlated with economic opportunity, and some are more likely

to attend and complete college. Our results suggest that accommodative policies,

such as increasing housing supply in high-demand urban areas, could increase the

opportunity benefits we find, reduce out-migration pressure, and promote long-term

affordability

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