The 2008-2010 foreclosure crisis and the Beltline project present two significant forces shaping neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Both the high foreclosure rates and the promise of public and private investment create conditions for the displacement of existing residents and for the gentrification of the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Pittsburgh in particular. Through qualitative analysis, including interviews with residents, community leaders, and government officials, the development of overlay analysis maps of Pittsburgh, as well as studying the various stakeholders' perception of risk for gentrification in Pittsburgh, this research examines how and why these stakeholders' perception of the risk of gentrification in Pittsburgh varies, and what these various perceptions mean. Furthermore, it suggests that scholars of the gentrification process should more fully consider the ways in which residents of impacted neighborhoods understand both local and more “global” dynamics of property markets and how various policies seek to mitigate the deleterious effects of gentrification.

The 2008-2010 foreclosure crisis and the Beltline project present two significant forces shaping neighborhoods throughout Atlanta. Both the high foreclosure rates and the promise of public and private investment create conditions for the displacement of existing residents and for the gentrification of the southwest Atlanta neighborhood of Pittsburgh in particular. Through qualitative analysis, including interviews with residents, community leaders, and government officials, the development of overlay analysis maps of Pittsburgh, as well as studying the various stakeholders' perception of risk for gentrification in Pittsburgh, this research examines how and why these stakeholders' perception of the risk of gentrification in Pittsburgh varies, and what these various perceptions mean. Furthermore, it suggests that scholars of the gentrification process should more fully consider the ways in which residents of impacted neighborhoods understand both local and more “global” dynamics of property markets and how various policies seek to mitigate the deleterious effects of gentrification.