This master’s thesis identifies the potential impacts of planning policies and key stakeholder groups on Red Hook, Brooklyn given current development trends and the neighborhood changes such as gentrification. The premise of this thesis is that through understanding the catalysts and impacts of social and economic change in similar neighborhoods, together with the analysis of current zoning, planning policies, and neighborhood culture and demographics in Red Hook, it is possible to identify how future changes may generate positive outcomes for the neighborhood. A review of planning literature provides a perspective on the disinvestment to reinvestment process seen in many New York City neighborhoods during the second half of the 20th century. The case study research method relying primarily on qualitative data is applied to gain a contextual analysis of the complex urban planning issues in Red Hook. A study of the planning and development impacts on three waterfront neighborhoods in New York City – Battery Park City, the Lower East Side, and Williamsburg – reveals the catalysts of neighborhood change in those neighborhoods and suggests the potential socio-economic impacts of future redevelopment in Red Hook.