From “Street Car Suburb” to “Student Ghetto”: Allston and Urban Change

Sociology Ph.D. candidate Sarah Hosman, under the advisement of Professor of Sociology Japonica Brown-Saracino, will examine the urban identity of the Boston neighborhood of Allston. Rather than following typical patterns of gentrification of disinvestment, Allston has instead fluctuated between decline and ascent as Boston’s “student ghetto”.

Hosman seeks to understand how the neighborhood’s fluctuating trajectory of change has influenced residents’ day-to-day practices and attitudes. She will examine the influence of Allston’s cultural and social frameworks on current practices like shopping and home-buying, which help to trigger change and investment.

Hosman will interview a broad range of stakeholders, including a diverse cohort of residents, real estate agents and institutional actors from the City and community organizations, and analyze residential and commercial real estate markets. She seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of neighborhood change that does not fit traditional scholarly models of decline, ascent or stability.

View more projects funded through our Early Stage Urban Research Awards