- Final Abstract: In no more than 150 words, provide the abstract for your final project.
This study uses the methodology of storytelling and narrative studies to trace the gentrification of Williamsburg, Brooklyn through the lens of a Dominican-American immigrant family. Using qualitative data in the form of interview narratives, this project will analyze how neoliberalism has been used as a means to justify the gentrification of El Barrio. Relevant themes discussed are: displacement, the creation of new markets, housing instability, access to resources, and the paradox of how to make El barrio “great again”. I find that there are significant variations within one family’s perception of what change and gentrification mean for the Williamsburg community. Furthermore, I find that positive versus negative views on gentrification are generational; thus, younger folks are more prone to seeing gentrification as a detrimental to their community, whereas older residents might have a more nuanced perspective.