William Downey has had an unwanted front-row seat to the astronomical – but in many ways typical – transformation of the real estate market in one US city. A decade ago, as his neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina, was just beginning to gentrify, his landlord sold the apartment Downey had occupied for more than 30 years.
Downey, a Black man now retired from his job as a supervisor in a chemical plant, had to move. But he landed on his feet, winding up across town on East Geer Street. Located near downtown, the area had a history of gun violence and was less desirable to outsiders, and Downey was able to afford his own home. “I love it here,” he said.
