This article evaluates the connection between the establishment of bike lanes and increase in commercial property value. The conversation continues about whether bike lanes lead to gentrification. We contend that safe street infrastructure does not lead directly to gentrification, but rather that gentrification often happens at the same time as road infrastructure is improved.
Blame it on the bike: does cycling contribute to a city’s gentrification?
The link between street improvements like bike lanes and pedestrian plazas and a subsequent jump in property values is no secret.
Bike lanes and the gentrification they symbolize, have caused tensions in cities across the country and drawn fire from critics like Jeremiah Moss, blogger behind “Vanishing New York” who said they’re a tool used by mayors to “spur and reinforce gentrification.”
While protected bike lanes have proven to decrease injuries for cyclists and pedestrians, they’ve also been linked to an increase in retail sales, according to a 2014 report from the Department of Transportation.