This dissertation explores the relationship between historic preservation and gentrification and how these forces have differentially shaped neighborhoods in Chicago over the period 1970-2000. It asks the two primary questions. First, to what extent is there evidence of diversity and complexity in the gentrification processes in Chicago where there have also been high levels of historic preservation activity? Second, what are some of the fundamental characteristics of these gentrification processes? This dissertation assesses whether public preservation programs have been facilitating gentrification in Chicago and helps clarify the long-debated relationship between preservation and gentrification. To explore these topics, principal component analysis and K-means cluster analysis are used to identify three suitable neighborhoods as case studies; each of these neighborhoods is then subjected to an in-depth, qualitative analysis. The findings of this research suggest that neighborhoods with different histories, populations, and urban morphologies use preservation programs in different ways to achieve different gentrification outcomes.
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