Data-Driven Research

DATA-DRIVEN RESEARCH In 2019 New Neighbors Network began mapping immigrant homeownership in Philadelphia, with the goal of capturing every property purchase made by African immigrants within the city’s limits.

The data base is divided into four data sets for Nigerians, Ghanaians, Ethiopians and “All Others,” the largest of the four, and today exceeds 10,000 entries—and counting. This effort demonstrates the direct investment—in billions of dollars--that new Philadelphians are making as they restore many abandoned properties while raising property values across the city. Using on-line property records and cross checking with other real estate sources, as well as with social media outlets like Facebook, we have been able to identify which neighborhoods are being revitalized as well as the thousands of individual actors who own multiple properties, many of which also house new businesses as well as places of worship for a growing community.

What’s revealed is quite granular, making it possible to map entire clusters of family groups who have purchased properties en masse. Over 60 different Nigerian owners, for example, have purchased at least 10 properties; as many as 300 have purchased at least two.

This store of knowledge about our city can be replicated elsewhere—Atlanta, Cincinnati, Chicago and Detroit—where similar renewal is taking place. The crucial role played by Black migrants in distressed corners of the urban landscape can’t be overstated. But it takes a reporter’s relentless digging to bring this reality to light. We welcome any opportunity to show other cities where their future is unfolding and who is doing it.