Google Street View Gentrification Observations (GGO)

The Google Street View Gentrification Observations (GGO) are part of a data collection effort to systematically observe neighborhood characteristics to assess the level of reinvestment, renewal, and influx of middle- and upper-middle-class residents in previously disinvested and declined neighborhoods. Google Street View is a free and fully accessible tool to the public that provides the virtual experience of walking down the street and permits the direct examination of the complex and qualitative nature of gentrification, going beyond traditional quantitative measures from the U.S. Census. 

The coding guides used for GGO data collection are below. The coding guides contain the survey instrument, coding procedure details, and examples. Data collected in Chicago using the first guide was used for: Hwang, Jackelyn and Robert J. Sampson. 2014. "Divergent Pathways of Gentrification: Racial Inequality and the Social Order of Renewal in Chicago Neighborhoods." American Sociological Review, 79(4). Current data collection efforts in Chicago and Seattle follow the current coding guide. 

Coding Guide for Hwang and Sampson (ASR 2014)943 KB
GGO Coding Guides and Supplementary Material (updated June 2015)3.03 MB