Aim of the HUG project is to investigate the health impacts of gentrification, displacement and housing insecurity, using data from two population-based cohorts from Porto Metropolitan Area covering different life stages (childhood, middle and later adulthood).
To fulfil such a purpose, HUG members will address the following specific objectives:
1. Measure neighbourhood socioeconomic change and gentrification since 2000 until 2020, using mixed data sources and novel techniques.
2. Establish the residential histories of the cohort participants and estimate associations between residence in gentrified/non-gentrified neighbourhoods and displacement, and mental and physical health.
3. Measure housing insecurity, namely in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it affects participants’ health.
4. Evaluate the impact of neighbourhood change on the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in health, since neighbourhood change processes may increase social segregation.
5. Quantify the degree of physical change occurring in participants’ neighbourhoods using GIS and virtual audits and, thereby, explore the potential mechanisms beyond the health consequences of gentrification and displacement.
6. Investigate if the observed effects are similar across gender, age, socioeconomicposition and tenure status, as certain groups may be more vulnerable to housingconditions neighbourhood’s change.
7. Using a community-based qualitative participatory approach, conduct a Photovoice study and semistructured interviews to understand and collectively discuss the participants' experiences and perceptions about the social and health effects of the actual and future neighbourhood change.