We all know the shorthand: some neighborhoods are “safe,” others “dangerous,” and a few “on the rise.” These reputations carry real consequences, shaping who moves in, what businesses invest, and how residents are treated. But until now, no one has been able to systematically measure them.

In a groundbreaking Urban Studies article, Forrest Stuart and colleagues use sentiment analysis—a computational technique for detecting tone in text—to comb through nearly 40 years of Chicago Tribune coverage. From this exhaustive dataset, they create the first-ever “Neighborhood Reputation Score,” a tool that tracks how all 77 of Chicago’s neighborhoods are described across time.

The results are striking. Reputations aren’t driven by crime, poverty, or even gentrification. Instead, the single strongest predictor is race. The more Black residents a neighborhood has, the more negative its portrayal. And that racial penalty has only grown worse since 2000, even as crime has declined and conditions have improved in many areas.

Why it matters: reputations aren’t just words on a page. They steer investment, shape job prospects, influence policing, and seep into how residents view themselves. By showing how racial bias in media coverage systematically tarnishes Black neighborhoods, this study reveals reputation itself as a structural driver of inequality.