Functional and social neighborhood integration of leaseholders relocated into public and private housing by the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation

Abstract

Sociologists have theorized that one of the reasons why concentrated poverty has a negative effect on people living in such circumstances is because it limits social capital. We examine the extent to which different forms of social capital are utilized by leaseholders relocated during the early stages of the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA) Plan for Transformation. We use data from a survey of CHA leaseholders who have relocated back into public housing or into the private housing market as part of the Plan for Transformation. The analyses showed that use of neighborhood amenities did not vary by housing status. Generally, the level of social interaction was less for those who moved into the private sector when compared to those who had relocated to the public sector. However, social interaction improved as tenure in the private sector increased.