Mixed-income Communities Research Articles

More than Bricks and Mortar: Neighborhood Frames, Social Processes, and the Mixed–Income Redevelopment of a Public Housing Project

Policy initiatives to deconcentrate poverty through mixed–income redevelopment were motivated in part by the desire to reduce social isolation and social disorganization in high–poverty neighborhoods. This article examines whether the presence of higher–income neighbors decreased social isolation or improved social organization in a Boston public housing project that was redeveloped into a HOPE VI mixed–income community. Based on in–depth interviews and neighborhood observation, I find that it was the lower–income former public housing residents who were primarily involved in creating neighborhood–based social ties, providing and receiving social support, and enforcing social control within the neighborhood, rather than the higher–income newcomers. This variation in neighborhood engagement stemmed from the different ways that long–term and newer residents perceived and interpreted their neighborhood surroundings. These differences were generated by residents’ comparisons of current and past neighborhood environments and by neighborhood reputations. Residents’ perceptions of place may thus influence whether mixed–income redevelopment can reduce social isolation and improve social organization in high–poverty neighborhoods and, more generally, whether changes in neighborhood structural characteristics translate into changes in social dynamics.

Creating and Sustaining Successful Mixed-Income Communities

This article examines the theory and evidence behind the increased policy and scholarly interest in the role that schools might play in promoting neighborhood revitalization, focuses on the extent to which schools might be a key component in the growing efforts across the country to address urban poverty by creating and sustaining mixed-income neighborhoods, identifies five channels through which investment in high-quality public schools might help facilitate the types of neighborhood- and individual-level outcomes sought through mixed-income development, explores the theoretical arguments behind these pathways, and draws on research to assess the potential value of each. The article concludes that schools can play unique roles as amenities, local resources, and forums for interaction and collective action, but leveraging that potential value for the benefit of everyone, including those in poverty, will require impeding real estate market forces and surmounting differences in parental school expectations and engagement associated with socioeconomic status.

The Stability of Mixed Income Neighborhoods in America

Whether people of differing types can live happily together is one of the most important social and political questions concerning urban areas. From a variety of theoretical perspectives, such mixing seems extremely unlikely. While the theoretical result seems well supported in the context of race, the evidence for income mixing is much less stark. Compared to the strict segregation predicted by the models (and embodied in the context of race), Americans live in economically diverse neighborhoods. While this has lead to some further theoretical experiments, the stability of this mixing has never been addressed as an empirical matter. It would be naive to look at cross-sectional snapshots of income mixing as representing stable situations, since neighborhood change is a prevalent feature of American urban economies. This paper sketches out the empirical implications of slow transition towards the predicted equilibrium, and tests those implications. It is the first paper to directly evaluate the persistence and stability of mixed-income communities. The results are supportive of the three models of income segregation: income mixing appears to be unstable, although the adjustment process is slow. This work is of especial importance due to the focus mixed-income communities receive in the urban planning and policy.

METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL AREA BY NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

This study aims to consider possibilities of development management for residential area by non-profit organization through theoretical analysis and a case study about concrete ideas and systems of a pioneer project in the United States. Tierra Contenta Corporation, which is the non-profit organization in the United States, has been developing Tierra Contenta residential area in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This development aims to create mixed-income community in the situation of gentrification and urban sprawl. The important points of an argument to consider methods of development management by public-private partnership in Japan are following: One is that the roundtable consists of pluralistic individuals should be problem-based. It is indispensable for this roundtable to have privatization and constitution as the non-stock corporation. And the other is the project-based non-profit organization. Japan doesn't have a grounding in non-stock corporations culturally and institutionally, so that it means a kind of strategy to train NPOs fundamentally in Japan.

Creating New Patterns of Social and Economic Activity Through Planned Housing Environments

HOPE VI programs have transformed distressed public housing areas into “planned neighborhoods.” This research highlights key results from an evaluation request by the Tampa Housing Authority to assess the social and economic impact of the local HOPE VI community. Findings suggest that the majority of residents enjoy the new neighborhood. Questions remain regarding the social cohesion among the mixed-income community residents and the potential for economic revitalization of the surrounding area. Implications for social workers are addressed.

Prevalence of Stroke in an Urban, Mixed-Income Community in Lagos, Nigeria

Background: The burden of cerebrovascular disease in developing countries is projected to be on the rise. However, data on the current epidemiology of stroke in Africa are sparse. Methods: Using a 3-staged method, we conducted a door-to-door study of stroke in an urban, mixed-income community in Lagos, Nigeria. We used a modification of the WHO protocol in the first stage, a stroke-specific questionnaire in the second stage and neurological examination of all persons screening positive for stroke in the third stage. We also examined an equal number of stroke-negative persons. Results: Overall, the crude prevalence rate of stroke in urban Nigeria was 1.14/1,000 (males: 1.51; females: 0.69). The age-adjusted prevalence rates per 1,000 (adjusted to the USA population 2000) in mid-decade strata showed a trend of increasing prevalence with advancing age as follows: 35–44 years = 0.009, 45–54 years = 0.33, 55–64 years = 0.71, 65–74 years = 0.98, 75–84 years = 2.04 and >85 years = 0.74. Conclusions: Stroke prevalence rates in urban Nigeria are lower than those in most developed countries. The lower rates may be related to lower incidence and higher stroke mortality in developing countries.

Ecologically and Socially Sustainable Development in Atlanta, Georgia, USA

East Lake Commons is a 67 home mixed-use, mixed-income in-fill community in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The community planning process began in 1997, and construction was substantially complete by 2000. East Lake Commons successfully incorporates a wide range of ecological and social concepts, including those of Atlanta Regional Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, the project has established new practices such as Handicap Visitability that is influencing national policy makers.

Housing Vouchers and Residential Mobility

Existing research suggests that tenant-based subsidies (housing vouchers) can help to deconcentrate poverty and improve the quality of life of low-income families. The Gautreaux Assisted Housing Program and the Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration program have been shown to help families move to safer neighborhoods and ones with better public schools. The regular Section 8 program has been successful in facilitating moves to low-poverty areas in places like Alameda County, California, but public housing families have had difficulties in Chicago. Research on mixed-income communities has provided little evidence that social mixing has any direct positive impacts through social interaction and/or social networks. However, the lack of research on the long-term impacts on children, such as future improvements in their employment circumstances due to better educational attainment, makes it impossible to offer conclusive assessments on the connection between income mixing and social mobility.

Growing Up in an Urbanising World

Children, Youth and Environments Vol. 13 No. 2 (2003) ISSN: 1546-2250 Growing Up in an Urbanising World Chawla, Louise (2002). Paris and London: UNESCO and Earthscan; 254 pages. $£18.95. ISBN 1853838284. Recent events in the Middle East have broughtWestern attention to the struggles of children, youth and families ofthe developing world. The living conditions of children inAfghanistan and Iraq, the social pressures of the majority-youthpopulation in Saudi Arabia, and the U.S.-led drive to inculcate a senseof democratic ownership among the people of the Middle East raisequestions about the future of their societies. One question inparticular comes to mind after reading Growing Up in an Urbanising World:What provisions are being made to prepare young people to take part inthe rethinking, rebuilding and maintenance of cities and towns tosupport healthy development and democratic participation? Given current political events and growing international attention onchildren’s rights, the theme of editor Louise Chawla’s current volumeis even more pertinent today than it was 30 years ago, when the effortto understand the impact of urban environments on children and youthbegan in earnest. In the 1970s, the practice of advocacy planning stimulated anintegrated way of thinking about human development, environmentalscience, urban planning, and ecological and environmental psychologythat acknowledged the variety of ways in which people shape and areshaped by their environments. Kevin Lynch, author of The Image of the City,brought a developmental perspective to the new movement, creating aproject that would inspire widespread recognition of children’s agencyand their need for “life-fostering environments” (23). In partnershipwith UNESCO, Lynch developed the idea of conducting action researchwith children in low-income, rapidly urbanizing environments in theindustrialized and developing worlds and named his work, “Growing Up inCities.” Lynch envisioned research with children that would lead totheir active participation in community change; he died before hisconcept 183 could be fully realized, having finished only the researchphase of the project. Twenty years later, Chawla, supported by the UNESCO-MOST Programme,picked up where Lynch left off and resurrected Growing Up in Cities(GUIC) while conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar at theNorwegian Centre for Child Research. Chawla is now the internationalco-coordinator of the GUIC project. Growing Up in an Urbanising World describes the regeneration ofthe project and features eight case studies of GUIC action researchactivities conducted between 1996 and 1998 at sites around the world.Researchers in Melbourne, Australia, and Warsaw, Poland, repriseLynch’s original work, taking a second-generation look at the issuesfor children in low-income communities and recording how changes inneighborhoods over time affect children’s comfort within them. The bookalso includes new case studies of children’s experiences inneighborhoods of Trondheim, Norway; Oakland, California, USA; BuenosAires, Argentina; Northampton, United Kingdom; Bangalore, India; andJohannesburg, South Africa. Each project involved youth ages 10 to 15who live in low or mixedincome communities. The case studies providean insightful look into the universal qualities children and youthdesire in their communities, as well as some telling differencesbetween children of the North and South in satisfaction with theirenvironments. Chawla’s introduction provides a thorough perspective on the history ofthe GUIC project. It also describes the differences between Lynch’swork and the research done in the last few years, as well as theproject’s goals and basic findings. Chapters on each of the eight sitesfollow, and Chawla summarizes the expressed desires and concerns of thechildren in the last chapter. An appendix outlines the researchguidelines of the project and includes methods and interview questions.(For a more detailed description of the GUIC methods and guidance inconducting a similar research project, see David Driskell’s Creating Better Cities with Children and Youth.) Throughout the book, themes of satisfaction and alienation emergerelated to children’s perception of their place in the larger communityand the probability of their ideas being taken seriously 184 by adults. Inthe least-developed areas, children who already felt valued andvaluable to their communities eagerly took up the challenge to helpdesign needed resources, such as clean drinkingwater systems. KanchanBannerjee and David Driskell found that young people in Sathyanagar, aslum district of Bangalore, India, felt “confident, connected and happy”(their emphasis) despite the lack of basic infrastructure in theirenvironment (135). Children in BocaBaraccas , Buenos Aires, alsodisplayed high...

Creating Inclusive Communities through Balancing Social Mix: A Critical Relationship or Tenuous Link?

This paper explores some fundamental assumptions being linked by State Housing Authorities to 'social mix' strategies in contemporary Australian public housing estate regeneration policy. Six case-study estates, two each in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland form the basis for the empirical analysis. The two major ideas emerging from South Australian and Queensland projects are: first that lowering concentrations of public housing and developing more mixed income communities offers a means to reconnect socially excluded public housing tenants to mainstream society; second that a balanced social mix is a prerequisite for the development of 'inclusive', 'sustainable' and 'cohesive' communities. However, in light of the empirical findings that strong cohesive communities already exist on some estates prior to regeneration commencing, there is no evidence that a balanced social mix is a necessary condition for building inclusive communities. Coupled with findings in the projects of inadvertent negative consequences of implementing social mix policies, the paper questions whether policy makers are over-emphasising the extent to which social mix assists regeneration.

Availability of child care in the United States: A description and analysis of data sources

Lack of high-quality, affordable, and accessible child care is an often-cited impediment to a manageable balance between work and family. Researchers, however, have been restricted by a scarcity of data on the availability of child care across all U.S. communities. In this paper we describe and evaluate several indicators of child care availability that have been released by the U.S. Census Bureau over the last 15 years. Using community- and individual-level analyses, we find that these data sources are useful for indicating child care availability within communities, even though they were collected for other purposes. Furthermore, our results generally suggest that the data on child care availability are equally valid across communities of different urbanicity and average income levels, although it appears that larger geographic areas more accurately capture the child care market of centers than that of family day care providers. Our analyses indicate that center child care is least available in nonmetropolitan, poor communities, and that family day care is most available in nonmetropolitan, mixed-income communities. We discuss the benefits and limitations of the data sources, and point to directions for future data developments and research.

Making Mixed-Income Communities Possible: Tax Base Sharing and Class Desegregation

Making Mixed-Income Communities Possible: Tax Base Sharing and Class Desegregation

Redeveloping Public Housing

The debate surrounding recent substantial changes in U.S. public housing policies and the emergence of a consensus favoring broader income mixing overlooks important historic lessons. From the 1950s through the 1970s, frequently in response to local business-led political coalitions, urban renewal programs forcibly displaced poor minority people without allowing their meaningful participation in redevelopment planning, without allowing their adequate compensation, without sufficient replacement housing, and without the possibility of their returning to the redeveloped area. These projects simultaneously destroyed indigenous social communities as they frequently replaced existing residents with much higher income households. More recently during the 1990s, reconstruction of the 1,195-unit Tech-wood and Clark Howell public housing developments in Atlanta, Georgia, as the 900-unit Centennial Place mixed-income community, evolving federal housing policies and funding, and insufficient federal oversight contributed to the Atlanta political regime and the Atlanta Housing Authority producing markedly similar results. National research to measure the representativeness of this case is needed, as is legislation mandating asset retention, meaningful resident participation in redevelopment planning, and relocation and replacement housing.

Disorganized crime : by Peter Reuter. The MIT Press (28 Carleton Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142), 1983, 233 pp., hardcover—$17.50

Mixed-income redevelopment has become a go-to approach for restructuring post-war public housing in advanced capitalist nations. In Regent Park, Canada's first and largest project, revitalization is underway to create a mixed-use, mixed-income community — with rebuilt public housing, condos, and a redesigned landscape. While tenants face negative impacts related to relocation, displacement and gentrification, there has been a void of organized opposition to the project. This article tells the story of revitalization in Toronto and identifies five inter-connected factors that have worked as barriers to tenant organizing. These include: (1) a successful effort by the public housing authority to build support for revitalization by successfully branding it as tenant-driven, (2) a consultation process designed to limit collective interaction among tenants, (3) the co-optation of some critical voices, (4) fear of reprisal among tenants for speaking out, and (5) an internalized sense of powerless and un-deservingness among tenants. These factors have emerged in a context that does not foster resistance, as tenants are desperate for new housing, forced to come up against a popular revitalization approach, and suffering from attrition in numbers over a long development timeline. Despite these barriers to resistance, the limited opposition that has emerged in Toronto has been surprisingly successful, indicating the political potential tenants have to mount a fundamental challenge to mixed-income redevelopment, and to demand investment that is not tied to gentrification and displacement.