Chicago Neighborhoods Research Articles

The Nature of Employment in a High Socioeconomic Hardship Community: Data From the Greater Lawndale Healthy Work Survey.

This cross-sectional survey aimed to examine employment characteristics and their associations with employment precarity in two high socioeconomic hardship Chicago neighborhoods. We used a community-based participatory approach to develop and administer a survey to residents who perceived their work situations to be precarious. A total of 489 residents were surveyed. Responses were skewed toward the most precarious work situations, with the majority of respondents employed outside of a traditional arrangement. Those in the highest precarity category were most likely to identify as Latinx and born outside of the United States. Unstable, low-quality employment conditions were nearly all significantly associated with highest precarity work situations. Precarious employment is an important predictor of other employment conditions, and characterizing these at a hyperlocal level allows for a nuanced understanding of work as a determinant of health.

Abstract P113: Hypertension Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control in Community-Dwelling Adults in Low-Resource Areas of Chicago, Illinois

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease that disproportionately affects adults in low-resource communities. We examined hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control—the HTN control cascade—in low-resource neighborhoods in Chicago, Illinois. Methods: Using data from Keep Your Heart Healthy, a Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine student-led community health program, we evaluated a convenience sample of adults who completed three blood pressure (BP) measurements at a community screening event between 2013 and 2019. Among adults with HTN (average systolic BP ≥140 mmHg, average diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or self-reported BP medication use), HTN awareness (self-reported history of HTN), HTN treatment (self-reported treatment among those who were aware), and HTN control (systolic BP <140 mmHg and diastolic BP <90 mmHg, among those who were aware and treated) rates were calculated. Results: Among 11,167 adults (mean age 50.9±14.8 years; 58.6% female; 63.9% Hispanic/Latino, 28.0% Black), HTN was prevalent in 45.3%. Of participants with HTN, 66.7% were aware of the diagnosis. Of those who were aware, 65.3% reported taking BP medication, of whom 48.3% achieved BP control. Overall, 21.0% of participants with HTN were aware, treated, and controlled (Figure). Additionally, 37.6% of all participants met criteria for pre-HTN (120-139 or 80-89 mmHg). Conclusions: In low-resource communities of Chicago, only 21.0% of participants with HTN were aware, treated, and controlled. Less than half of patients on treatment for HTN were controlled, revealing significant opportunity to improve HTN control in low-resource communities.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Experiences in Chicago Neighborhoods With Increased Adverse Maternal Outcomes: A Qualitative Study

Abstract: Background: Black birthing people are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White birthing people. Objective: We aimed to better understand the pregnancy and postpartum experiences with health care, support, and maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM) of Black pregnant and parenting people living in neighborhoods with increased rates of MMM in Chicago, Illinois. Methods: This was a rapid qualitative analysis in Chicago, Illinois based on principles of community-based participa-tory research. Community partners recruited Black pregnant and parenting individuals living in neighborhoods with higher rates of MMM. Four focus groups from February 2021 to October 2021 were led by community health workers and covered pregnancy and postpartum experiences. Transcripts were deductively and inductively coded by paired-analyst teams and thematically analyzed. Results: This study included 31 participants from eight neighborhoods. Key themes related to pregnancy and the postpartum period included the: (1) a need for social and mental health support during and after pregnancy, (2) a preference for multiple sources of health information, (3) a need for strengthened connection with medical providers and health care systems, (4) a lack of clarity regarding MMM and the postpartum period, and (5) a difference in language between patients and health care providers. Conclusions: Further research and interventions are needed to evaluate how to best support pregnant and postpartum people, to implement patient-centered language when communicating about pregnancy and postpartum complications, and to demonstrate investment by health care workers in Black birthing people. Crucial to further research and interventions is communication with and input from communities most affected by MMM.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Experiences in Chicago Neighborhoods With Increased Adverse Maternal Outcomes: A Qualitative Study

Pregnancy and Postpartum Experiences in Chicago Neighborhoods With Increased Adverse Maternal Outcomes: A Qualitative Study

Disparities in Bariatric Surgery Outcomes: A Regional Analysis.

The success of metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is impacted by significant pre-surgical attrition rates and poor postoperative follow-up. This study focused on geographic variations in attrition rates and surgical outcomes for MBS practice for which the patient population is drawn from nine Chicago neighborhoods, to examine whether suboptimal weight loss or reduced adherence to the program varied across neighborhoods. Patients who presented for their initial MBS consultation at the University of Illinois (UI) Health's program between January 2019 and December 2020 were identified from electronic medical records. Demographic and medical information was extracted, along with postoperative weight at 3, 6, and 12months after surgery. The Chicago area was divided into nine geographic regions. The outcomes of interest were preoperative attrition rate, postoperative compliance to follow-up appointments, and postoperative weight loss for each group and by residential neighborhood. A total of 1202 patients were included in this analysis, of whom 423 (35%) underwent surgery and 780 did not, representing a pre-surgical attrition rate of 64.9%. Age, sex, and race/ethnic distribution varied markedly across geographic regions. Postoperative weight loss varied significantly in neighborhoods with higher proportions of residents from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. Preoperative attrition and postoperative compliance did not differ across geographic regions. Patients' residential neighborhoods may influence weight loss after MBS. Preoperative and postoperative compliance did not vary by residential neighborhood.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go Now? Neighborhood, Family, and Youth Predictors of Intracity Mobility.

The effects of residential mobility on youth development outcomes related to violence and victimization have traditionally been understood from an outward mobility perspective. Less attention has been paid to predictors of intracity moves, a more common mobility practice. Research, however, should identify factors associated with intracity mobility before scholars can explore and fully understand the impacts of moving within the city on youth development outcomes such as violence and victimization and whether they are akin to those identified for moves beyond city limits. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, we apply a multilevel ecological framework to assess neighborhood, family, and youth factors associated with intracity mobility. We employed hierarchical generalized linear modeling to examine within and between-neighborhood models of intracity mobility among youth and their families who moved within Chicago (N = 426) and those who did not (N = 867). Our investigation highlights as important factors family dynamics instability and aggression and violence at the neighborhood level. Findings show that parental divorce/separation, harsh disciplinary practices, negative school experiences such as racial/ethnic conflict, gangs, or heightened security measures, and exposure to violence predict intracity mobility. Critically, negative school experiences proved to be a robust determinant of moving as cross-level interactions suggest neighborhood crime significantly shapes how these experiences inform intracity mobility. This study emphasizes the importance of examining mobility beyond urban city limits, noting distinct predictors of intracity mobility across systemic levels. The findings fill a gap in our understanding of neighborhood turnover and stability, while also providing a foundation for exploring within and between-neighborhood differences in intracity mobility.

An analysis of diverse gentrification processes and their relationship to historic preservation activity in Chicago

ABSTRACT This article explores the unintended impacts of an immensely popular and far-reaching preservation program, the National Register of Historic Places, which was established to instill a sense of stewardship for heritage at a time when suburbanization and urban disinvestment threatened its existence. Anointing neighborhoods as “historic” has helped preserve them, but it has also increased market demand and facilitated gentrification. Drawing on census and preservation data, we use principal component and cluster analyses to identify neighborhoods in Chicago experiencing physical upgrading and the displacement of groups of lower socioeconomic status. Particular interest is placed on exploring neighborhoods characterized by gentrification and intensive preservation activity. The diversity in heritage-driven redevelopment processes and gentrification is then examined within three neighborhoods. The study reveals that preservation has not kept pace with changing demographic, housing, and consumption patterns within cities: a counterproductive policy lag exists, facilitating large-scale residential displacement of traditional urban populations, ranging from the most marginalized to the wealthier.

Recognizing “camera cues”: policing, cellphones and citizen countersurveillance

AbstractOver the past decade, recording technologies have enabled organized activists and ordinary residents to capture and circulate videos of police misconduct. Existing research focuses primarily, however, on organized activists who rely on formal training programs to record police behaviors. If formal programs train organized activists to capture police abuses on camera, how then do ordinary residents determine when they should record police behavior? Drawing on in-depth interviews with Black men who live in a Southside Chicago neighborhood, this study finds that residents’ recurrent interactions with police enable them to interpret officers’ words and actions as symbols of police misconduct, which, in subsequent exchanges, serve as signals to record events with their cellphones – what I term “camera cues.” Camera cues facilitate situated conceptions of legal authority that trigger residents’ distrust of police, reflecting the micro-dynamic connections between individuals’ legal consciousness and legal cynicism. Equipped with cellphones, residents scrutinize officers’ outward displays and police–citizen interactions to challenge police misconduct. While recording police behavior makes it possible at least occasionally to resist the dominance of legal authority, doing so often involves additional risks, including the destruction of their cellphones, verbal and physical threats, and arrests.

Do caring teachers protect African American youth with adverse adolescent experiences from risky behaviors?

The current study aims to fill the existing research gaps by investigating the role of teacher care in protecting African American adolescents in under-resourced neighborhoods from negative outcomes of adverse life events. The study included 638 adolescents from four under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago's Southside who were assessed to determine the moderating role of caring teachers on the relationship between adverse adolescent experiences and risky sexual behaviors, substance use, bullying perpetration, and violent behaviors. Caring teachers had a significant moderating effect on the association between adverse experiences and both bullying perpetration and violent behaviors. Adolescents who perceived their teachers as caring showed lower tendencies towards bullying and violence, even if they had adverse experiences. These results highlight the crucial role of teacher care in supporting African American adolescents from under-resourced neighborhoods who have experienced adverse life events. It emphasizes educators' role in shaping our youth's future, especially those facing adversity and at a crossroads in their lives.

The social foundations of racial inequalities in arrest over the life course and in changing times

AbstractAlthough racial disparities in criminal justice contact are long‐standing and the subject of continuing public debate, few studies have linked early‐life social conditions to racial disparities in arrest over the life course and in changing times. In this article, we advance and test a theoretical model of racial inequality in long‐term arrest histories on a representative sample of nearly 1,000 individuals from multiple birth cohorts in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Large Black–White disparities in arrests from ages 10 to 40 arise from racial inequalities in exposure to cumulative childhood advantages and disadvantages rather than from race‐specific effects. Smaller but meaningful Hispanic–White gaps follow a similar pattern, and the same explanations of racial disparities hold across different offense types and across birth cohorts who came of age at different times during 1995 to 2021. These findings indicate that inequalities in early‐life structural factors, which themselves are historically shaped, trigger processes of cumulative advantage and disadvantage that produce racial disparities in arrests over the life course and that persist across different points in contemporary history.

Taxing ride‐sharing: Which neighborhoods pay more?

AbstractI examine the short‐run impact of taxing ride‐sharing trips on the price and usage of ride‐sharing across different neighborhoods of Chicago and investigate whether the tax had unequal effects on neighborhoods with different racial compositions. I document significant heterogeneity in price increases due to the tax across neighborhoods of departure, showing that this was correlated with their differential access to alternatives to ride‐sharing, such as public transit. Clustering neighborhoods based on their racial composition reveals that Black areas experienced particularly high price increases and reductions in usage. Overall, the burden of the tax fell more heavily on minority‐concentrated areas.

Long COVID in Women Veterans Residing in Underserved, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods of Chicago.

Long COVID in Women Veterans Residing in Underserved, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods of Chicago.

Making Ends Meet: An Examination of Legal and Illegal Sources of Financial Support for Individuals Returning from Prison.

A fundamental challenge facing individuals returning from prison is securing income. Although there have been numerous studies on the relationship between post-release employment and reintegration, less is known about the extent to which returning individuals rely on other sources of financial support, such as the support from family members, public assistance, or earnings from illicit activities. There is also a knowledge gap around how these sources of financial support relate to one another. We use survey data from 385 men who were released from prison to two Chicago neighborhoods, collected as part of an evaluation of the Safer Return Demonstration. We found that 41% of men reported having a legal job since their release, 9% reported receiving income from illegal activities, 30% reported receiving monetary public assistance, 66% received non-monetary public assistance, and 60% were currently receiving financial support from their families. Results from logistic regression models indicate that individuals who were employed were less likely to be financially supported by their families or receive public benefits, but this had no impact on whether they received earning from illegal activities. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy, practice, and future research.

An Academic-Community Partnership to Address Gun Violence in the Roseland Neighborhood of Chicago.

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for youth. This study examined an academic-community partnership to address gun violence through a strength-based approach called Asset-Based Community Development. We used a case study design. Participants were Black youth who encounter frequent gun violence (average age = 16.7 years; 72% male). Our partnership involved survey development/completion and semistructured discussions. We also interviewed community stakeholders to collect data on local assets. We interpreted data through a communitywide forum to guide social action to address gun violence. The majority of youth (76%) witnessed neighborhood violence in the last year. The top youth concerns related to gun violence included poverty, guns, and gangs. Community stakeholders saw local people and local organizations as primary community assets. A community forum to interpret these data led to social action in the form of an environmental strategy-cleaning up an unused commercial building for the development of a youth tech center. The majority of youth participants (89.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that they had a voice in the research process. Participatory research that takes an asset-based approach can enable relevant inquiry that engages youth and guides social action to address gun violence.

Modeling benefits and tradeoffs of green infrastructure: Evaluating and extending parsimonious models for neighborhood stormwater planning

Green infrastructure is often proposed to complement conventional urban stormwater management systems that are stressed by extreme storms and expanding impervious surfaces. Established hydrological and hydraulic models inform stormwater engineering but are time- and data-intensive or aspatial, rendering them inadequate for rapid exploration of solutions. Simple spreadsheet models support quick site plan assessments but cannot adequately represent spatial interactions beyond a site. The present study builds on the Landscape Green Infrastructure Design (L-GrID) Model, a process-based spatial model that enables rapid development and exploration of green infrastructure scenarios to mitigate neighborhood flooding. We first explored how well L-GrID could replicate flooding reports in a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, USA, to evaluate its potential for green infrastructure planning. Although not meant for prediction, L-GrID was able to replicate the flooding reported and helped identify strategies for flood control. Once evaluated for this neighborhood, we extended the model to include water quality through the representation of dispersion and settling mechanisms for two pollutant surrogates—total nitrogen and total suspended solids. With the extended model, Landscape Green Infrastructure Design Model-Water Quality (L-GrID-WQ), we examined benefits, costs, and tradeoffs for different green infrastructure strategies. Bioswales were slightly more effective than other green infrastructure types in reducing flooding extent and downstream runoff and pollution, through increased infiltration and settling capacity. Permeable pavers followed in effectiveness and are suggested where spatial constraints may limit the installation of bioswales. Although green infrastructure supports both flooding and pollution control, small tradeoffs between these functions emerged across spatial layouts: strategies based on only curb-cuts better controlled pollution, while layouts that followed the path of water flow better controlled flooding. By illuminating such tradeoffs, L-GrID-WQ can support green infrastructure planning that prioritizes unique concerns in different areas of a landscape.

Adult Children of the Prison Boom: Family Troubles and the Intergenerational Transmission of Criminal Justice Contact

Intergenerational transmission processes have long been of interest to demographers, but prior research on the intergenerational transmission of criminal justice contact is relatively sparse and limited by its lack of attention to the correlated “family troubles” and familial incarceration that predate criminal justice contact. In this article, we provide a test of the intergenerational transmission of criminal justice contact after adjusting extensively for these factors that predate such contact by linking longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods with official arrest histories from 1995 to 2020. The results provide support for three conclusions. First, parental criminal justice contact is associated with a shorter time to first arrest and a larger number of arrests even after rigorously accounting for selection. Second, robustness checks demonstrate that neither the magnitude nor the significance of the findings is sensitive to model choices. Third, associations are strongest among White individuals and inconsistently significant for African American and Hispanic individuals. Despite large recent crime declines, the results indicate that parental criminal justice contact elevates the criminal justice contact of the adult children of the prison boom, independent of the often-overlooked troubles that predate criminal justice contact, and that these associations are strongest among the White population.

Integrated energy demand-supply modeling for low-carbon neighborhood planning

As the building stock is projected to double before the end of the half-century and the power grid is transitions to low-carbon resources, planning new construction hand in hand with the grid and its capacity is essential. This paper presents a method that combines urban building energy modeling and local planning of renewable energy sources (RES) using an optimization framework. The objective of this model is to minimize the investment and operational cost of meeting the energy needs of a group of buildings. The framework considers two urban-scale RES technologies, photovoltaic (PV) panels and small-scale wind turbines, alongside energy storage system (ESS) units that complement building demand in case of RES unavailability. The urban buildings are modeled abstractly as “shoeboxes” using the Urban Modeling Interface (umi) software. We tested the proposed framework on a real case study in a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The results include estimated building energy consumption, optimal capacity of the installed power supply resources, hourly operations, and corresponding energy costs for 2030. We also imposed different levels of CO2 emissions cuts. The results demonstrate that solar PV has the most prominent role in supplying local renewables to the neighborhood, with wind power making only a small contribution. Moreover, as we imposed different CO2 emissions caps, we found that ESS plays an increasingly important role at lower CO2 emissions levels. We can achieve a significant reduction in CO2 emissions with a limited increase in cost (75% emissions reduction at a 15% increase in overall energy costs). Overall, the results highlight the importance of modeling the interactions between building energy use and electricity system capacity expansion planning.

Bridging the Gap: Engaging Black Men in Lung Cancer Research Through Barbershop Collaboration.

Health disparities persist among Black men, notably in the context of lung cancer and stress-related health outcomes. This study explores these disparities through a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, citizen science, and social network theory, leveraging the expertise and trust of Black barbers as community leaders. The purpose is to understand the nuanced connections between stress and lung cancer in this demographic. Engaging 161 Black men across four Chicago neighborhoods, the study successfully collected hair samples and survey data, emphasizing the importance of culturally sensitive recruitment strategies. Findings highlight the effectiveness of the collaboration, showcasing the role of barbershops as community hubs for research. The study concludes by advocating for sustained partnerships with community leaders, emphasizing transparency in research communication, and promoting culturally grounded approaches to address health disparities and enhance research participation among underrepresented populations.

Chicago Neighborhood Context and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Diabetes.

To determine if rates of maternal diabetes vary by race, ethnicity, and neighborhood hardship. We conducted a secondary analysis of live births in Chicago from 2010 to 2017. Our sample was restricted to Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Mexican, Non-Hispanic Asian, and Other Hispanic mothers between the ages of 15 and 50, with singleton births. The addresses of mothers were geocoded to specific neighborhoods, which we stratified into tertiles using the Economic Hardship Index. We used generalized logit mixed models to examine the interaction between race/ethnicity, neighborhood economic hardship, and maternal diabetes. In our cohort of 299,053 mothers, 4.75% were diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Asian mothers had the highest frequency of gestational diabetes (8.3%), followed by Mexican mothers (6.8%). Within their respective racial/ethnic groups, Asian and Mexican mothers living in medium hardship neighborhoods had the highest odds of gestational diabetes compared to the reference group (OR 2.80, 95%CI 2.53, 3.19; OR 2.30, 95%CI 2.12, 2.49 respectively). Overall rates of preexisting diabetes were 0.9% and were highest among Mexican and Black mothers (1.26% and 1.06%, respectively). Asian mothers in medium hardship neighborhoods had the greatest odds of preexisting diabetes, among all Asian mothers and compared to the reference (OR 4.71 95% CI 3.60, 6.16). For racial and ethnic minoritized mothers, gestational and preexisting diabetes do not increase in a step-wise fashion with neighborhood hardship; rates were often higher in low and medium hardship neighborhoods.

Adolescents' exposure to community violence and associations with after-school activities across two samples.

Exposure to community violence (ECV) continues to be a major public health problem among urban adolescents in the United States. We sought to identify subgroups of adolescents' ECV and examine how after-school activities are related to exposure subgroups across two samples. In Study 1 there were 1432 adolescents (Cohort 9 n = 717, Mage = 11, and Cohort 12 n = 715, Mage = 14; 52% boys) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (1994-2002). Study 2 had a more recent sample of 537 adolescents (Mage = 16 years; 54% girls) from the After-School Activity Study (ASAS; 2015-2017) in Chicago and Detroit. Exploratory latent class analyses yielded a three-class solution for Study 1: a"No ECV" class (44%); a "Low ECV" class (36%); and a "High Exposure" class (14%). In Study 2, a four-class solution was the best fit with a "No ECV" class (33%), a "Moderate Witness/Low Victim" class (36%), a "High Witness/Moderate Victim" class (19%), and a "High ECV" class (11%). Home-based activities appeared to be protective against high ECV for adolescents in Study 2. School-based activities were associated with higher ECV across both samples, but community-based activities were only associated with greater violence exposure in Study 1. Adolescents' unstructured socializing in both studies was associated with higher odds of ECV. Results indicate that subgroups of adolescents can be identified based on ECV and highlight the complexity of after-school activities as risk and protective factors in both past and more recent contexts.