Altanta set to eliminate all public housing—what’s next?
December 4, 2009 at 8:44 pm | In cities, economic development, housing, neighborhoods, poverty | Leave a Comment
Researchers at Georgia State University file a preliminary report on the consequences of poverty deconcentration in Atlanta. From Deirdre Oakely, one of the authors of the report: “By early 2010 Atlanta is poised to become the first city in the Nation to eliminate all of its traditional public housing stock. The GSU Urban Health Initiative is following approximately 300 relocated residents across six public housing communities earmarked for demolition…. Do they end up in better neighborhoods and have improved and more stable living conditions? How is their health and overall well-being affected by relocation? …Findings suggest that the families are moving to other poor, segregated neighborhoods, but that these neighborhoods are not as poor as the public housing communities. However, our findings also show a pattern of geographic clustering of families which is suggestive of reconcentration. For the seniors, the destination neighborhoods are far poorer and more segregation than the origin ones. This raises some serious concerns about the fate of relocated residents from the public housing senior high rises.” See also, a recent House hearing on the future of public housing (with thanks to Jim Frasier) and a PBS expose on mismanagement in Miami-Dade public housing (with thanks to Andy Beveridge).
Saving Detroit?
November 20, 2009 at 11:46 am | In amenities, economic development, housing, neighborhoods, poverty | Leave a Comment
With the housing market continuing to defy optimists, the economy months away from generating new jobs, and its auto industry clinging to dear life, the State of Michigan has apparently not given up on its cities. From the South Bend Tribune: “The Michigan State Housing Development Authority is seeking $290 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for its New Michigan Urban Neighborhood plan targeting the 12 largest municipalities, including Lansing, Detroit, Highland Park, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.” The HUD program is allocating nearly $2 billion to stabilize neighborhoods and avoid the severe deterioration of cities that has followed sustained economic crises in the past. Detroit is hoping for $53 million, which could not come at a better time, as the city faces hundreds of millions in deficits and its commercial property values—after two years of falling home values—begin their own “ nose dive.”
And yet its downtown thrives?
Breast Cancer as an Ethnic Variable
October 28, 2009 at 4:27 pm | In breast cancer, health, neighborhoods, race | Leave a Comment
Over time, the number of women dying from breast cancer has decreased. While there is no cure, early detection, mammography, and treatment have made breast cancer survivable. A diagnosis is no longer a death sentence—though that edict may not ring true for all.
Although breast cancer prevalence is higher in Chicago’s White female population, mortality rates of Black women are significantly higher. In light of research on the topic in 2005, WBEZ’s Gabriel Spitzer spoke to survivors and surgeons, experts and advocates, to bring us the series, Twice as Deadly: Chicago’s Race Gap in Breast Cancer Survival.
While some cite genetic predisposition, Steven Whitman’s (Sinai Urban Health Institute) research links the disease to Chicago’s social fabric. Whitman’s research argues that Black women have less access to screening and treatment, the very things that make breast cancer beatable.
African American women seek mammograms at lower rates and are diagnosed in later stages, significantly decreasing their chances for survival. Additionally, facilities providing mammograms in largely-Black neighborhoods are rare. Those in existence are expensive, and their machines are often old or broken.
It’s a domino effect of barriers:
Black women die from breast cancer at high rates…
Because they don’t catch their cancer in the early stages…
Because they don’t get mammograms…
Because they can’t afford the costs of the procedure or transportation to facilities offering free services is inconvenient…
Because they have low incomes.
We are aware how variable economic, social, and geographical barriers impact health, but access and quality should not be rogue variables.
Toronto researcher finds strong patterns of personality traits across neighborhoods
October 27, 2009 at 4:35 pm | In creative class, data, neighborhoods, personality, what to read | Leave a Comment
Are Chicago’s South Siders more agreeable than their North Side neighbors? In which neighborhoods are Chicagoans most open to new experiences? University of Toronto’s Kevin Stolarick has taken personality data from a study of more than 2,500 Chicagoans who took “The Big Five Personality Test” and mapped the data onto Chicago neighborhoods. The data reveal strong patterns across neighborhoods. For example, people who see themselves as extroverted appear to cluster on the South Side; those with higher neurotic scores, on the far North Side. Stolarick works in Richard Florida’s Martin Prosperity Institute, which has seen controversy in recent months. See articles Chicago Tribune and Chicago Redeye.
Chicago’s Mixed-income Housing begins its 11th Year
October 6, 2009 at 4:14 pm | In cities, economic development, housing, neighborhoods, poverty | Leave a CommentTerry Peterson’s legacy with the Chicago Housing Authority may very well lie in his efforts to create viable mixed-income housing. However, the plan has experienced numerous setbacks since its inception. Although the first ten years saw the demise of some of the country’s most notorious complexes, such as Cabrini Green and the Robert Taylor Homes, many of the latest setbacks arrived with the economic downturn. Other issues are more ideological in nature. Ideally, the new mixed-income communities promote cross-class socioeconomic unity while providing access to those citizens traditionally outside the realm of top-notch resources. Chicago Public Radio examined this issue further. The story can be found here.
UrbanOrgs member Scott Allard discusses latest poverty figures on Chicago Public Radio
September 30, 2009 at 11:44 am | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentThe following story was featured on Chicago Public Radio on September 29, 2009:
Poverty Levels Are Expected to Rise in 2009
The number of Illinois residents living in poverty grew by about a quarter million from 2000 to 2008. That’s according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, today.
12.2 percent of Illinoisans and almost 15 percent of Cook County residents were living in poverty in 2008. Scott Allard is professor at the University of Chicago’s school of social service administration. He says he doesn’t expect the poverty level to decline for another few years.
ALLARD: There’s a lot of people who aren’t going to be going back to work anytime soon. And that even though some economic indicators are showing that we’re emerging out of recession, many people are not getting called back to work, or their lost earnings aren’t being replaced.
Allard says the current recession and the economic downturn earlier in the decade contribute to higher rates of poverty around the country. He says poverty is hitting more families and people living in suburban areas.
According to 2009 federal guidelines, a household of four with an annual income below $22,050 is considered to be living in poverty.
For an audio version, visit
http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=37095
Katherine Chen publishes book on Burning Man organization
September 28, 2009 at 5:47 pm | In Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Researchers interested in how urban organizations emerge, recruit members, secure resources, learn management strategies, and establish collaborations may find numerous lessons from a study of an organization whose members meet yearly in the middle of a Nevada desert. From the publisher: “In the summer of 2008, nearly fifty thousand people traveled to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert to participate in the countercultural arts event Burning Man. Founded on a commitment to expression and community, the annual weeklong festival presents unique challenges to its organizers. Over four years Katherine K. Chen regularly participated in organizing efforts to safely and successfully create a temporary community in the middle of the desert under the hot August sun. Enabling Creative Chaos tracks how a small, underfunded group of organizers transformed into an unconventional corporation with a ten-million-dollar budget and two thousand volunteers. Over the years, Burning Man’s organizers have experimented with different management models; learned how to recruit, motivate, and retain volunteers; and developed strategies to handle regulatory agencies and respond to media coverage. This remarkable evolution, Chen reveals, offers important lessons for managers in any organization, particularly in uncertain times.” Chen volunteered with and studied the organization for four years.
The costs of calulating poverty
September 14, 2009 at 12:35 pm | In NYT, news, poverty | Leave a CommentTags: New York City, poverty, welfare
If you’re raising a family of four on $26K, you may believe that your current checkbook balance is enough to qualify your household for federal assistance. And in New York, at least, you’d be right. Beginning with recommendations provided by the National Academy of Sciences, NYC set out to reform their decades-old guidelines by issuing new measures of poverty based on 2006 census data. The new calculations go a step further than traditional measures, considering living expenses such as healthcare and childcare costs. The result, according to backers of the new formula, is a more realistic picture of today’s world. They’re pushing the federal government to make a similar change.
To read the full article and listen to the story on National Public Radio, please click here.
To see the working paper on which this story was based, click here.
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