Where have we been?
January 19, 2011 at 9:00 pm | Posted in news, what to read, what to watch | Leave a commentYou’ve probably noticed that we have been quiet for the last several months. We’ve been working hard designing and creating the content for a completely revamped website. In the coming weeks, we’ll announce the (beta?) launch of an online portal designed to be a resource for social scientists, journalists, activists, practitioners, policy makers, and others interested in urban social science. Much of the work of UrbaOrgs will transfer to that site, which will be hosted by the University of Chicago. Stay tuned for more!
Urban, rural areas battle for census prison populace
May 3, 2010 at 11:34 am | Posted in cities, geography, news, prison system | Leave a commentPrison are often in small rural towns, while much of the prison population originates from urban areas. The 2010 census considers the area in which inmates are incarcerated as their community of residence rather than the neighborhoods from which they originate. This increase in population for these small rural towns has significant implications for the largely white populations that reside there. The larger population count often leads to great political representation through the allotment of elected officials and increased funds for schools, roads, and infrastructure investments. Conversely, the plunge in population numbers for the urban, mostly black and Hispanic areas where many incarcerated individuals would normally be counted perpetuates the inadequate resources going to many of these communities. This raises a variety of questions for the viability of urban institutions and the resources that they have at their disposal.
View the following link for more information:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123663462
UrbanOrgs member Scott Allard discusses latest poverty figures on Chicago Public Radio
September 30, 2009 at 11:44 am | Posted in news, poverty | 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
The costs of calulating poverty
September 14, 2009 at 12:35 pm | Posted in news, NYT, 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.
Joe Galaskiewicz receives NSF funding to study Phoenix organizations and their impact on the urban community
May 21, 2009 at 7:34 pm | Posted in amenities, barbershops, beauty salons, churches, grocery stores, neighborhoods, news, non-profits, organizational density, organizational networks, social service agencies, supermarkets | Leave a comment
Joe Galaskiewicz at the University of Arizona recently received $162,274 from
the National Science Foundation to fund his project, “Organizations and their
Impact on the Urban Community.” This funding helps Joe continue his research on
the distribution of organizational resources across the Phoenix metropolitan
area, their effect on what children do in the free time on the weekends, and
how organizations migrate across the metropolitan community in response to
demographic shifts, changes in zoning laws, and competition among
organizational providers. The research looks at a broad range of
establishments that serve community residents including parks, recreation
centers, churches, retail outlets, restaurants, bowling and fitness centers,
barber shops, department stores, malls, theatres, and many, many more local
establishments. For some of Joe’s preliminary results, go to:
http://www.childresearch.net/RESOURCE/RESEARCH/2007/GALASKIEWICZ.HTM
Terry Clark’s research on ammenities in the news
January 30, 2008 at 6:00 am | Posted in amenities, neighborhoods, news | Leave a comment
“Bohemian Rapsody,” a long feature in the newspaper New City examines Terry’s work on the role of amenities in the migration of hipsters.
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