In today’s overheated housing market, gentrification remains a pressing concern. But disinvestment and decline remain alarmingly common in low-income areas. Between 2000 and 2021, the number of high-poverty census tracts (tracts with a poverty rate above 20%) in the United States increased by more than 50%, from 13,400 tracts to 20,241 tracts.Many of these a declining community is concentrated on low-growth cities in the postindustrial Midwest, Northeast, and South; Because of a troubling history of racism, most residents of these declining neighborhoods are black.
“Housing Against the Background of Neighborhood Decline” features a new JCHS working paper, Sociology of housing: how housing shapes our social lives (published by the University of Chicago Press) discusses the scope and impact of urban decline as well as unanswered questions about housing in these regions. This chapter highlights the work that each of us has done in areas that are in decline. one of us (Sharon) lived for three years in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, where all the other land was vacant and one in three houses were vacant. The other (Christine) led a large research team in Baltimore to study how investors made decisions about buying, selling, and maintaining real estate, and to explore how informal housing markets operate in the absence of formal institutions. We investigated whether they appeared.
Building on that study and the work of others, we believe that declining neighborhoods deserve more attention and that practitioners and policy makers can better understand housing inequality through the lens of decline. claim. We argue that declining neighborhoods create unique conditions for housing markets.they often invite Clear institutional response In addition to support from local governments, informal housing practices. The lens of decline enriches our understanding of housing in three ways.
1. Housing instability plays out differently in decline
Although we often talk about evictions, foreclosures, and foreclosures as part of national trends, local neighborhood trends influence the type and incidence of housing shortages. for example, in his book eviction, Matthew Desmond famously taught us about the national eviction crisis through his study of inner-city Milwaukee. But explicitly considering Milwaukee’s post-industrial experience may tell us something new about how and why evictions occur. Landlords make a variety of investment and eviction decisions against a backdrop of poorly maintained housing stock, low demand for housing, and low property values. For example, Eva Rosen and Philip Gerboden show that landlords often: Invest resources in tenant “training” Following the mainstream concept of independence. they again, threat of eviction Gain influence over tenants. Perhaps in areas where it is difficult to recruit new residents, training and intimidation of residents is more likely. Phenomena such as housing loss and eviction occur differently in declining neighborhoods.
2. Population decline is creating racial inequality in neighborhoods and housing.
Historically, urban decline has disproportionately affected Black neighborhoods in particular. Midwest and Northeast.black home ownership rate Highly segregated northern postindustrial cities such as Albany, Syracuse, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee have some of the lowest populations. recent research It also highlights that home values in predominantly white neighborhoods are rising much faster than in neighborhoods of color. The economic fortunes of many black Americans remain tied to the postindustrial cities of the Northeast, Midwest, and South, and the ongoing decline and disinvestment of many of these regions perpetuates racial inequality. ing.
3. Decline is an ongoing reality for many disinvested cities, including those shaped by climate change and sociopolitical transformation.
Nationwide, urban decline peaked from the 1960s to the 1980s, with politicians and journalists declaring an “urban crisis.” Now the decline is more regional. Beyond large-scale cases like Baltimore and Detroit, the decline is affecting many small and medium-sized cities, including Gary, Indiana, East Cleveland, Ohio, and Prichard, Alabama.
Today’s economic downturn is also caused by events such as COVID-19 and climate change, which have changed where we live and work. For example, an analysis of census data found that wildfire-affected Paradise, California, lost 82% of its population from 2000 to 2020. New Orleans, still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, lost 21% of its population during the same period.As new causes take shape how and where As population decline occurs, new research is needed to help develop housing policies aimed at addressing today’s population decline.
Areas promising for research on housing decline and policy responses
Although urban decline is ongoing and constantly changing, most studies of declining neighborhoods date from the 1960s to 1980s. In light of recent political, economic, and demographic changes, these historical insights need to be revisited. We identify several promising areas for studying housing decline and its policy responses.
Researchers should examine local government policies and practices.For example, local government response tax delinquency, code enforcementand abandoned property It has a significant impact on the local housing market. Municipalities facing similar dynamics of decline can learn from the mistakes and best practices enacted in other regions. For example, a study of property tax assessments in Detroit concluded: The city continued to overvalue the least valuable homes.Even after the 2017 citywide adjustment. Rising property taxes in a depressed housing market could become a nationwide problem that places a disproportionate burden on low-income homeowners and increases their risk of foreclosure. Additionally, lessons from Massachusetts highlight how policy responses to decline can be explored. cooperation at the state level; This is through the formal designation of “Gateway Cities”, a set of post-industrial and low-opportunity cities eligible for additional public funding and investment, which makes similarly situated municipalities Facilitated the sharing of best practices between
Additionally, attention should be paid to the role of homeowners and investors, how they make decisions, and how homeowners and investors deal with the emergence and proliferation of housing. informal housing market.A recent Pew survey found that approximately 1 in 5 home borrowers use alternative financing Because everyone needs to buy a home at least once in their adult life, alternative financing has become an under-researched topic. Other studies show that alternative financing is becoming more popular. Low-income, black, and Hispanic neighborhoods. Alternative financing may include seller financing and its variations (land installment agreements, lease option agreements), but may also include private loans. For borrowers, alternative financing such as seller financing can provide flexibility and reduce transaction costs associated with purchasing a home. However, alternative financing methods vary widely in terms of interest rates, hidden costs, and when legal title is transferred to the buyer. This inconsistency and lack of regulation can put buyers at increased risk of predatory behavior. But in declining areas where property values are too low to attract lender interest, cash purchases or alternative financing are often the only options. Regulations to protect borrowers Counteracting and expanding against unscrupulous actors Community Reinvestment Act Obligations Investment in underbanked areas represents an important area for policy development.
Finally, we need to look at how residents experience life in declining neighborhoods and what meaning they give to their homes and communities.Many declining cities are adopting “Creating a creative space” strategy, will use grant-funded arts and culture projects to attract new investors and middle-class residents to struggling downtowns. However, policy makers and practitioners can benefit from a deeper understanding of population perspectives. For example, through her three years of ethnographic research in Detroit’s depopulated Brightmoor neighborhood, Sharon shows how urban policy and white newcomers promote visions of green, low-density places. discovered. This means reimagining Brightmoor as a country town rather than a de-urbanized city. urban neighborhood. However, this vision provided little funding to support long-term residents who often suffered from unstable and inadequate housing. Listening to local voices can help alleviate the ongoing dispersal and displacement of long-term residents, while bringing to the fore the unique strengths and identities of each place.