Housing Unit Turnover and the Socioeconomic Mix of Low-Income Neighborhoods

A number of place-based policies attempt to deconcentrate poverty, yet not enough is known about how the socioeconomic mix of low-income neighborhoods evolves nor the role of residential mobility in this evolution. This study focuses on changes in low-income neighborhoods as they transpire at the micro level of housing unit turnover. Using a unique panel survey of low-income neighborhoods, the study examines how characteristics of previous occupants, housing units, and neighborhoods affect the chances that units will transition into or out of poverty. Results show that although turnover rates are high, the poverty status of occupants changes infrequently. Occupant, unit, and neighborhood factors help to explain the changes that do occur. Improving low-income neighborhoods is challenging because the poverty status of occupants tends not to change, but there are aspects of the built and social environment that can affect occupancy transitions in ways that reduce poverty concentration.

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