Research Interests:
Assesses local housing conditions and the connections between housing and other municipal issues; evaluates the costs, risks, and complexities of affordable housing policy options; and reviews policies that municipal housing directors... more
Assesses local housing conditions and the connections between housing and other municipal issues; evaluates the costs, risks, and complexities of affordable housing policy options; and reviews policies that municipal housing directors find effective
Research Interests:
Government agencies and nonprofit organizations have increasingly used spatial data to create equity and opportunity atlases or maps. This paper investigates how such maps have been integrated into planning processes, and if they have... more
Government agencies and nonprofit organizations have increasingly used spatial data to create equity and opportunity atlases or maps. This paper investigates how such maps have been integrated into planning processes, and if they have been useful in catalyzing engagement on equity issues. We employ a multiple case study approach to assess efforts in five U.S. regions: Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Portland, and Seattle. Our findings show that equity and opportunity mapping have stimulated new conversations, local actions, and regional plans, but many regions are still struggling to adopt policies that could meaningfully shift their landscapes of equity and opportunity.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have reinvigorated the debate between place-based community development advocates and pro-integration fair housing advocates. This... more
ABSTRACT Recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development have reinvigorated the debate between place-based community development advocates and pro-integration fair housing advocates. This article examines the philosophical underpinnings of each side of this debate. I argue that different positions in the debate reflect different conceptions of the social meaning of housing, and these differences give rise to disparate views of how housing should be distributed. I examine several different conceptions of housing’s social meaning and argue that the community development–integrationist divide is best understood not as a duality but as reflecting 4 distinct perspectives. Despite the differences among positions, there is room for a middle-ground view of fair and affordable housing policy that acknowledges the socially constituted nature of the self and the importance of individual autonomy and choice.
Research Interests:
Little is known about the factors influencing the skills that planners utilize in practice. This study draws upon national survey data to identify the factors influencing skill acquisition and use, paying particular attention to the role... more
Little is known about the factors influencing the skills that planners utilize in practice. This study draws upon national survey data to identify the factors influencing skill acquisition and use, paying particular attention to the role of graduate planning education. The results of the analysis suggest that those holding a Planning Accreditation Board–accredited planning degree utilize a larger number of skills in practice, particularly skills pertaining to the core domains of planning knowledge. These findings suggest that PAB accreditation plays an important role in shaping the types of planners sought by employers.
Research Interests:
This paper draws on data from the Montgomery County, Maryland, Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program to analyze the effectiveness of inclusionary zoning as an affordable homeownership strategy. We find that the MPDU program has... more
This paper draws on data from the Montgomery County, Maryland, Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program to analyze the effectiveness of inclusionary zoning as an affordable homeownership strategy. We find that the MPDU program has successfully produced a large number of affordable homeownership units since the program’s inception, particularly condominium and townhome units located in areas where new residential construction has occurred. While MPDU homes did not appreciate as rapidly as other market-rate housing during the housing boom, MPDUs realized significant equity gains and saw smaller price declines during the housing bust.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Economic development in the current century may favor those metropolitan areas that attract the “knowledge class.” This study provides a cross-sectional analysis associating the presence of one or more professional symphony, opera, or... more
Economic development in the current century may favor those metropolitan areas that attract the “knowledge class.” This study provides a cross-sectional analysis associating the presence of one or more professional symphony, opera, or ballet/dance organizations with knowledge class growth. The authors find that the presence of one type of such organization is associated with a 1.1% change in knowledge class employment over the period from 2000 to 2010, two types are associated with a 1.5% change, and all three are associated with a 2.2% change. Between 2000 and 2010, the presence of at least one professional performing arts organization is associated with about 540,000 knowledge class jobs, generating about $60 billion in annual income among those 118 metropolitan areas with professional performing arts organizations. Metropolitan economic development implications are offered.
Research Interests:
This study examines neighbourhood housing and transportation choices available to working households in 28 U.S. metropolitan areas. The purpose is to determine how constraints within the neighbourhood and the region - eg. lack of access... more
This study examines neighbourhood housing and transportation choices available to working households in 28 U.S. metropolitan areas. The purpose is to determine how constraints within the neighbourhood and the region - eg. lack of access to transportation choices, distance from job centers, shortages of affordable housing - affect household costs and how high-cost burdens impact the household, their neighbourhoods and the region. Specifically, we examine the relationship between metro areas with the highest housing and transportation costs in relation to working family incomes and whether the highest cost regions for working households tend to be those with the greatest shortage of affordable housing and/or the worse congestion and/or the longest commutes. The results indicate that a number of factors cause high housing and transportation costs, and it is the regions where there are either a few factors at the extreme high end of costs or a number of factors at the medium level - bot...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Across the United States, communities are increasingly interested in the spatial structure of opportunity. Recently, several federal programs have promulgated opportunity mapping as a tool to help increase disadvantaged communities’... more
Across the United States, communities are increasingly interested in the spatial structure of opportunity. Recently, several federal programs have promulgated opportunity mapping as a tool to help increase disadvantaged communities’ access to neighborhood opportunity. The increasing institutionalization of opportunity mapping raises questions about how opportunity is defined and by whom. This paper analyzes data from community engagement events held for a regional planning process throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area. During these events, over 100 residents were asked what it means to live in neighborhoods that provide opportunity. The results showed similarities as well as remarkable differences in residents’ definitions of opportunity across race, income, and geography. Racial and ethnic minorities, low–income groups, and those living in distressed neighborhoods were more likely to identify job accessibility, employment, and job training as key components of and pathways to ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Rapid suburbanization since World War II in America has created many of the challenges we face today. Roads intended to relieve congestion have become congested. Cookie-cutter subdivisions have replaced scenic landscapes. Once-vital... more
Rapid suburbanization since World War II in America has created many of the challenges we face today. Roads intended to relieve congestion have become congested. Cookie-cutter subdivisions have replaced scenic landscapes. Once-vital downtown stores have been abandoned as shoppers transferred their allegiance to convenient suburban malls. The spread of low-density residential development made public transit impractical, making the automobile virtually the only choice for transportation. Automobile dependence has ...
Abstract The ideal of individual autonomy figures prominently into housing policy debates. Initiatives designed to expand housing choice, reduce housing instability and promote residential mobility all implicitly refer to some aspect of... more
Abstract The ideal of individual autonomy figures prominently into housing policy debates. Initiatives designed to expand housing choice, reduce housing instability and promote residential mobility all implicitly refer to some aspect of autonomy, but the theoretical foundation of the relationship between the normative ideal of autonomy and housing has not been fully excavated. This paper draws upon the moral and political philosophy literature to propose and explore an autonomy-oriented conception of housing. The proposed view provides a new perspective on the contribution of housing to individual well-being; demonstrates the relationship between individual autonomy, housing, and community; provides an application of the contemporary philosophical debates surrounding anti-perfectionism; and provides new insights into the normative dimensions of the people-versus-place housing policy debate.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Problem, research strategy, and findings: Housing policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) emphasize the spatial dispersal of housing assistance to promote fair housing objectives. The Low Income... more
ABSTRACT Problem, research strategy, and findings: Housing policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) emphasize the spatial dispersal of housing assistance to promote fair housing objectives. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the nation's largest affordable housing subsidy program, is not administered by HUD and therefore is not closely monitored for compliance with dispersal objectives. Using spatial point pattern analyses, I identify the geographic extent of LIHTC property clustering, characterize the local clustering of individual properties and explore the determinants of local clustering within the nation's largest metropolitan areas. In most metropolitan areas, LIHTC properties are more highly clustered than multifamily housing units, although the extent of clustering differs by metropolitan area. Clustered LIHTC properties tend to be located in more densely developed central-city locations that have higher poverty rates and higher minority concentrations.
Research Interests:
Outlook: Two views on Robert D. Putnam's “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century the 2006 Johan Skytte prize lecture”: Reflections on diversity and social capital: A critique of Robert D. Putnam's “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century ...more
Research Interests:
This paper examines the impact of intra-neighborhood social ties on the inter-neighborhood residential mobility of families with children using data from the 1997 and 2002 Child Development Supplements (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income... more
This paper examines the impact of intra-neighborhood social ties on the inter-neighborhood residential mobility of families with children using data from the 1997 and 2002 Child Development Supplements (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Results suggest that local kinship ties and the social networks of children deter the inter-neighborhood mobility of families with children. Among low-income families,
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Purpose – Evidence suggests that during the 1990s, many US metropolitan areas saw fundamental changes in the spatial distribution of household income. Following two decades of increasing economic segregation, many metropolitan... more
ABSTRACT Purpose – Evidence suggests that during the 1990s, many US metropolitan areas saw fundamental changes in the spatial distribution of household income. Following two decades of increasing economic segregation, many metropolitan neighborhoods saw declines in economic segregation, particularly those neighborhoods located within central cities and rural areas. This paper adapts the Spatial Ordering Index proposed by Dawkins (2007b) to explore these trends.Methodology/Approach – Using US Census data, I calculate economic segregation indices for a sample of 205 US metropolitan areas in 1990 and 2000 and decompose changes in the indices into portions attributable to changes in the spatial distribution of households and portions capturing changes in the spatial distribution of aggregate income. I also examine regional variations in the decompositions.Findings – The results suggest that changes in the spatial distribution of households and of income each influenced metropolitan economic segregation in different ways during the 1990s. Furthermore, the spatial dynamics of income segregation exhibited significant regional heterogeneity.Originality/Value of paper – This paper presents a new approach to measuring the dynamics of economic segregation.
Research Interests:
This article relies on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics matched to U.S. census data to explain the factors contributing to homeownership transitions for a sample of renters who first left their parents’ homes during the years... more
This article relies on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics matched to U.S. census data to explain the factors contributing to homeownership transitions for a sample of renters who first left their parents’ homes during the years 1978 through 1987. The article employs continuous time duration models to explain first-time homeownership transitions as a function of various individual and household-level variables, along with measures of urban sprawl. The article finds that for the average renter in the sample, first-time homeownership occurs sooner in areas with lower urban densities, increased local government fragmentation, and the presence of a regional urban growth boundary (UGB). The effects of UGB presence and local government fragmentation are largest among suburban low-income households.
The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998 overhauled the nation's approach to managing publicly owned housing and consolidated the Section 8 certificate and voucher programs into a new streamlined Housing Choice... more
The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act (QHWRA) of 1998 overhauled the nation's approach to managing publicly owned housing and consolidated the Section 8 certificate and voucher programs into a new streamlined Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program. With the repeal of federal preferences for new admissions before QHWRA and the anticipated poverty deconcentration within public housing anticipated to occur following the adoption of QHWRA, new federal income-targeting requirements were established as part of QHWRA to ensure that the nation's neediest families would continue to receive first priority in the allocation of tenant-based housing assistance. These requirements stated that no less than 75 percent of any local public housing agency's (PHA's) new admissions to the HCV Program in any given fiscal year must be families with extremely low incomes (ELIs) (income at or below 30 percent of the area median income). This research examines data from the U.S. Depar...
Central cities historically have been viewed as "ports of entry" welcoming new immigrants to the United States. Beginning in the 1970s, new immigrants began to settle in areas outside traditional ports of entry as economic... more
Central cities historically have been viewed as "ports of entry" welcoming new immigrants to the United States. Beginning in the 1970s, new immigrants began to settle in areas outside traditional ports of entry as economic opportunities moved to the suburbs and new suburban immigrant enclaves emerged. By the end of the 20th century, foreign-born suburbanites outnumbered foreign-born central city residents. This article relies on microdata from the U.S. Current Population Survey to identify the determinants of suburban location choice among foreign-born U.S. residents. The analysis includes a variety of controls for household-level socioeconomic characteristics, metropolitan area characteristics, and country of origin. Graphs displaying trends in suburbanization and location choice among U.S. immigrants, along with logit regression models of suburban destination, suggest that recent waves of foreign-born immigrants choose residential locations in conformance with spatial as...
Research Interests:
... and find that Black–White residential segregation remains high across income intervals (Darden and Kamel, 2000; Farley, 1977, 1995; Massey and Denton ... The key variable of interest in this investi-gation is Rik,t21, which is equal... more
... and find that Black–White residential segregation remains high across income intervals (Darden and Kamel, 2000; Farley, 1977, 1995; Massey and Denton ... The key variable of interest in this investi-gation is Rik,t21, which is equal to the own-race percentage of household head ...
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT This paper discusses a new measure of residential segregation by race that incorporates spatial proximity among neighbourhoods into the calculation of the index. The basis for the measure is the Gini index of segregation. Unlike... more
ABSTRACT This paper discusses a new measure of residential segregation by race that incorporates spatial proximity among neighbourhoods into the calculation of the index. The basis for the measure is the Gini index of segregation. Unlike other similar measures discussed in recent years, this measure satisfies the 'principle of transfers', is flexible enough to quantify a range of pre-specified spatial patterns of segregation and is easy to compute using spatial statistics software packages. The properties of the index are illustrated using several simple simulations and a case study of non-White-White segregation in Atlanta, Georgia. The application of the index in Atlanta suggests that spatial proximity among adjacent neighbourhoods has a large impact on overall levels of racial segregation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article examines the link between local government fragmentation, or “Tiebout choice,” and segregation between black and white residents. As suggested by Tiebout [Tiebout, C., 1956. A pure theory of local public expenditures. Journal... more
This article examines the link between local government fragmentation, or “Tiebout choice,” and segregation between black and white residents. As suggested by Tiebout [Tiebout, C., 1956. A pure theory of local public expenditures. Journal of Political Economy 64, 416–424.], fragmented local governance structures may encourage households to vote with their feet and sort into communities based on their willingness to pay for local public services. This outcome has been well documented. The nuance explored here is that, if the demand for local public services varies by race or if households have preferences for neighbors with specific racial characteristics, local government fragmentation may foster an increase in residential segregation by race across neighborhoods and jurisdictions. Results from metropolitan-level regressions suggest that increased Tiebout choice is associated with increases in black–white residential segregation within US metropolitan areas. Comparable results are obtained from household-level estimates, where the black racial composition of a household's census tract of residence is regressed on household-level controls and racially stratified measures of Tiebout choice. Results from both approaches suggest that a 10% increase in Tiebout choice would increase neighborhood segregation by no more than 1%, while segregation across jurisdictions would increase by between 4% and 7%.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT Problem, research strategy, and findings: Housing policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) emphasize the spatial dispersal of housing assistance to promote fair housing objectives. The Low Income... more
ABSTRACT Problem, research strategy, and findings: Housing policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) emphasize the spatial dispersal of housing assistance to promote fair housing objectives. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the nation's largest affordable housing subsidy program, is not administered by HUD and therefore is not closely monitored for compliance with dispersal objectives. Using spatial point pattern analyses, I identify the geographic extent of LIHTC property clustering, characterize the local clustering of individual properties and explore the determinants of local clustering within the nation's largest metropolitan areas. In most metropolitan areas, LIHTC properties are more highly clustered than multifamily housing units, although the extent of clustering differs by metropolitan area. Clustered LIHTC properties tend to be located in more densely developed central-city locations that have higher poverty rates and higher minority concentrations.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Page 1. JournalofPlanningLiterature Transaction Costs Transaction Costs and the Land Use Planning Process Casey J. Dawkins Urban scholars have recently begun to employ transaction costs as a heuristic device to understand the land use... more
Page 1. JournalofPlanningLiterature Transaction Costs Transaction Costs and the Land Use Planning Process Casey J. Dawkins Urban scholars have recently begun to employ transaction costs as a heuristic device to understand the land use plan-ning process. ...
Research Interests:
... Galster (2005) points out that although the share of the population living in high poverty neighborhoods declined during the 1990s, the share of those living in conditions of moderate poverty actually increased during the 1990s. ... A... more
... Galster (2005) points out that although the share of the population living in high poverty neighborhoods declined during the 1990s, the share of those living in conditions of moderate poverty actually increased during the 1990s. ... A more recent study by Galster et al. ...
Research Interests:
This paper examines the impact of intra-neighborhood social ties on the inter-neighborhood residential mobility of families with children using data from the 1997 and 2002 Child Development Supplements (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income... more
This paper examines the impact of intra-neighborhood social ties on the inter-neighborhood residential mobility of families with children using data from the 1997 and 2002 Child Development Supplements (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Results suggest that local kinship ties and the social networks of children deter the inter-neighborhood mobility of families with children. Among low-income families,
Research Interests:
... 1990 Volume 4, Issue 3), neighborhood threshold effects (George C. Galster, Roberto G. Quercia, and Alvaro Cortes, Identifying Neighborhood ... and Their Implications for Welfare Reform, Volume 9, issue 4), neighborhood effects... more
... 1990 Volume 4, Issue 3), neighborhood threshold effects (George C. Galster, Roberto G. Quercia, and Alvaro Cortes, Identifying Neighborhood ... and Their Implications for Welfare Reform, Volume 9, issue 4), neighborhood effects (Ingrid Gould Ellen and Margery Austin Turner ...
Research Interests:
Outlook: Two views on Robert D. Putnam's “ E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century the 2006 Johan Skytte prize lecture”: Reflections on diversity and social capital: A critique of Robert D. Putnam's “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the twenty‐first century...more
... social consequences. His article “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Commu-nity in the Twenty-First Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture,” pub-... 1964. Location and Land Use. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bowen, William... more
... social consequences. His article “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Commu-nity in the Twenty-First Century The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture,” pub-... 1964. Location and Land Use. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bowen, William G., and Derek Bok. 1998. ...