Fifteen years later: can residential mobility programs provide a long-term escape from neighborhood segregation, crime, and poverty?
We examined whether the Gautreaux residential mobility program, which moved poor black volunteer families who were living in inner-city Chicago into more-affluent and integrated neighborhoods, produced long-run improvements in the neighborhood environments of the participants. We found that although all the participants moved in the 6 to 22 years since their initial placements, they continued to reside in neighborhoods with income levels that matched those of their placement neighborhoods. Families who were placed in higher-income, mostly white neighborhoods were currently living in the most-affluent neighborhoods. Families who were placed in lower-crime and suburban locations were most likely to reside in low-crime neighborhoods years later.
Keels
Micere
M
Human Development and Social Policy Program, Northwestern University, 2046 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. i-lewis@northwestern.edu
Duncan
Greg J
GJ
Deluca
Stefanie
S
Mendenhall
Ruby
R
Rosenbaum
James
J
D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002641:Chicago; D003415:Crime / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends*; D011157:Population Dynamics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D011203:Poverty / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011287:Prejudice; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013383:Suburban Population; D014505:Urban Population; D001741:Black or African American