The social networks of low-income residents have been simultaneously described as supportive, strained, localized, and limited in providing access to necessary resources and information. Using a longitudinal qualitative approach, this study investigated the social networks of low-income women in one US high-poverty public housing project. Existing sociological frameworks for studying networks did not fully capture the women's social ties, particularly their “draining” ties. As the women were relocated as part of a mixed-income housing initiative targeting their neighborhood, a changing flow of resources and stress passed through social ties. A change in neighborhood prompted changes in low-income people's social networks far different than expected. Findings also raise questions about the importance of weak or bridging ties in linking low-income women with mobility opportunities.

This article examines the social capital available to low‐income households which were relocated to different types of neighborhoods with the HOPE VI program, an initiative aimed at redeveloping U.S. public housing developments into mixed‐income communities. Along with improving the living environment, HOPE VI is thought to improve residents' access to social capital by changing the economic mix of their neighborhoods. This article contributes evidence from multivariate analyses of survey data of Boston HOPE VI residents in their post‐HOPE VI neighborhoods. Findings indicate that rather than neighborhood socioeconomic mix, neighborhood resources, such as libraries, recreation facilities, parks, grocery stores, and social services, followed by place attachment and feelings of safety, were the strongest predictors of social capital. A discussion of why neighborhood resources may be so important for social capital is presented, and implications for policies aimed at improving poverty neighborhoods and low‐income people's access to social capital are considered.

Care models addressing social risk factors are needed to meet the aging-in-place challenges of subsidized housing residents.

The findings suggest the importance of continued exploration of the role of social capital in relation to feelings of safety in later life.

This study assessed the factors that shaped the development of shared trust, norms, reciprocity (TNR)