Geography of Opportunity and Residential Mortgage Foreclosure: A Spatial Analysis of a U.S. Housing Market

Abstract

South Florida has been among the top foreclosure markets in the United States, but little research has explored whether this market presents different dynamics compared to other metropolitan areas. This research chooses Broward County to explore whether socioeconomic characteristics and certain public policy instruments relate to subprime lending and mortgage foreclosure patterns. Results indicate areas bounded by linear highways and railroads have a concentration of low-income black population and subprime loans. The spatial distribution of subprime loans is mostly explained by a higher percentage of minority and/or Hispanic population in a neighborhood. Yet, racial minorities, instead of Hispanic origin, contributes mostly to the concentration of subprime loans. The spatial pattern of foreclosures is more complex, determined not only by subprime loans but also possibly other factors associated with the mortgage crisis. This suggests that disadvantaged neighborhoods are disproportionally lacking favorable opportunities due to institutional and sub- cultural forces shaping the geography of subprime and foreclosure.

Understanding changes in the geography of opportunity over time: The case of Santiago, Chile

“…The dimensions of geography of opportunity most frequently found in the literature are i) education related to access to high-performing education and students in poverty (Chetty et al, 2014a;Lens, 2017;Wilson and Greenlee, 2016); ii) employment, which includes access to jobs, job density and local economy (number, type and size of firms) (Iceland, 1997;Lens, 2017;Squires and Kubrin, 2005;Wilson and Greenlee, 2016); iii) public safety, including crime exposure (Lens, 2017;Sampson, 2001;Wilson and Greenlee, 2016); iv) housing affordability (Li, 2011;Mulliner et al, 2016;Sampson, 2001); v) local services (including financial services) and public health that includes mental health and life expectancy (Galster, 2008;Squires and Kubrin, 2005;Wilson and Greenlee, 2016), as well as the neighbourhood environment effect on children's development and opportunities (Acevedo-Garcia et al, 2014;Galster et al, 2007); vi) social mix related to poverty concentration and the socioeconomic composition of the area (Andersson and Musterd, 2010;Chetty et al, 2014); vii) connectivity that describes the levels of access to employment and service opportunities of households based on indicators such as access to public transport, travel time to work, among others Hu, 2017b;Mayer and Trevien, 2017;Tiznado-Aitken et al, 2016); and viii) urban life that refers to the vitality of an area in terms of its commercial, social and cultural activities that serves the residents and the population from other areas (Squires and Kubrin, 2005).…”