Spatially integrated and socially segregated: The effects of mixed-income neighbourhoods on social well-being

Abstract

Mixed-income development is the latest in a long line of policy interventions to improve outcomes in distressed urban neighbourhoods, particularly as an alternative to large scale public housing projects. Such developments are inherently integrationist, and have profound effects on the social lives and well-being of residents. After situating mixed-income developments within current residential demographic trends with regard to race and income, this article provides a comprehensive review of the 22 empirical studies addressing social integration in mixed-income developments in the United States, focusing on understanding the effects of spatial integration on social well-being. We discuss policy and practice implications to optimise the social well-being of residents, as well as strategies to improve scholarship in these settings.

Housing affordability sets us apart: The effect of rising housing prices on relocation behaviour

“…A more sustainable approach requires the extension of housing supply to be accompanied by additional measures. For example, inclusionary policies link the construction of market-rate housing to the creation of affordable homes for less privileged households (Thurber et al, 2018). In several countries such as Germany and France, it is a requirement of any new development project that a share of social housing should be provided.…”

Examining the Effect of Squatter Settlements in the Evolution of Spatial Fragmentation in the Housing Market of the City of Buenos Aires by Using Geographical Weighted Regression

“…Yet, diversity may also provide convenient access to work, shopping, and recreational activities. However, many recent works enhance the role of the mixed-income developments, highlighting the affluence of middle income by ensuring equitable access to various neighborhood amenities and opportunities for assisted households to promote poverty deconcentration [30][31][32].…”

Corridors of Freedom: Analyzing Johannesburg’s Ambitious Inclusionary Transit-Oriented Development

“…Internationally, the literature on potential of TOD to bring about meaningful social integration is mixed. There are active attempts in places to design for integration (Thurber, Bohmann, and Heflinger 2018) and reported cases where the quality of interaction between people of different backgrounds has improved because of a shift to public transit and residential densification (Kamruzzaman et al 2014). Some TOD projects by private developers in the United States do report high levels of success in terms of mixing income, race, and tenure (McCormackbaron.com 2018).…”

“…Some TOD projects by private developers in the United States do report high levels of success in terms of mixing income, race, and tenure (McCormackbaron.com 2018). But, there are also more cautious accounts referring to the continued resistance of developers to enter the mixed-income market (Waintrub, Greene, and de DiosOrtúzar 2016) and questions over the extent to which social proximity leads to social mixing (Bricocoli and Cucca 2016;Thurber, Bohmann, and Heflinger 2018).…”

“…The challenges in doing so include both conceptual complications and the intricacies of the Johannesburg context. An analysis of the CoF also provides a contribution to an emergent literature on inclusionary TOD (e.g., Belsky and Fauth 2012;Dwight 2016;Griffith 2017;Thurber, Bohmann, and Heflinger 2018) as an initiative which is, at one level, unambiguously framed by an explicit commitment to inclusion but, at another, is fraught with all the ambiguities and complexities reported on elsewhere.…”