The Politics of Poverty Deconcentration and Housing Demolition

Abstract

Concentrated poverty is the organizing framework for much housing policy at the federal and local levels. This article examines the effect of concentrated poverty on the politics of housing and community development at the local level. A case study of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area suggests that in high-poverty neighborhoods efforts to deconcentrate lead to political battles reminiscent of the urban renewal era in which poor and minority residents fight to save their housing and communities from slum clearance. For central cities, the deconcentration of poverty as a policy objective introduces a new set of criteria against which community development efforts are judged, making the development of subsidized and affordable housing more difficult to initiate or sustain. At the regional level, concerns about the concentration of poverty can create new alliances of resistance to affordable housing and even justify demolition in older, inner-ring suburbs.

Testing O’Connor and Thomas: Does the Use of Eminent Domain Target Poor and Minority Communities?

“…This study has sought to test the assertions made by Justices O'Connor and Thomas about the uneven effects of eminent domain for private-to-private transfers of property (Dreher and Echeverria, 2006) and are consistent with related literature illustrating the disproportionate effects of redevelopment on minorities and the poor (Gans, 1962;Gelfand, 1975;Goetz, 2000;Goodman and Monti, 1999;Gotham, 2001;Hines, 1982;Hirsch, 1983;Kraus, 2004;Massey and Denton, 1993;Wilson, 1996). For contemporary gentrifi cation scholars, these fi ndings may also lend support to a link between redevelopment using eminent domain and recent expanded definitions of 'third-wave' gentrification that include much broader redifferentiations of cultural, social and economic landscapes (Porter and Barber, 2006;Smith, 2002) built around consumptive pursuits such tourism, culture and entertainment in the form of upscale shops, restaurants and housing (Hannigan, 1998;Judd and Fainstein, 1999)-what Zukin (1982, 1991, 1995 and others call 'post-modern cities' (Bassett, 1993;Kearns and Philo, 1993;Reichl, 1999;Scott, 2000;Smith, 1996. To be sure, however, this study's methods were designed to examine eminent domain specifi cally, not gentrifi cation or the relationship between them.…”

Aging in (Privatized) Places: Subsidized Housing Policy and Seniors

“…However, government response has resulted in the increased involvement of the private sector, ineffective management practices, spatial isolation of tenants, inadequate funding for maintenance of existing housing stock, and a reduction in housing options (Goetz, 2000;Gotham, Shefner, & Brumley, 2001). This has adversely impacted groups of older adults with limited support networks who need government intervention to successfully obtain and retain affordable housing.…”

Le difficile arrimage entre les politiques sociales et la responsabilité individuelle : le cas des politiques du logement aux États-Unis

“…La troisième et dernière raison qui nous pousse à retenir les États-Unis en tant que cas d'étude tient au fait que les autorités responsables du logement social ont entrepris depuis le début des années 1990 un vaste chantier de remodelage du logement social doublé d'une opération de déconcentration des ménages qui y résident. Ce chantier s'appuie largement sur le programme d'allocation au logement pour faciliter la relocalisation des ménages (Goetz, 2000 L'article se structure en deux parties. La première est consacrée à une mise en contexte de la politique du logement américaine en ce qui concerne le logement social à caractère public et à la description du programme d'allocation au logement.…”