Friday, June 30, 2006
Tweet[IWS] Brookings: Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America [June 2006]
IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Brookings Institution
Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America
by Jason C. Booza, Jackie Cutsinger, and George Galster
June 2006
http://www.brookings.org/metro/pubs/20060622_middleclass.htm
or
http://www.brookings.org/metro/pubs/20060622_middleclass.pdf
[full-text, 24 pages]
Findings
Analysis of 1970 to 2000 decennial census data for families and neighborhoods in the 100
largest metropolitan areas, and in the cities and suburbs of 12 selected metropolitan areas,
finds that:
¡ Middle-income neighborhoods as a proportion of all metropolitan neighborhoods
declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000. This dramatic decline far
outpaced the corresponding drop in the proportion of metropolitan families earning middle
incomes, from 28 percent in 1970 to 22 percent in 2000.
¡ Between 1970 and 2000, lower-income families became more likely to live in
lower-income neighborhoods, and higher-income families in higher-income neighborhoods.
Only 37 percent of lower-income families lived in middle-income neighborhoods
in 2000, down from 55 percent in 1970.
¡ The proportion of neighborhoods that were middle-income shrank faster than the
proportion of families that were middle-income in each of 12 large metropolitan
areas examined. Among the 12 metro areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Baltimore, and
Philadelphia experienced much more dramatic declines in middle-income neighborhoods
than San Antonio and Louisville.
¡ Only 23 percent of central-city neighborhoods in the 12 large metropolitan areas
had a middle-income profile in 2000, down from 45 percent in 1970. A majority of
families (52 percent) and neighborhoods (60 percent) in these cities had low or very low
incomes relative to their metropolitan area median in 2000.
¡ A much larger proportion44 percentof suburban neighborhoods in the 12 metropolitan
areas had a middle-income profile in 2000. Yet this proportion fell over the
30-year period, too, from 64 percent in 1970, accompanying a smaller decline in suburban
middle-income families. Suburban middle-income neighborhoods were replaced in
roughly equal measure by low-income and very high-income neighborhoods.
Although middle-income families have declined considerably as a share of the overall family
income distribution, it is noteworthy that middle-class neighborhoods have disappeared
even faster in metropolitan areas, especially in cities. This trend suggests increased sorting
of high- and low-income families into neighborhoods that reflect their own economic
profiles, and increased vulnerability of middle-class neighborhoods tipping towards
higher- or lower-income status. The resulting disparities among neighborhoods create
new challenges for policies to enhance household mobility, improve the delivery of key
public services, and promote private-sector investment in struggling locales.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________
Brookings Institution
Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America
by Jason C. Booza, Jackie Cutsinger, and George Galster
June 2006
http://www.brookings.org/metro/pubs/20060622_middleclass.htm
or
http://www.brookings.org/metro/pubs/20060622_middleclass.pdf
[full-text, 24 pages]
Findings
Analysis of 1970 to 2000 decennial census data for families and neighborhoods in the 100
largest metropolitan areas, and in the cities and suburbs of 12 selected metropolitan areas,
finds that:
¡ Middle-income neighborhoods as a proportion of all metropolitan neighborhoods
declined from 58 percent in 1970 to 41 percent in 2000. This dramatic decline far
outpaced the corresponding drop in the proportion of metropolitan families earning middle
incomes, from 28 percent in 1970 to 22 percent in 2000.
¡ Between 1970 and 2000, lower-income families became more likely to live in
lower-income neighborhoods, and higher-income families in higher-income neighborhoods.
Only 37 percent of lower-income families lived in middle-income neighborhoods
in 2000, down from 55 percent in 1970.
¡ The proportion of neighborhoods that were middle-income shrank faster than the
proportion of families that were middle-income in each of 12 large metropolitan
areas examined. Among the 12 metro areas, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Baltimore, and
Philadelphia experienced much more dramatic declines in middle-income neighborhoods
than San Antonio and Louisville.
¡ Only 23 percent of central-city neighborhoods in the 12 large metropolitan areas
had a middle-income profile in 2000, down from 45 percent in 1970. A majority of
families (52 percent) and neighborhoods (60 percent) in these cities had low or very low
incomes relative to their metropolitan area median in 2000.
¡ A much larger proportion44 percentof suburban neighborhoods in the 12 metropolitan
areas had a middle-income profile in 2000. Yet this proportion fell over the
30-year period, too, from 64 percent in 1970, accompanying a smaller decline in suburban
middle-income families. Suburban middle-income neighborhoods were replaced in
roughly equal measure by low-income and very high-income neighborhoods.
Although middle-income families have declined considerably as a share of the overall family
income distribution, it is noteworthy that middle-class neighborhoods have disappeared
even faster in metropolitan areas, especially in cities. This trend suggests increased sorting
of high- and low-income families into neighborhoods that reflect their own economic
profiles, and increased vulnerability of middle-class neighborhoods tipping towards
higher- or lower-income status. The resulting disparities among neighborhoods create
new challenges for policies to enhance household mobility, improve the delivery of key
public services, and promote private-sector investment in struggling locales.
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.
Stuart Basefsky
Director, IWS News Bureau
Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell/ILR School
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: (607) 255-2703
Fax: (607) 255-9641
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu
****************************************
# posted by SBasefsky : 9:33 AM
