Broad changes in urban structure have caused increased concentrations of poverty in the United States. Research over the last 25 years has demonstrated effects of neighborhood context on individual and social outcomes, including educational performance and attainment, risky behavior and health, child bearing, and family structure and decision making. In response, extensive local public policy and investment has been directed at low income neighborhoods, often called economic or community "development," with the goal of changing neighborhoods and improving individual well being. However, there has been little scientific research on the impact of these investments and policies. Previous studies have compared outcomes in different neighborhoods, or studied people who move from one neighborhood to another. This study focuses on the same neighborhood before and after significant publicly-driven investment.
In the study, observations of neighborhood conditions, responses on household surveys, results from economic experiments, reports from students, parents and teachers, and administrative school district data are collected. This study exploits geographic location to test how publicly-driven investment changes the physical and social landscape of a neighborhood and the well-being of its residents. This study takes advantage of a unique opportunity to study a poor neighborhood in Dallas, Texas that will experience significant public investment within the next five years, including a light rail project that will bring three stations. In addition, transit oriented development zoning, philanthropic and nonprofit activities, a HOPE VI award, and tax increment financing districts will encourage private investors to develop the neighborhood. We expect that these projects will drive significant change especially around the stations, while change will be less dramatic as distance from the stations increases, creating "treatment and control groups" for comparison and implementing a scientifically valid study.
The neighborhood is primarily African-American and Hispanic and the research involves African-American and Hispanic student research assistants for data collection and research support. Additionally, community-based workers participate in the collection of data.
Our documentation of the impacts of publicly-driven investment in a poor urban neighborhood will yield valuable insights to city planners and policy makers. The data is of interest to other social and behavioral scientists, including researchers in public health, education, and many other fields. The results illuminate the costs and benefits of public investment for neighborhood change.
