Trapped in Poor Places? An Assessment of the Residential Spatial Patterns of Housing Choice Voucher Holders in 2004 and 2008

This study examines the residential spatial patterns of Housing Choice Voucher holders in Western New York in 2004 and 2008 (n = 4,600 and n = 4,759, respectively). It seeks to answer two questions: Has the concentration of voucher holders in impoverished and same race neighborhoods diminished overt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of social service research 2012-10, Vol.38 (5), p.637-655
Main Authors: Patterson, Kelly L., Yoo, Eun-Hye Enki
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Black American people
Black White Differences
concentrated poverty
Housing
Housing Choice Vouchers
Low income people
Neighborhoods
Neighbourhoods
Poverty
Public Housing
Race
Relocation
Residential Patterns
Residential Preferences
residential spatial patterns
Segregation
Social services
Spatial Analysis
spatial clustering
subsidized housing
Vouchers
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Summary:This study examines the residential spatial patterns of Housing Choice Voucher holders in Western New York in 2004 and 2008 (n = 4,600 and n = 4,759, respectively). It seeks to answer two questions: Has the concentration of voucher holders in impoverished and same race neighborhoods diminished overtime; and are voucher holders, particularly African Americans, relocating in patterns that would lead to reghettoization or the reconcentration of race and poverty? This type of residential pattern puts voucher holders at risk for resettling in neighborhoods that limit economic and social mobility. Data from the public housing agency contracted to distribute Housing Choice Vouchers were examined. Exploratory spatial analysis techniques were used to identify spatial outliers and to form a hypothesis on spatial patterns of relocation. Spatial clustering analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis on the reghettoization of African American voucher holders in recently relocated neighborhoods. Analyses indicate that African American voucher holders are moving out of impoverished, hypersegregated areas into historically White neighborhoods. A limited number of voucher holders are moving in clustered patterns, which lead to reghettoization. Future research is needed that highlights the role that housing assistance providers play in the residential location choices of low-income clients.
ISSN:0148-8376
1540-7314
DOI:10.1080/01488376.2012.706698