Year Published
2005
Abstract
Recent research by Jargowsky (2003) highlights dramatic changes in the spatial
distribution of concentrated poverty throughout the metropolitan U.S. during the 1990s.
Yet the traditional definition of concentrated poverty – 40 percent of the tract population
living below the federal poverty threshold – remains problematic in light of burgeoning
working poor populations, the emergence of inner-suburban poverty, and long-standing
problems with the federal poverty threshold itself. Under such circumstances, the
common assumption that concentrated poverty areas are ‘underclass’ neighborhoods
plagued by social dysfunction and pathology appears open to question. This article
assesses the physical environments and social profiles of inner suburban neighborhoods
in Los Angeles County characterized by concentrated poverty. Findings reveal that such
neighborhoods tend to be relatively clean and well maintained. Moreover, their residents
are not disproportionately prone to high levels of unemployment, high school dropout
rates, reliance on public assistance, or share of female-headed households – variables
traditionally used to define both concentrated poverty and ‘underclass’ areas. Results
suggest the need for both quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to better
depict emerging poverty patterns, as well as the development of flexible, place-specific
policies able to address the multi-faceted needs of both poverty neighborhoods and that
of their residents.
distribution of concentrated poverty throughout the metropolitan U.S. during the 1990s.
Yet the traditional definition of concentrated poverty – 40 percent of the tract population
living below the federal poverty threshold – remains problematic in light of burgeoning
working poor populations, the emergence of inner-suburban poverty, and long-standing
problems with the federal poverty threshold itself. Under such circumstances, the
common assumption that concentrated poverty areas are ‘underclass’ neighborhoods
plagued by social dysfunction and pathology appears open to question. This article
assesses the physical environments and social profiles of inner suburban neighborhoods
in Los Angeles County characterized by concentrated poverty. Findings reveal that such
neighborhoods tend to be relatively clean and well maintained. Moreover, their residents
are not disproportionately prone to high levels of unemployment, high school dropout
rates, reliance on public assistance, or share of female-headed households – variables
traditionally used to define both concentrated poverty and ‘underclass’ areas. Results
suggest the need for both quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to better
depict emerging poverty patterns, as well as the development of flexible, place-specific
policies able to address the multi-faceted needs of both poverty neighborhoods and that
of their residents.
Research Category