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Title: Revitalizing Distressed Older Suburbs

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: Its no secret that problems usually associated with inner cities have made their way into suburbia. Poverty, unemployment, foreclosures, population losses, underfunded or failing schools, inadequate public servicestheyre facts of life for millions of people living in distressed, older suburbs across the United States.But what can be done about this? How can the federal government help?What works?This report focuses on predominantly minority suburbs of older, large industrial cities, communities that once were thriving but are now severely distressed and have limited capacities to respond to increasing needs.It supplements census information with a deeper understanding of the underlying forces shaping distressed, older suburbs. It also contributes to a growing body of literature on suburbia in general and on older, inner-ring suburbs in particular. While much has been written about the deleterious effects of living in concentrated poverty in central cities, very little research has examined the problem in distressed suburbs.The research behind this report consisted of a review of literature on the topic (appendix A), identification of the most-distressed suburbs in the United States (appendix B), and in-depth case studies, including site visits and interviews, and fiscal analyses of four most-distressed suburbs (appendices C and D).Our hope is that understanding what works and what does not work in the four case study cities will help inform the federal policy discussion about how best to position distressed suburbs for the future.

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Authors: Hill, Edward W.; Post, Charles; Hexter, Kathryn W.; Clark, Benjamin Y.; Mikelbank, Brian A.

Publisher: What Works Collaborative - Policy Brief

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Other

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