《Collective efficacy in disadvantaged neighborhoods: The influence of Habitat for Humanity》

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作者
来源
JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS,Vol.40,Issue6,P.782-804
语言
英文
关键字
HOUSING POLICY; MOBILITY; POVERTY; GENTRIFICATION; RENEWAL; CHOICE; IMPACT; WHITE
作者单位
[Lattimore, John] Habitat Humanity Greenville, Greenville, SC USA. [Lauria, Mickey] Clemson Univ, City & Reg Planning, Clemson, SC USA. [Lauria, Mickey] Clemson Univ, Transdisciplinary PhD Program Planning Design & B, Clemson, SC USA. Lauria, M (reprint author), Clemson Univ, Planning Design & Built Environm, Lee Hall 2-315, Clemson, SC 29634 USA. E-Mail: mlauria@clemson.edu
摘要
In this study, we examine neighborhood poverty and the problems with which it is associated. Much of housing policy is based on the assumption that poor people need more affluent people around them to solve these problems. We argue instead that individual motivation to better one's life may have a larger impact on surrounding neighbors, especially if these individuals are similar in race and income. We investigate low-income neighborhoods characterized by a large presence of Habitat for Humanity homeowners in five U.S. cities to determine whether their Habitat residents' motivation to better their lives has a spillover effect on their neighbors. Through a comparative multiple case study design, we examine the collective efficacy of these census blocks and find that there is a positive Habitat effect on these neighborhoods. However, we find that the local Habitat affiliate characteristics, number and development pattern of Habitat houses present, and level of neighborhood disadvantage are also key contextual variables in determining any positive effect on their neighborhoods. Our conclusions provide lessons for local Habitat affiliates, as well as policymakers, planning agencies, and housing advocates.