Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Margery Austin Turner on Neighborhoods/Community Building

Americans change residences frequently. Residential mobility can reflect positive changes in a family's circumstances or be a symptom of instability and insecurity. Mobility may also change neighborhoods as a whole. To shed light on these challenges, this report uses a unique survey conducted for the Making Connections initiative. The first component measures how mobility contributed to changes in neighborhoods' composition and characteristics. The second component identifies groups of households that reflect different reasons for moving or staying in place. The final component introduces five stylized models of neighborhood performance: each has implications for low-income families' well-being and for community-change efforts.

The devastation and displacement of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita poses a unique set of affordable housing challenges. Although everyone who was displaced by the disaster face significant housing challenges, the needs of low- and moderate-income renters warrant far more attention than they have thus far received. Without affordable rental options, many residents will not be able to return to their communities and the region’s economic recovery may be undermined by the lack of critical workers. This report is intended to help inform and invigorate public debate about affordable rental housing policies that would improve the ongoing recovery from the storms.

Margery Turner, director of the Urban Institute’s Center on Metropolitan Housing and Communities, offers a series of options to more quickly rehabilitate housing in New Orleans. In this Times Picayune commentary, Turner urges more innovation and action by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, particularly in the areas of public housing and interim solutions.

The long road to recovery after Hurricane Katrina requires clear thinking about child development and neighborhood revitalization. Fortunately, say two Urban Institute experts, the building blocks of an effective policy response already exist.

Will the rebirth of New Orleans echo high-priced Las Vegas or Disneyland? The active involvement of New Orleans residents, business owners, and professional planners, say two experts on urban America, will be necessary to avoid resegregating the city's poor and minority citizens in isolated and distressed neighborhoods.

When an earthquake hit Northridge, California, in 1994, emergency housing vouchers helped hard-pressed families secure homes and apartments in decent neighborhoods. For those left destitute by recent Gulf Coast devastation, say two housing experts from the Urban Institute, vouchers, especially when coupled with counseling services, can open up opportunities for stability, security, and economic advancement.

Urban parks have long played a vital role in community-based programs for young people. Their traditional role has been to provide venues for play--open spaces, playgrounds, sports fields, and recreational programs. Facilities of this kind make an important contribution to children's lives. But parks can go much further than simply providing opportunities for recreation. At their best, parks can offer innovative opportunities for kids of different ages to build the skills and strengths they need to lead full and rewarding lives. [View the corresponding press release]

The Urban Institute's Center on Metropolitan Housing and Communities has just released two major reviews of research on the HOPE VI experience to date that offer five fundamental lessons for the next generation of public housing revitalization. The research record strongly supports continuing a flexible investment initiative like HOPE VI. But HOPE VI (or a successor) can and should be substantially strengthened based on lessons learned to date. In addition, the HOPE VI experience has broader applicability to the public housing program as a whole.

The nation is making real progress in combating housing market discrimination. New estimates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), based on Urban Institute research, indicate that while discrimination persists against African Americans and Hispanics searching for homes in major metropolitan areas, its incidence has generally declined since 1989. When African Americans and Hispanics visit real estate or rental offices to inquire about the availability of advertised homes and apartments, they face a significant risk of receiving less information and less favorable treatment than comparable white customers.

After decades of population loss and disinvestment, the housing market in the District of Columbia is on the rebound. Reinvestment brings benefits to the city and its current residents, but it can also have negative consequences. For example, demand for housing can become so high that housing prices are out of reach for many residents, including moderate- and middle-income households. Such consequences, often known as gentrification, can be avoided if affordable housing is preserved in areas facing high demand for homeownership.