View Research by Author - George Galster

Publications

George Galster explains how children are harmed by growing up in predominantly poor neighborhoods. He also recommends ways to improve federal and state housing programs to avoid high concentrations of poverty. George Galster is an Urban Institute Affiliated Scholar and the Clarence B. Hilberry Professor of Urban Affairs at Wayne State University.

Supporters of urban revitalization have relied on community development corporations (CDCs) to carry a major share of the front-line burden. This research presents new evidence that these community-controlled, market-responsive organizations can indeed spark a chain reaction of investment. Advanced econometric analysis shows that CDC residential and commercial investments have led to increases in property values--the single-best measure of neighborhood improvement--as great as 69 percent higher than they would have been otherwise. To achieve these results, CDCs did more than just develop projects; they also brought business people, civic organizations, and public agencies into the neighborhood improvement process.

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.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is the largest of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments's formula block grant programs. This study examines whether readily available data sources can be used to track the outcomes of activities funded with CDBG. The study concludes that two data elements--median home loan amount and the number of businesses--have potential as tools for helping local communities measure the effects of concentrated CDBG expenditures, but additional research is needed. This initial work does not support the use of this methodology for a national performance measure applicable to all CDBG programs; however, these measures may be useful to communities interested in assessing their own community development performance and in furthering their understanding of the neighborhood effects of past CDBG investments.

This exploration combines and analyzes information from three sources to assess the potential effects the GSEs' underwriting and appraisal guidelines on the funding of loans on properties affordable to lower-income people and in underserved areas, and the impacts automated underwriting and credit scoring technology have on low- to moderate-income and minority borrowers. In addition, it includes information about lenders' perceptions about the effects of the GSEs' guidelines on minority mortgage applicants, since minorities' lower average incomes and wealth mean that underwriting guidelines are likely to disqualify higher proportions of minority applicants.

Recent studies have shown that homeowners in minority neighborhoods are less likely to have private home insurance, have policies that provide less coverage in case of a loss, and are likely to pay more for similar policies than their counterparts in predominantly white neighborhoods. This report analyzes an Urban Institute study that explored one possible source of these differences by testing for discrimination against homebuyers in minority neighborhoods seeking insurance quotes.

In the wake of apparent decreasing public confidence in both government and in the value of empirical analysis as a guide to action, this paper reflects on the historical role that applied social science has played in the public sector and the role it might play in the future. The author offers three practical suggestions for helping social science policy research maintain standards and effectively meet the challenges of the future.

This study estimates the size and characteristics of the potential homeowner market and examines the relative default risks associated with expanded homeownership among lower-income, "underserved" households.

Research into urban problems influences, and is influenced by, both the problems themselves and the policies made in response to them. This book describes the policymaking process in general and the role of policy research in particular. It covers economic development, education, poverty, family support and social welfare, housing, intergovernmental financial relations, drugs, and racial discrimination and segregation.

Research into urban problems influences, and is influenced by, both the problems themselves and the policies made in response to them. This book describes the policymaking process in general and the role of policy research in particular. It covers economic development, education, poverty, family support and social welfare, housing, intergovernmental financial relations, drugs, and racial discrimination and segregation.

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