Economic mobility and segregation: The extraordinary Harvard/Berkeley nationwide study of upward mobility rates among poor children once again highlights the powerful impact of residential segregation on children’s life chances. Using millions of anonymous tax records to compare earnings of parents and children over time, the study found starkly lower inter-generational economic mobility rates in metro areas with high rates of residential segregation and income inequality (along with several related factors). “Areas in which low income individuals were residentially segregated from middle income individuals were also particularly likely to have low rates of upward mobility.” It’s too bad that President Obama has not stressed housing integration as part of his new economic plan, but some mainstream commentators, like Paul Krugman, are beginning to catch on (and see similar conclusion from our colleagues at Appleseed, among others…)
Upcoming conferences and other resources
“To Make Real the Promises of Democracy” – An “engaged discussion” on the 2012 Supreme Court Term, with Sherilynn Ifill, Ted Shaw, Judith Browne Dianis and many others – Friday September 13 at UNC Law School in Chapel Hill. Cosponsored by the UNC Center for Civil Rights and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Registration info here.
PLACE MATTERS: Exploring the Intersections of Health and Economic Justice, with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Professor David Williams, Touré, and many others – October 2, 2013 in Washington DC, sponsored by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies – information and registration here.
Continuing progress on source of income discrimination: We have just updated our list of jurisdictions with rental protections for Housing Choice Voucher holders (and other source of income protections) to reflect recent victories in Oregon, Cook County IL, Redmond WA. See our updated list here and a related Urban Institute article here.
Hidden housing discrimination? The Fair Housing Justice Center in New York has released a review of HUD’s recent “Housing Discrimination Study,” arguing that the methodology of the study failed to catch some important determinants of discrimination. See Racial Discrimination in Housing: Underestimated and Overlooked (FHJC 2013)
