Although the findings of a vast, decades-long study into the effectiveness of efforts to decrease the segregation of poor families did not turn up the results social scientists had hoped for, those efforts were successful in unexpected ways.
According to Sabrina Tavernise, social scientists had hoped that experiments begun in the 1990s to move poor families into more affluent communities would result in better jobs, higher incomes and more education. In findings reported last week in the journal Science, researchers noted those results did not happen. However, "What researchers did find were substantial improvements in the physical and of the people who moved."
"This vast social experiment," notes Tavernise, "tested a long-held theory that
neighborhood is an important determinant of an individual's success." If success is measured by higher incomes, than the answer seems to be no. But it turns out you can quantify happiness in relation to income level. And according to Jens Ludwig, a
professor of public policy at the University of Chicago and the lead
author of the study, "[t]he improvement [in happiness] was equal to the level of life satisfaction of someone
whose annual income was $13,000 more a year."
FULL STORY: Intangible Dividend of Antipoverty Effort: Happiness

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower
A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”
The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train
The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.
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