As more evidence shows that neighborhood-level factors heavily impact future outcomes, place-based policies should use more accurate measurements to ensure persistently poor places don’t fall through the cracks.

A commentary in Route Fifty by August Benzow and Kenan Fikri describes how new research explains “how an economically distressed place can transmit poverty from one generation to the next.”
For the authors; it is important to point out that “Pioneering researchers like Harvard’s Raj Chetty have shown that children who grow up in high-poverty environments are less likely to climb the income ladder as adults,” contrary to the popular American narrative of bootstrap success.
For Benzow and Fikri, “the way we measure and target persistent poverty leaves millions of vulnerable Americans invisible to programs intended to support them.” This includes how places are designated as ‘chronically poor,’ which is currently done at the county level. “Looking no deeper severely underestimates the size of the problem and therefore the scope of the challenge. Roughly 20.5 million Americans live in a persistent-poverty county, but 35 million reside in a persistent-poverty census tract.”
The article concludes that “high poverty rates will persist across thousands of American communities because the fabric that weaves them into the national economy has grown threadbare.” The authors call for “a growth agenda for persistent-poverty communities—the very places where the nation’s social and economic challenges are greatest.”
FULL STORY: Will the new wave of place-based policy leave persistently poor areas behind?

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

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

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
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