A recent study from Georgia State University suggests that policymakers might have a limited view of economically struggling neighborhoods.
Traditionally, it’s been assumed that people are “stuck” in these areas because it’s tough to leave due to money or structural issues. This idea has shaped policies like housing vouchers, made famous by Patrick Sharkey’s book Stuck in Place.
More nuanced picture
But this new research suggests things might not be so simple. While some do leave these neighborhoods, many end up coming back for reasons other than just money.
This complicates things for policymakers, showing that fixing economic problems alone might not be enough to help people move out of disadvantaged areas. They might need to consider a broader range of factors influencing why people stay or leave.
“In the Moving to Opportunity experiment, families were given vouchers to move to a different neighborhood,” the researchers explain. “It was an experiment to see what would happen over time if people were given a ticket out. They found that a lot of those families ended up moving back, but they don’t have comprehensive data as to why.”
Rooted in place
Another factor, known as rootedness, offers insight into why people might stay in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Unlike being “stuck,” which suggests financial limitations, rootedness encompasses the social and emotional ties that bind individuals to their communities.
These connections can include family, friends, and familiar surroundings. Rootedness often develops when societal institutions are weak, leading people to rely more heavily on close relationships with family and neighbors.
The study drew on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the subsequent Child Development Supplement. These surveys provided a wealth of sociodemographic, psychological, and economic information about participants.
Additionally, the researchers examined data from 1999 to track whether families who were part of the 1997 PSID moved in the following years. Despite the survey’s age—nearly 30 years old—the team found it valuable for several key reasons.
“This PSID was used in the book Stuck in Place, so we can tell the counternarrative with that same data. The other reason we used the 1997 survey is because it was the year they asked particular questions about people’s social ties to the neighborhood,” the researchers explain. “They asked things like how many children’s names do you know, how many friends do you have in this neighborhood. Unfortunately, they didn’t continue to ask those questions, though the survey still happens every two years.”
Stuck and rooted
The study found that often families were both stuck and rooted in the deprived neighborhoods. This immobility was strongly linked with a low level of education in the head of the household. This is fairly well known, but what is new is the importance of social ties to that neighborhood.
Coming up with solutions to this problem is far from straightforward, however, and the researchers concede that more research will be required for this to happen.
“It’s hard to come up with something that feels simple enough to actually make it practical but also able to address all the nuances of the problem,” they conclude. “We’re humans, and our stories are complicated.”
