Ann Carpenter

Hot city, cool city: explaining neighbourhood-level losses in low-cost rental housing in southern US cities

We examine losses in affordable rental units in central cities in a key region of the United States, the South. We examine changes in low-cost rented units across eight large central cities, and then identify neighbourhood characteristics associated with such changes. Finally, we estimate a similar model in two of the cities with the greatest amount of loss in low-cost units and that have different overall housing market conditions – one a ‘hot market’ (Nashville, Tennessee) and one a ‘cool market’ (Memphis, Tennessee). We find that, generally, a number of neighbourhood conditions are associated with greater losses of low-cost units, including more young (25–34) adults, fewer public housing units, more initial low-cost units, and a larger percentage of newer units. However, these relationships do not show up consistently in the Memphis and Nashville models. The presence of younger adults (especially those aged 25–34) is a strong predictor of losing low-cost rental units in Nashville but is not a significant predictor in Memphis. Second, the presence of public housing units appears to serve as a buffer against the loss in low-cost units in a neighbourhood, but not in Memphis or Nashville, perhaps because they have fewer public housing units altogether.

A Comparison of Economic and Social Implications of Rapid Urbanization in Lima and Santiago de Chile

Peru and Chile have experienced an economic boom in recent decades that has transformed the urban form of their respective capital cities of Lima and Santiago. According to United Nations data, Lima and Santiago numbered just over one million inhabitants each in 1950. From 1950 to 2010 Lima’s population grew 740 percent and Santiago 351 percent, to 8.95 million inhabitants in Lima and 5.96 million in Santiago, part of a corresponding migration from rural to urban areas throughout Latin America. In this period, the urban form of each city was modified to accommodate growth. Urban development has been typified by densification of the core, agricultural land conversion, and a rise in informal settlements ( barriadas or pueblos jovenes in Lima and callampas in Santiago). In both Lima and Santiago, fragmented, polycentric growth has had transformative effects. The paper compares social, economic, and urban form indicators of urban sub-units in each city to understand the spatial and social connotations of growth and centrality in two South American cities. Given the largely unimpeded growth and resultant urban form, is decentralization a means for increasing access to amenities and citizen participation or is the lack of regional planning detrimental to vulnerable populations?

Fragmentation in Workforce Development and Efforts to Coordinate Regional Workforce Development Systems: A Case Study of Challenges in Atlanta and Models for Regional Cooperation from across the Country

The importance of human capital in regional economic competitiveness is increasingly apparent. However, structural changes, fragmentation, the instability of funding, and other factors have led to challenges for workforce development providers as well as workforce development systems. This fragmentation has created a less coherent and coordinated workforce development system. Often, metropolitan areas have many programs and policies in place to train workers for jobs that require sub-baccalaureate credentials or skills. The lack of coordination in local training systems may limit the information available to job and training seekers, create duplication of services among providers, and discourage outcome measurement and program evaluation. This paper examines many of these trends and discusses the current state of the workforce development system in the United States by using the Atlanta metropolitan area as a case study. A number of commissioned studies focused on the Atlanta metropolitan areas workforce development system are summarized as local examples of these trends, including recommendations for improving regional collaboration. Finally, lessons learned from successful regional workforce development models in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, and Detroit provide guidance for forging a successful strategy for regional workforce development. These regional collaboratives suggest a way to improve information, programming, and alignment in local job training ecosystems.