Rory Fraser

Blacks in space: land tenure and well-being in Perry County, Alabama

An exploratory research project has examined the relationship between land tenure and well-being in a rural, predominantly Afro-American, forested county in the USA. Poverty in Alabama’s Black-Belt is endemic, especially among Afro-Americans. The question explored is the relationship between the spatial concentration of Afro-Americans and the well-being of the Afro-American population. This relationship is explored at the sub-county level in Perry County which has a 67% Afro-American population and over 1416 Afro-American landowners, of whom 238 have been identified as owning properties listed in the Plat (property parcel) maps. The analysis was done at the census block-group (sub-county) level. Analysis of Census 2000 block-group data on income, employment and poverty rates shows that areas with higher concentrations of Afro-American landownership are more likely to have Afro-American populations with higher well-being. The research findings provide some insights into the theoretical, methodological and data requirements for a geographically expanded study of forestry practices, land tenure and well-being issues, at the sub-county level.