Housing Choice Vouchers and Crime in Charlotte,NC

Recent media attention and research have focused on the effect of housing vouchers on crime, with different conclusions. The purpose of this study is to bring further evidence to the voucher–crime debate, using annual data from 2000 to 2009 for Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. We study the relationship between crime counts and housing vouchers with quantile regression models with year and census tract fixed effects. We found that voucher households are associated with increased crime, controlling for past crime levels. Estimates vary, however, with the concentration of vouchers in the neighborhood, with little impact in areas with low concentrations. Estimates also vary with the neighborhood crime level. We extend the literature by examining the effect of different voucher family types, finding no evidence that elderly households or nonelderly households without disabilities and without children are associated with more crime. However, we found a very significant positive association for nonelderly households without disabilities with children. Our results indicate that significant crime reductions could be accomplished by focusing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, local housing agency, and criminal justice resources on the types of places and voucher families most at risk for crime problems when a family uses a voucher to move into a new neighborhood.     

Modeling the relationship among brownfields,property values,and community revitalization

Abstract

The main focus in redeveloping brownfields is on the most marketable properties, typically found in the healthiest urban neighborhoods. As evidenced by the rapid redevelopment that many communities are experiencing, this approach is helping to return brownfields to productive use. Yet not all brownfields are being cleaned up, nor are there enough resources to do so soon. Thus, from the perspective of community revitalization and of economic justice, we need to ask whether it matters which properties in which neighborhoods are receiving these scarce funds. That is, does the existence of brownfields in a neighborhood affect residential property values and capacity for revitalization?

To answer these questions, we use hedonic modeling to determine the impact of brownfields on property values in Atlanta and Cleveland. Our results suggest that short‐term economic efficiency is neither the most appropriate nor the only criterion on which to base public investment decisions for remediation.     

Consumer Preference for Neotraditional Neighborhood Characteristics

Abstract

Much research on residential mobility relies on examining people's choices within the context of what is available in a local housing market. However, it is difficult to determine the demand for alternative housing or neighborhood types that may not be available or are available only in limited quantities. Hence, the market may not accurately reveal consumer preferences for such alternatives.

We estimate a discrete choice model of neighborhood choice by using data from a choice‐based conjoint analysis survey that allows us to vary characteristics experimentally. The model is used to determine consumer preferences for neotraditional neighborhood design features, including neighborhood layout, housing density, surrounding open space, and commuting time, while holding other characteristics, including school quality and neighborhood safety, constant. The results indicate that the neotraditional design with higher density is less preferred on average, but that niche marketing, additional open space, or other amenities can overcome its negative effects.     

Assessing the Impact of Microcredit: A Zambian Case Study

Expectations are high, but evidence of the impact of microcredit remains in short supply. This article estimates the impact of an urban credit programme in Zambia on business performance and on a range of indicators of wellbeing. Borrowers who obtained a second loan experienced significantly higher average growth in business profits and household income. Inflexible group enforcement of loan obligations resulted in some borrowers, especially amongst those who had taken only one loan, being made worse off. Our methodological investigations suggest that the supply of rigorous impact studies can be increased by basing them on data collection that serves a wider range of purposes, including market research.     

城市群突破：对贵州优化城市（镇）空间布局的思考

城市群逐渐成为衡量一个国家或地区社经济会发展水平的重要标志。文章从城市群概念及其建构条件人手,阐述了贵州城市群发展的时代背景、基础条件和重要意义;以重点打造黔中城市群为突破口,分析和提出了贵州城镇化空间战略布局的调整思路,即“一群、三轴、五组团”的城市空间布局结构,进一步论证了以黔中城市群为重点、优化贵州城市（镇）空间布局调整的对策建议。     

加快城镇建设的理性思考——以印江自治县为例

加快城镇经济发展,不仅是经济结构战略性调整的重要任务,也是优化城乡经济结构,实现全面协调可持续发展的重大举措。     

抗战前后新启蒙思潮的“中国化”转向及运行困境

受特殊运行环境的激发，新启蒙思潮开启了由“西化”向“中国化”的转型尝试。然而，思想启蒙的实现程度，总是取决于它满足该国家需要的程度。由于对民族文化特别是儒家传统救国意义的过分迷恋和畸形阐发，新启蒙思潮没能形成对中国国情的全面把握，其“中国化”话语出现了批判意识与保守情结、“济天下”与“善其身”、文化包容与权威整合、民族觉醒与个性解放等关系的调处困境，最终在继承与超越、传统与现代等一系列博弈斗争中，左右摇摆、顾此失彼，没能形成对中国化进程的系统推动。当前，“中国化”话语的建构应在马克思主义的指导下，依托民众主体力量，着眼于现实实践的主题变化，充分激发社会主义制度优势，才能超越对旧传统的过分纠葛，开拓出更为广阔的创新前景。     

区域城市一体化的政区逻辑:政区治理化与治理政区化

区域城市一体化是区域发展体现国家战略的重要路径,而实现这一路径的核心难题则是推进区域城市的一体化治理。尽管传统的单一区划调整由于其诸多制度弊端受到学界的强烈批判,并生发出诸多以不动区划的区域治理理论予以解释并应用,但行政区划调整在中国特色的区域治理中仍有其制度生命力。这种生命力体现在传统区划调整从制度供给和制度需求两方面的转变,一方面是从制度供给角度进行政区政策工具的扩展化改造,另一方面是在制度需求角度将区域一体化对政区的空间逻辑需求叠加上政治逻辑需求。由此,区域城市一体化中的政区治理化和治理政区化构成了弥合行政区划在理论上失灵和实践中管用这一张力的解释路径,也同时为区域城市一体化的现实治理提供一个独特的政策路径。     

Place and Policy Preferences – Spatial Divides in Attitudes towards Social Policies in Germany

The rise of the knowledge economy has led to a bifurcation between prosperous, often urban, areas and “left-behind” regions. While the literature has started to analyse the political implications of these developments for electoral behaviour and socio-cultural attitudes, the structuring of social policy preferences by place remains unclear. Distinguishing between an economic (booming-declining) and a geographic (urban–rural) dimension, I argue that differences in material self-interest and ideological predispositions explain spatial divides in support for different types of social policies. Combining original survey data on voters' preferences with municipal-level data in Germany, I show that general support for social policy is higher in declining than in booming regions. However, social investments (e.g., active labour market policies) are preferred over consumption policies (e.g., unemployment benefits) in booming and, to a smaller degree, in urban than in declining and rural regions. These findings contribute to a bigger discussion on compensating “left-behind” regions.