Using boundary-matched 1980 and 1990 census tract data for the central county of the Columbus, Ohio, metropolitan area, the authors explore the effect that public housing has on changes in neighborhood poverty rates to evaluate the impact of governmental and institutional actions on recent increases in poverty concentration within urban areas. Three important findings emerge: Public housing concentrated poverty in Columbus during the 1980s, the effect of public housing on poverty concentration was greater among blacks than whites, and public housing concentrates poverty because host neighborhoods house the at-risk portion of the population and because public housing affects the surrounding housing market.
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