Researchers and the Census Bureau Team Up to Identify Opportunity Neighborhoods
By Catherine Kramer, NYKids Research Assistant
New research from the Census Bureau and economists at Brown and Harvard Universities examines the power of neighborhoods in trapping or propelling young people out of poverty.
Using census data, researchers calculated the expected income levels for economically disadvantaged young people who live within a specific census tract or neighborhood. The results have been surprising. Their research reveals large differences in the expected earnings by neighborhood, even between neighborhoods that do not appear very different from each other.
- New York Times: Detailed New National Maps Show How Neighborhoods Shape Children for Life
- Opportunity Insights: Interactive Maps
Researchers have found that what matters most is the neighborhood within a half-mile of a young person’s home. Even young people who attend the same school may have expected earnings differing by thousands of dollars given their neighborhood. This could mean the difference between moving out of poverty or not.
Right now, researchers have few answers as to what is making the difference in these neighborhoods. It does raise new and interesting questions for educators as to how they might best serve students. Young people could be experiencing disadvantage in hyper-localized ways that we currently fail to capture. It also urges us to consider in what ways educators can level the playing field not only by directly serving students, but also by serving neighborhoods.
To what extent can schools play a role in building strong and supportive neighborhoods for children? NYKids’ odds-beaters like Sherburne-Earlville and Port Chester provide some examples of how to leverage community assets to better the lives of children in their districts.
