ABSTRACT
Title 42 of the U.S. Code states that “the future welfare of the Nation and the well-being of its citizens” requires “systematic and sustained action by Federal, State, and local governments to … improve the living environment of low- and moderate-income families, and to develop new centers of population growth and economic activity” (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], n.d.(a)). Policymakers and researchers are increasingly recognizing the importance of economic, social, cultural, and political features of a neighborhood in influencing the short- and long-term opportunities available to its residents (Brooks-Gunn et al., 1997; Ellen and Turner, 2003; Sampson et al., 2002).
