Alan Berube Brookings Institution
Confronting Suburban PovertyChallenges and Solutions for the Atlanta Region
1The geography of poverty and opportunity has changed
Current policies are not aligned to this new geography2
3We need a new agenda for metropolitan opportunity
The geography of poverty and opportunity has changed1
Today, more of the nation’s poor live in suburbs than in cities
Number in poverty, central cities versus suburbs, 1970-2011. Source: Brookings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data
0
5
10
15
20
1970 1980 1990 2000 2011
Mill
ions
of p
eopl
e
Poor Individuals in Suburbs Poor Individuals in Cities
The poor population doubled in Atlanta’s suburbs in the 2000s
Number in poverty, central cities versus suburbs, 1970-2011. Source: Brookings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Thou
sand
s of p
eopl
e
Poor Individuals in Suburbs Poor Individuals in Atlanta
Poverty has spread beyond older, inner-ring suburbs
Atlanta’s urban and suburban poor are similar in many ways
Source: Brookings Institution analysis of ACS data
Foreign born White non-Hispanic Under 18 Female HH with kids Deep poverty HS dropout
7%
17%
29%
55%53%
27%
19%
31% 30%
50%
43%
29%
Share of Atlanta poorShare of Suburban poor
Several factors drive suburban poverty in the Atlanta region
Population Change Immigration Housing
Job Location Regional Economy
City Suburbs
4%
29%
Cities Suburbs
Population Change,Atlanta region,
2000 to 2011
Overall population has grown much faster in the suburbs
Source: Brookings Institution analysis of ACS and Decennial Census data
Immigration is contributing to growth in suburban poverty
Contribution to Growth in Suburban Poor Population,
2000 to 2009
27%
73%
Source: Robert Suro, Jill Wilson, and Audrey Singer “Immigration and Poverty in America's Suburbs”
2000 2008
55,042
74,581
Housing Voucher Recipients in Suburbs
Affordable housing is spreading to Atlanta’s suburbs
Source: Brookings Institution analysis of HUD “Picture of Subsidized Housing” data
Subprim
e Loan
s
Loan
s in Fo
reclosu
re or L
ost
92% 91%
Share of 2004-08 Loans in Suburbs, Atlanta region
Most subprime lending and foreclosures were suburban
Source: Chris Shildt, Naomi Cytron, Elizabeth Kneebone and Carolina Reid, “The Subprime Crisis in Suburbia: Exploring the Links between Foreclosures and Suburban Poverty”
2000 2010
60%
65%
Share of Atlanta region jobsLocated 10 to 35 Miles
from Downtown
Jobs continue to move farther out in the Atlanta region
Source: Elizabeth Kneebone, “Job Sprawl Stalls: The Great Recession and Metropolitan Employment Location”
Increase in Unemployment Rate, Atlanta region, Dec 2007 to Dec 2010
Unemployment rose as much in the suburbs as in the city
City Suburbs
5.5 5.3
Source: Brookings Institution analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics LAUS data
Suburban poverty brings added challenges
Transit Access Strained Local Services
Limited Philanthropic Resources Change in School Populations
City Suburbs
100%
31%
Share of Workers with Transit Stop Nearby, Atlanta region,
2011
Suburban commuters have much less access to transit
Source: Tomer, Kneebone, Puentes, and Berube, “Missed Opportunity” (Brookings, 2011)
Suburban commuters with transit can’t reach as many jobs
City Suburbs
33%
17%
Share of Atlanta region jobs accessible within 90 minutes via
transit, 2011Source: Tomer, Kneebone, Puentes, and Berube, “Missed Opportunity” (Brookings, 2011)
Number of Education, Health, and Human Services Nonprofits per 1,000 residents,
Atlanta region, 2010
Fulton County Rest of Metro
0.99
0.24
Source: Analysis of Urban Institute National Center on Charitable Statistics data
Suburbs have much less nonprofit density
Grants Dollars per Poor Person, Atlanta Metro Area 2007
City Suburbs
$72
$2
Philanthropic support for suburban organizations is limited
Source: Reckhow and Weir, “Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net” (Brookings, 2012)
Percent Change in Number of Students Enrolled in Free and
Reduced Price Lunch, Atlanta region,2005-06 to 2009-10
Schools are seeing low-income populations multiply
City Suburbs
8%
25%
Source: Brookings analysis of GreatSchools data
Average school-wide proficiency ranking statewide, Atlanta
suburban students, 2009-10
Low-income suburban students attend schools with below-average test scores
71%
46%
Poverty is not distributing evenly across Atlanta’s suburbs
Below Average Poverty Rate Growth Above Average Poverty Rate Growth
Above Average
Poor Population
Growth
BelowAverage
Poor Population
Growth
Henry County
Alpharetta city
Gwinnett County
Marietta city
Current policies are not aligned to this new geography2
Substance Abuse Treatment
Block Grant; Social Services
Block Grant; Substance
Abuse Prevention Block
Grant; Community Mental
Health Services Block Grant
(MHSBG); Access to
Recovery (ATR)
Social Services
The legacy system of place-based anti-poverty programs does not map easily onto the suburban landscape
Child and Adult Care Food
Program; The Emergency
Food Assistance Program
(TEFAP); Summer Food
Service Program; Commodity
Supplemental Food Program;
WIC Farmers’ Market
Nutrition Program (FMNP)
Food Assistance
Job TrainingJob Corps; WIA Dislocated Worker
Employment and Training Activities;
WIA Youth Appropriation; WIA Adult
Program; WIA Dislocated Worker
National Emergency Grants;
YouthBuild; Learn and Serve America:
School and Community Based
Programs; Supported Employment
State Grants; Work Opportunity Tax
Credit; Child Care and Development
Block Grant
Education
Title I — Improving The Academic Achievement Of The
Disadvantaged; Head Start and Early Head Start; Improving
Teacher Quality State Grants; Adult Basic and Literacy Education
State Grants; TRIO: Upward Bound; Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP); Teacher
Incentive Fund; TRIO: Student Support Services; College Access
Challenge Grant Program; Mathematics and Science Partnerships;
TRIO:Talent Search; Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge;
TRIO: Educational Opportunity Centers; TRIO: Upward Bound
Math Science; Parental Information and Resource Centers;
Advanced Placement Program (Advanced Placement Test Fee;
Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grants); School
Leadership Program; Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Assets
for Independence (AFI); IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA); 21st Century Community Learning Centers; Child Care
Access Means Parents in School Program; Advanced Placement
Incentive Program Grants; Qualified zone academy bonds (QZAB);
Charter Schools Program
HealthConsolidated Health Centers
(Community Health Centers, Migrant
Health Centers, Health Care for the
Homeless, Public Housing Primary
Care, and School Based Health
Centers); Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Grants for Capital Development in
Health Centers; Title V Maternal and
Child Health Services Block Grant
Program; Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting Program
Economic Development
New Markets Tax Credit ; Renewal
Community Tax Incentives; Community
Development Financial Institutions Program;
ARRA- Investments for Public Works and
Economic Development Facilities; Recovery
Zone Bonds; ARRA- Economic Adjustment
Assistance; Economic Development: Support
for Planning Organizations; Community
Economic Development; Technical Assistance;
Bank Enterprise Award; Economic
Development: Technical Assistance;
Community Services Block Grant; Community
Services Block Grant: Discretionary Awards
Housing
Emergency Food and Shelter
Program; Tenant-based Rental
Assistance; Sustainable
Communities Regional
Planning Grant Program;
Housing Choice Voucher
(HCV) Family Self-Sufficiency;
Housing Counseling
Assistance
$82 billion81 federal programs
10 agencies
These programs typically address place-based poverty in one of three ways
Service Provision
Neighborhood Improvement
Expanding Choice
Need dispersed geographically
Program stigma/ lack of familiarity
Market failures not neighborhood based
Areas may lack needed locational advantages
Families have already “made it” to suburbs
Opportunities may lie in very different part of region
Suburbs face additional challenges
Lack of Capacity
Inflexible, Unreliable Funding
Extensive Fragmentation
The cavalry is not coming.
--Bruce Katz
3We need a new agenda for metropolitan opportunity
Yet innovators across the country are finding creative ways to navigate this system
HealthConsolidated Health Centers
(Community Health Centers, Migrant
Health Centers, Health Care for the
Homeless, Public Housing Primary
Care, and School Based Health
Centers); Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Grants for Capital Development in
Health Centers; Title V Maternal and
Child Health Services Block Grant
Program; Maternal, Infant, and Early
Childhood Home Visiting Program
Food Assistance
Child and Adult Care Food
Program; The Emergency Food
Assistance Program (TEFAP);
Summer Food Service
Program; Commodity
Supplemental Food Program;
WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition
Program (FMNP)
Housing
Emergency Food and Shelter
Program; Tenant-based Rental
Assistance; Sustainable
Communities Regional
Planning Grant Program;
Housing Choice Voucher
(HCV) Family Self-Sufficiency;
Housing Counseling
Assistance
Job Training
Job Corps; WIA Dislocated Worker
Employment and Training Activities;
WIA Youth Appropriation; WIA Adult
Program; WIA Dislocated Worker
National Emergency Grants;
YouthBuild; Learn and Serve America:
School and Community Based
Programs; Supported Employment
State Grants; Work Opportunity Tax
Credit; Child Care and Development
Block Grant
Title I — Improving The Academic Achievement Of The
Disadvantaged; Head Start and Early Head Start; Improving
Teacher Quality State Grants; Adult Basic and Literacy Education
State Grants; TRIO: Upward Bound; Gaining Early Awareness and
Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP); Teacher
Incentive Fund; TRIO: Student Support Services; College Access
Challenge Grant Program; Mathematics and Science Partnerships;
TRIO:Talent Search; Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge;
TRIO: Educational Opportunity Centers; TRIO: Upward Bound
Math Science; Parental Information and Resource Centers;
Advanced Placement Program (Advanced Placement Test Fee;
Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grants); School
Leadership Program; Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Assets
for Independence (AFI); IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA); 21st Century Community Learning Centers; Child Care
Access Means Parents in School Program; Advanced Placement
Incentive Program Grants; Qualified zone academy bonds (QZAB);
Charter Schools Program
Education
Economic Development
New Markets Tax Credit ; Renewal
Community Tax Incentives; Community
Development Financial Institutions Program;
ARRA- Investments for Public Works and
Economic Development Facilities; Recovery
Zone Bonds; ARRA- Economic Adjustment
Assistance; Economic Development: Support
for Planning Organizations; Community
Economic Development; Technical Assistance;
Bank Enterprise Award; Economic
Development: Technical Assistance;
Community Services Block Grant; Community
Services Block Grant: Discretionary Awards
Social Services
Substance Abuse Treatment
Block Grant; Social Services
Block Grant; Substance
Abuse Prevention Block
Grant; Community Mental
Health Services Block Grant
(MHSBG); Access to Recovery
(ATR)
Achieve Scale
Neighborhood Centers Inc.• Has an annual budget of more than $275 million,
70 different sites, and a staff of over 1,000• Coordinates resources from 35 federal programs,
state, local, and private sources to provide a seamless continuum of services
• Collaborates with other area providers
Support smart consolidation
Improve systems and networks
Promote high-performance organizations
Collaborate and IntegrateChicago Southland Housing and Community Development Collaborative• Represents 23 municipalities• Continues to be supported by regional
institutions and local funders• Breaks down policy silos
Identify and reduce barriers
Catalyze regional capacity
Reward collaborative approaches
Fund strategicallyMortgage Resolution Fund
• Uses a market-based, enterprise-level approach
• Leverages existing nonprofit expertise and private sector resources
• Focuses on measurable outcomes
Commit to enterprise-level funding
Promote tools that leverage public & private resources
Develop consistent, comparable data sources
Creating a Metropolitan Opportunity Challenge could help bring these solutions to scale in regions across the country
Federal Place-Based Anti-Poverty Programs
$82 Billion; 81 Programs; 10 Agencies
Re-purpose 5% : $4 billion
www.ConfrontingSuburbanPoverty.org
You can read more about the Metropolitan Opportunity Challenge and the contents of the book on our new website
The website provides a host of helpful resources:
Profiles of the top 100 metros Case studies of innovators
Charts and data Video
Infographic
Identity matters…
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