The Outlook
The Quarterly Newsletter of the USC Center for Economic Development
Volume 9, Issue 2, Spring 2005, Article 4

The Changing Face of Concentrated Poverty
by Jennifer Wolch and Natahan J. Sessons
University of Southern California Department of Geography
Published February 2005

Assessing why poverty in the United States is an important issue to confront no longer remains an inner-city dilemma. Wolch and Sessons suggest that traditional views of defining poverty now prove inadequate in light of poverty conditions that have emerged among the working persons and suburban dwellers. The authors take a microscopic look at the well-kept neighborhoods whose residents experience relatively low unemployment and drop-out rates, but nevertheless contribute to the phenomenon of American poverty. Calling for both qualitative and quantitative methods for measuring poverty, the authors feel that policies which are both flexible and place-specific in nature may address the needs of poverty neighborhoods.

Read the Full Report

Return to Newsletter Table of Contents