Unrealized possibilities or neglected chances
Families with Health Issues Face Challenges in Moving Out of High-Poverty Neighborhoods
A new study co-authored by Mariana Arcaya, an assistant professor in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, suggests that families with health issues find it harder to move out of high-poverty neighborhoods. The study, which appears in the American Journal of Epidemiology, received support from the National Science Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The research was based on data collected in the federal government's Moving to Opportunity (MTO) Program, which provided vouchers to low-income families to move to new neighborhoods. Among families given the chance to move to low-poverty neighborhoods, 50% of families without health issues actually did so, while only 38% of families with child-health problems did so.
The study does not provide a precise reason for why families with child-health issues were less likely to move, but suggests possible mechanisms such as a "bandwidth issue" and the disruption of support networks. Grandparents, relatives, and neighbors often play a significant role in childcare for families with health issues, and moving could disrupt these support networks. Additionally, moving may be resistant for families dealing with health challenges due to the potential for higher living costs.
Families with child illnesses who did move settled into neighborhoods where the poverty rate was 2.5 percentage points higher, on average, than the places where families without child-health problems settled. Unexpected health care costs or unpaid time off work for caregiving could leave families in a precarious financial position.
The study examined the relocation of families while MTO was operating from 1994 to 1997, and assessed the neighborhood poverty rate at a follow-up interval in 2002, as well as the total time families spent living in the higher-income neighborhoods to which they moved.
The study findings have been recognized as interesting and persuasive by other scholars. The study suggests that urban planners and policymakers should consider the interaction between health matters and social geography when addressing housing issues. The study also indicates that housing programs may need to offer more active guidance to participants to be effective.
Other researchers who have studied the MTO program and its impact on health and living conditions include Raj Chetty (Harvard University), Nathaniel Hendren (also Harvard), Jens Ludwig (University of Chicago), Lawrence Katz (Harvard), and Lisa Sanbonmatsu (National Bureau of Economic Research). These researchers have published numerous studies on the role of neighborhoods in health, life expectancy, and social mobility, often based on MTO data.
In conclusion, the study highlights the challenges faced by families with health issues when considering a move, and suggests that direct investment in healthcare could be an underutilized tool for poverty deconcentration in urban areas. Urban planners and policymakers should take into account the interaction between health matters and social geography when addressing housing issues, and housing programs may need to offer more active guidance to participants to be effective.
