Looking at the Hyper-Local

One of the most amazing aspects of reentry in Upper Manhattan is how locally specific it is. There are extremely high concentrations of people returning to very small local areas in Harlem -- and this is generally the nature of criminal justice problems in urban areas.

Looking at the broader global context, Swedish public health professor and doctor Hans Rosling has put together a fascinating dataset displaying this same pattern in development. Arguing against the traditional perspective that there are "developed" and then "developing" nations, Rosling uses his data to describe extreme variations among so-called "developing nations." [See also his website to see more displays of world development data compellingly presented.]

The video below -- humorous and dynamic -- shows a presentation he gave through TED at the US Department of State this summer. His visual displays of development over time speak very clearly to the idea that all global phenomena have very specific local manifestations. An interesting idea to ponder in Upper Manhattan as well.

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Reducing Neighborhood Poverty Increases Later Economic Mobility (Duh!)

A recent study by the Pew Charitable Trusts Economic Mobility Project found that residing in a high poverty neighborhood raises the chance for "downward mobility" by 52% for middle class African-Americans. Middle class African-Americans are more likely than than Whites to live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate over 20%. Pew reports that between 1985 and 2000 almost 66% of middle class African-Americans lived in high poverty neighborhoods, compared to 6% of whites.

Since Pew first began reporting data on the impact on economic mobility for persons residing in high-poverty neighborhoods there has been a debate about what policy approaches make sense. For example, nudging middle class African-American families to leave high-poverty neighborhoods for the sake of their children would increase risks for the poor children who remain.

According to an article in the Washington Post, the report findings suggest that place-based efforts to reduce poverty and improve outcomes for children may be the way to go. One local example of this is the Harlem Children's Zone. President Obama's Promise Neighborhoods policy initiative, mentioned in the Post article, seeks to replicate the Harlem Children's Zone model in 20 poor communities across the country. The good news is that reducing poverty improves upward economic mobility for African-American and Latino children in poor neighborhoods.

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