Odis Johnson and Von E. Nebbitt
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231148580
- eISBN:
- 9780231519960
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231148580.003.0002
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
Public housing developments are institutions with ecological structures, features, and functions similar to those that define neighborhoods. Like neighborhoods, they possess a structural composition, ...
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Public housing developments are institutions with ecological structures, features, and functions similar to those that define neighborhoods. Like neighborhoods, they possess a structural composition, have a built environment, and inspire social processes. They constitute represented communities, places of social organization, and mechanisms that bring about social outcomes. However, few studies explore quantitatively the connection of neighborhood conditions to the educational experiences of public housing residents in a way that incorporates the influence of their public housing community. Understanding how neighborhoods and the institutions embedded within them function in concert to shape youth's educational experiences is a first step in producing related research. This chapter first provides a diagram of neighborhood-institutional relationships within an ecological context, drawing heavily from Bronfenbrenner's ecosystems theory. It further explains the model by summarizing research related to each ecological component's influence on the development of youth. Next, it reviews urban relocation studies to assess the relative benefits of residing in public housing communities and neighborhoods for children and adolescents. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the field's progress and the challenges awaiting the next generation of studies.Less
Public housing developments are institutions with ecological structures, features, and functions similar to those that define neighborhoods. Like neighborhoods, they possess a structural composition, have a built environment, and inspire social processes. They constitute represented communities, places of social organization, and mechanisms that bring about social outcomes. However, few studies explore quantitatively the connection of neighborhood conditions to the educational experiences of public housing residents in a way that incorporates the influence of their public housing community. Understanding how neighborhoods and the institutions embedded within them function in concert to shape youth's educational experiences is a first step in producing related research. This chapter first provides a diagram of neighborhood-institutional relationships within an ecological context, drawing heavily from Bronfenbrenner's ecosystems theory. It further explains the model by summarizing research related to each ecological component's influence on the development of youth. Next, it reviews urban relocation studies to assess the relative benefits of residing in public housing communities and neighborhoods for children and adolescents. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the field's progress and the challenges awaiting the next generation of studies.
