The Impact of CDBG Spending on Urban Neighborhoods: Final Report

The Impact of CDBG Spending on Urban Neighborhoods Final Report August 2002 Prepared By: Chris Walker Chris Hayes George Galster Patrick Boxall Jennifer Johnson The Urban Institute Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center 2100 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Submitted To: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 Seventh Street, SW Washington, DC 20410 Contract No. C-OPC-18572 UI No. 06729-006-00 The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or it funders. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We wish to thank the following members of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership for the use of data resources: The Boston Foundation; the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change (Cleveland); United Way of Central Indiana/Community Service Council (Indianapolis); the Urban Strategies Council (Oakland); and the Providence Plan. We also wish to thank community development and city planning officials in Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Houston, Milwaukee and Washington, DC, for their cooperation in the verification of our results. At the Urban Institute, Noah Sawyer, Seon Joo Lee and Diane Hendricks provided valuable assistance. The Impact of CDBG Spending on Urban Neighborhoods TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY THE IMPACT OF CDBG SPENDING ON URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS.....................................I Background of the Study.....................................................................................................i Research Approach...........................................................................................................ii Overall Results..................................................................................................................iii Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................................................iv CHAPTER 1 STUDY PURPOSES AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY........................................................1 Background of the Study....................................................................................................1 Purpose of the Research....................................................................................................1 Research Approach...........................................................................................................3 Detailed Description of Study Methods...............................................................................4 CHAPTER 2 SOURCES OF DATA ON CDBG INVESTMENTS AND NEIGBHORHOOD CHANGE............12 Selection of Cities for Analysis.........................................................................................12 Characteristics and Quality of CDBG Data from HUD Data Systems...............................14 Data Sources and Coverage.........................................................................................14 Database Construction..................................................................................................15 Neighborhood Indicators from “Data Rich” Communities: National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Local Data Sets.....................................................................................19 “Generic Data” Available for All Communities...................................................................21 Business Directories......................................................................................................21 Home Price Data...........................................................................................................22 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Data............................................................................22 CHAPTER 3 SELECTION OF NEIGHBORHOOD PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.....................................24 Operationalizing Indicators of Neighborhood Quality of Life.............................................24 Identifying Dimensions Of Neighborhood Quality Of Life..................................................25 The Impact of CDBG Spending on Urban Neighborhoods Factor Analysis Results....................................................................................................26 Validity of the Factors.......................................................................................................28 Robust Indicators From Generic Data Sources................................................................30 Robust Indicators From Census Data..............................................................................