An analysis of suburban poverty

In Places in Need, Scott W. Allard discusses the increase in suburban poverty in the United States over the last several decades. The author finds that the occurrence of suburban poverty is contrary to standard sociological models of poverty, which categorize poverty as a problem of urban areas. Also, he argues that the existence of suburban poverty is out of step with common perceptions of suburbs as areas of affluence and economic mobility. Besides carrying out quantitative research on poverty, Allard conducts qualitative research based on indepth interviews with suburban social service executives at nonprofits and public agencies. Allard’s findings provide a broad picture of the geography of poverty in the United States.

Allard begins his work with a discussion of the theoretical framework that arose early in the 20th century with the University of Chicago’s model of cities and poverty. This model posited poverty as an urban occurrence. Poverty areas were located near the central industrial areas of a city, and affluence increased as one moved farther from the city center. In the second half of the 20th century, this view shifted as industry moved out of the central city, and poverty studies considered the growing concentration of poverty in racially segregated urban areas with few employment opportunities. In the 21st century, it became apparent, especially in light of analyses centering around the 2007–09 Great Recession, that poverty also occurred in suburban areas. New analyses showed that the number of people in poverty grew in both urban and suburban areas during the first decades of the new century. But suburban poverty grew faster than urban poverty, and there are now more people in poverty in suburban than urban areas.

Allard focuses on the 100 largest metropolitan areas to understand the changing geography and demographics of poverty in the 21st century. Most of the population in the United States (over 65 percent) now lives in suburban areas. The number of people who are poor and near poor increased 96 percent from 1990 to 2014 in suburbs. Although poverty has increased in both old and new suburbs, it has increased the fastest in newer suburbs. Also, most poor children now live in suburban areas. From 1990 to 2014, the number of people in high-poverty tracts (those with poverty rates over 20 percent) increased 47 percent in urban areas, whereas the number of people in suburban high-poverty tracts increased 188 percent. Educational attainment is closely correlated with high-poverty areas; almost 90 percent of people in high-poverty urban and suburban areas do not have a college degree.

The War on Poverty, starting in the 1960s, structured aid to the poor in multiple policy systems. These systems include various federal, state, local, and nonprofit funding streams, as well as an administrative structure that also combines federal, state, local, and nonprofit participation. For this reason, no single uniform system of poverty policy exists in the United States. Some of Allard’s key findings on the effectiveness of the antipoverty programs developed from the 1960s onward suggest that federally funded and regulated programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), are responsive to changes in poverty across metropolitan areas. Locally administered programs, such as the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and local nonprofit programs, are less responsive to changes in poverty across metropolitan areas. Suburbs are unlikely to have established networks of nonprofit organizations to attract funding. Allard finds that, in 2010, the median annual spending by all nonprofits for poor and near-poor people was $884 in urban counties and $106 in suburban counties.

Allard’s discussions with suburban social-service executives of nonprofits and public agencies reveal several challenges for suburban providers of social services. Suburban counties have a fragmented governing structure composed of municipalities, school districts, other institutions involved in governance, and state and federal representatives. This fragmentation results in service delivery difficulties and a complex financing structure for social services. Since the 1990s, over three-quarters of the growth in the foreign-born population has occurred in the suburbs of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Because recent immigrants to the United States are ineligible for many public transfers, much of the assistance for immigrants is provided by nonprofit organizations. But there are few nonprofit organizations that have the translation services for people who are not English speakers. In addition, there are unique problems related to poverty in suburban communities. For example, large travel distances and the absence of effective public transportation and sidewalks are problems for social service delivery and the mobility of poor and low-income people.

Allard emphasizes the importance of new research to understand poverty; safety-net reforms for people in urban, suburban, and rural locations; and greater coordination between cities and suburbs to alleviate poverty. In particular, improving research on the nature of suburban poverty is needed. It is important to understand if rising suburban poverty is due to declining opportunities for low-wage workers in the suburbs, the migration of low-income people to the suburbs, or a combination of the two. The rise of high-poverty suburban neighborhoods requires an understanding of who is likely to reside in them, especially since these neighborhoods have seen a growing concentration of poor people who are members of racial and ethnic minority groups.

Allard provides a set of recommendations for strengthening federal and local safety nets to confront the persistence of poverty in all geographic areas. SNAP could reduce poverty by increasing the income range of people receiving benefits and by raising the benefit amount. And the EITC could help alleviate poverty by increasing the size of the credit, expanding eligibility for it, and raising the income threshold for those receiving it. The TANF block grant should provide more cash assistance, training and education programs, and social service assistance to help those who find it difficult to gain employment. Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs) and Social Services Block Grants (SSBGs) should be increased and indexed to inflation. Also, Allard recommends that both CDBGs and SSBGs be restructured to provide more funding for social services in suburban areas. College completion should be encouraged because most people in high-poverty areas do not have a bachelor’s degree. Also, since personal transportation is usually necessary in suburban areas, there is a need to investigate if increasing access to car ownership, car shares, or ride shares can be an effective antipoverty policy.

Allard ends the book by arguing that understanding the metropolitan nature of employment, mobility, and service delivery is necessary for suburban poverty to be correctly addressed. That is, an understanding of the interconnections between suburb and city is an essential part of antipoverty policy. Such understanding requires not only a shift in theories of poverty as an urban problem, but also a recognition that poverty cannot be avoided by suburban municipalities.