Alan Berube Brookings Institution

Confronting Suburban PovertyChallenges and Solutions for the Atlanta Region

1The geography of poverty and opportunity has changed

Current policies are not aligned to this new geography2

3We need a new agenda for metropolitan opportunity

The geography of poverty and opportunity has changed1

Today, more of the nation’s poor live in suburbs than in cities

Number in poverty, central cities versus suburbs, 1970-2011. Source: Brookings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data

0

5

10

15

20

1970 1980 1990 2000 2011

Mill

ions

of p

eopl

e

Poor Individuals in Suburbs Poor Individuals in Cities

The poor population doubled in Atlanta’s suburbs in the 2000s

Number in poverty, central cities versus suburbs, 1970-2011. Source: Brookings analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Thou

sand

s of p

eopl

e

Poor Individuals in Suburbs Poor Individuals in Atlanta

Poverty has spread beyond older, inner-ring suburbs

Atlanta’s urban and suburban poor are similar in many ways

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of ACS data

Foreign born White non-Hispanic Under 18 Female HH with kids Deep poverty HS dropout

7%

17%

29%

55%53%

27%

19%

31% 30%

50%

43%

29%

Share of Atlanta poorShare of Suburban poor

Several factors drive suburban poverty in the Atlanta region

Population Change Immigration Housing

Job Location Regional Economy

City Suburbs

4%

29%

Cities Suburbs

Population Change,Atlanta region,

2000 to 2011

Overall population has grown much faster in the suburbs

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of ACS and Decennial Census data

Immigration is contributing to growth in suburban poverty

Contribution to Growth in Suburban Poor Population,

2000 to 2009

27%

73%

Source: Robert Suro, Jill Wilson, and Audrey Singer “Immigration and Poverty in America's Suburbs”

2000 2008

55,042

74,581

Housing Voucher Recipients in Suburbs

Affordable housing is spreading to Atlanta’s suburbs

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of HUD “Picture of Subsidized Housing” data

Subprim

e Loan

s

Loan

s in Fo

reclosu

re or L

ost

92% 91%

Share of 2004-08 Loans in Suburbs, Atlanta region

Most subprime lending and foreclosures were suburban

Source: Chris Shildt, Naomi Cytron, Elizabeth Kneebone and Carolina Reid, “The Subprime Crisis in Suburbia: Exploring the Links between Foreclosures and Suburban Poverty”

2000 2010

60%

65%

Share of Atlanta region jobsLocated 10 to 35 Miles

from Downtown

Jobs continue to move farther out in the Atlanta region

Source: Elizabeth Kneebone, “Job Sprawl Stalls: The Great Recession and Metropolitan Employment Location”

Increase in Unemployment Rate, Atlanta region, Dec 2007 to Dec 2010

Unemployment rose as much in the suburbs as in the city

City Suburbs

5.5 5.3

Source: Brookings Institution analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics LAUS data

Suburban poverty brings added challenges

Transit Access Strained Local Services

Limited Philanthropic Resources Change in School Populations

City Suburbs

100%

31%

Share of Workers with Transit Stop Nearby, Atlanta region,

2011

Suburban commuters have much less access to transit

Source: Tomer, Kneebone, Puentes, and Berube, “Missed Opportunity” (Brookings, 2011)

Suburban commuters with transit can’t reach as many jobs

City Suburbs

33%

17%

Share of Atlanta region jobs accessible within 90 minutes via

transit, 2011Source: Tomer, Kneebone, Puentes, and Berube, “Missed Opportunity” (Brookings, 2011)

Number of Education, Health, and Human Services Nonprofits per 1,000 residents,

Atlanta region, 2010

Fulton County Rest of Metro

0.99

0.24

Source: Analysis of Urban Institute National Center on Charitable Statistics data

Suburbs have much less nonprofit density

Grants Dollars per Poor Person, Atlanta Metro Area 2007

City Suburbs

$72

$2

Philanthropic support for suburban organizations is limited

Source: Reckhow and Weir, “Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net” (Brookings, 2012)

Percent Change in Number of Students Enrolled in Free and

Reduced Price Lunch, Atlanta region,2005-06 to 2009-10

Schools are seeing low-income populations multiply

City Suburbs

8%

25%

Source: Brookings analysis of GreatSchools data

Average school-wide proficiency ranking statewide, Atlanta

suburban students, 2009-10

Low-income suburban students attend schools with below-average test scores

71%

46%

Poverty is not distributing evenly across Atlanta’s suburbs

Below Average Poverty Rate Growth Above Average Poverty Rate Growth

Above Average

Poor Population

Growth

BelowAverage

Poor Population

Growth

Henry County

Alpharetta city

Gwinnett County

Marietta city

Current policies are not aligned to this new geography2

Substance Abuse Treatment

Block Grant; Social Services

Block Grant; Substance

Abuse Prevention Block

Grant; Community Mental

Health Services Block Grant

(MHSBG); Access to

Recovery (ATR)

Social Services

The legacy system of place-based anti-poverty programs does not map easily onto the suburban landscape

Child and Adult Care Food

Program; The Emergency

Food Assistance Program

(TEFAP); Summer Food

Service Program; Commodity

Supplemental Food Program;

WIC Farmers’ Market

Nutrition Program (FMNP)

Food Assistance

Job TrainingJob Corps; WIA Dislocated Worker

Employment and Training Activities;

WIA Youth Appropriation; WIA Adult

Program; WIA Dislocated Worker

National Emergency Grants;

YouthBuild; Learn and Serve America:

School and Community Based

Programs; Supported Employment

State Grants; Work Opportunity Tax

Credit; Child Care and Development

Block Grant

Education

Title I — Improving The Academic Achievement Of The

Disadvantaged; Head Start and Early Head Start; Improving

Teacher Quality State Grants; Adult Basic and Literacy Education

State Grants; TRIO: Upward Bound; Gaining Early Awareness and

Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP); Teacher

Incentive Fund; TRIO: Student Support Services; College Access

Challenge Grant Program; Mathematics and Science Partnerships;

TRIO:Talent Search; Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge;

TRIO: Educational Opportunity Centers; TRIO: Upward Bound

Math Science; Parental Information and Resource Centers;

Advanced Placement Program (Advanced Placement Test Fee;

Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grants); School

Leadership Program; Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Assets

for Independence (AFI); IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

(VITA); 21st Century Community Learning Centers; Child Care

Access Means Parents in School Program; Advanced Placement

Incentive Program Grants; Qualified zone academy bonds (QZAB);

Charter Schools Program

HealthConsolidated Health Centers

(Community Health Centers, Migrant

Health Centers, Health Care for the

Homeless, Public Housing Primary

Care, and School Based Health

Centers); Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Grants for Capital Development in

Health Centers; Title V Maternal and

Child Health Services Block Grant

Program; Maternal, Infant, and Early

Childhood Home Visiting Program

Economic Development

New Markets Tax Credit ; Renewal

Community Tax Incentives; Community

Development Financial Institutions Program;

ARRA- Investments for Public Works and

Economic Development Facilities; Recovery

Zone Bonds; ARRA- Economic Adjustment

Assistance; Economic Development: Support

for Planning Organizations; Community

Economic Development; Technical Assistance;

Bank Enterprise Award; Economic

Development: Technical Assistance;

Community Services Block Grant; Community

Services Block Grant: Discretionary Awards

Housing

Emergency Food and Shelter

Program; Tenant-based Rental

Assistance; Sustainable

Communities Regional

Planning Grant Program;

Housing Choice Voucher

(HCV) Family Self-Sufficiency;

Housing Counseling

Assistance

$82 billion81 federal programs

10 agencies

These programs typically address place-based poverty in one of three ways

Service Provision

Neighborhood Improvement

Expanding Choice

Need dispersed geographically

Program stigma/ lack of familiarity

Market failures not neighborhood based

Areas may lack needed locational advantages

Families have already “made it” to suburbs

Opportunities may lie in very different part of region

Suburbs face additional challenges

Lack of Capacity

Inflexible, Unreliable Funding

Extensive Fragmentation

The cavalry is not coming.

--Bruce Katz

3We need a new agenda for metropolitan opportunity

Yet innovators across the country are finding creative ways to navigate this system

HealthConsolidated Health Centers

(Community Health Centers, Migrant

Health Centers, Health Care for the

Homeless, Public Housing Primary

Care, and School Based Health

Centers); Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Grants for Capital Development in

Health Centers; Title V Maternal and

Child Health Services Block Grant

Program; Maternal, Infant, and Early

Childhood Home Visiting Program

Food Assistance

Child and Adult Care Food

Program; The Emergency Food

Assistance Program (TEFAP);

Summer Food Service

Program; Commodity

Supplemental Food Program;

WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition

Program (FMNP)

Housing

Emergency Food and Shelter

Program; Tenant-based Rental

Assistance; Sustainable

Communities Regional

Planning Grant Program;

Housing Choice Voucher

(HCV) Family Self-Sufficiency;

Housing Counseling

Assistance

Job Training

Job Corps; WIA Dislocated Worker

Employment and Training Activities;

WIA Youth Appropriation; WIA Adult

Program; WIA Dislocated Worker

National Emergency Grants;

YouthBuild; Learn and Serve America:

School and Community Based

Programs; Supported Employment

State Grants; Work Opportunity Tax

Credit; Child Care and Development

Block Grant

Title I — Improving The Academic Achievement Of The

Disadvantaged; Head Start and Early Head Start; Improving

Teacher Quality State Grants; Adult Basic and Literacy Education

State Grants; TRIO: Upward Bound; Gaining Early Awareness and

Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP); Teacher

Incentive Fund; TRIO: Student Support Services; College Access

Challenge Grant Program; Mathematics and Science Partnerships;

TRIO:Talent Search; Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge;

TRIO: Educational Opportunity Centers; TRIO: Upward Bound

Math Science; Parental Information and Resource Centers;

Advanced Placement Program (Advanced Placement Test Fee;

Advanced Placement Incentive Program Grants); School

Leadership Program; Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Assets

for Independence (AFI); IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

(VITA); 21st Century Community Learning Centers; Child Care

Access Means Parents in School Program; Advanced Placement

Incentive Program Grants; Qualified zone academy bonds (QZAB);

Charter Schools Program

Education

Economic Development

New Markets Tax Credit ; Renewal

Community Tax Incentives; Community

Development Financial Institutions Program;

ARRA- Investments for Public Works and

Economic Development Facilities; Recovery

Zone Bonds; ARRA- Economic Adjustment

Assistance; Economic Development: Support

for Planning Organizations; Community

Economic Development; Technical Assistance;

Bank Enterprise Award; Economic

Development: Technical Assistance;

Community Services Block Grant; Community

Services Block Grant: Discretionary Awards

Social Services

Substance Abuse Treatment

Block Grant; Social Services

Block Grant; Substance

Abuse Prevention Block

Grant; Community Mental

Health Services Block Grant

(MHSBG); Access to Recovery

(ATR)

Achieve Scale

Neighborhood Centers Inc.• Has an annual budget of more than $275 million,

70 different sites, and a staff of over 1,000• Coordinates resources from 35 federal programs,

state, local, and private sources to provide a seamless continuum of services

• Collaborates with other area providers

Support smart consolidation

Improve systems and networks

Promote high-performance organizations

Collaborate and IntegrateChicago Southland Housing and Community Development Collaborative• Represents 23 municipalities• Continues to be supported by regional

institutions and local funders• Breaks down policy silos

Identify and reduce barriers

Catalyze regional capacity

Reward collaborative approaches

Fund strategicallyMortgage Resolution Fund

• Uses a market-based, enterprise-level approach

• Leverages existing nonprofit expertise and private sector resources

• Focuses on measurable outcomes

Commit to enterprise-level funding

Promote tools that leverage public & private resources

Develop consistent, comparable data sources

Creating a Metropolitan Opportunity Challenge could help bring these solutions to scale in regions across the country

Federal Place-Based Anti-Poverty Programs

$82 Billion; 81 Programs; 10 Agencies

Re-purpose 5% : $4 billion

www.ConfrontingSuburbanPoverty.org

You can read more about the Metropolitan Opportunity Challenge and the contents of the book on our new website

The website provides a host of helpful resources:

Profiles of the top 100 metros Case studies of innovators

Charts and data Video

Infographic

Identity matters…

621,000 residents

714,000 residents

aberube@brookings.edu

www.brookings.edu/metro

www.confrontingsuburbanpoverty.org