By Dave Lucas
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-992466.mp3
Albany, NY – The Economic Downturn has reached far into mainstream America: The ranks of America's poor have climbed to 15 percent of the population. A new study by the Brookings Institution finds the number of people living in neighborhoods of extreme poverty grew by a third over the past decade. Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.
Brookings ranked the 100 largest metro areas for how much extreme poverty has grown in the past decade: Poughkeepsie and Albany appear on the list.
Among the findings: There was 10.5% increase in slums of the Poughkeepsie area, mostly in the suburbs. There was 6.1% increase in slums of the Albany area, up 17.6% in the city. The city of Poughkeepsie actually improved.
Extreme poverty is defined as areas where at least 40 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty line, which in 2010 was $22,300 for a family of four is still below its 1990 level, when 14 percent of poor people lived in such areas.
More than 10 percent of America's poor now live in so-called "poor" neighborhoods, up from 9.1 percent in the beginning of the decade, an addition of more than two million people.
Elizabeth Kneebone is a Senior Research Associate and lead author of the report. Kneebone explains that most of the gains from the 1990s, when concentrated poverty declined, have effectively been erased. For regions with a high concentration of poverty, conditions are worsening. According to the Brookings report, all but three of the 100 cities on the list have seen substantial increases in poverty concentration.
Kneebone says many of the communities north of New York City have been struggling in the weak economy. She notes the report's findings make it clear that local, state, and national policies, from land-use and economic development to providing safety net services, need to be re-considered from a regional perspective to address the changing situation on the ground. Mayor Nick Valentine says the city of Newburgh used Flint, Michigan as a model for revitalizing neighborhoods - and gets a lot of help from neighboring river cities like Poughkeepsie and Beacon in tackling issues such as poverty and economics.
Elizabeth Kneebone points out that the statistics and trends are not etched in stone. The report analyzed Census Bureau income data from 2000 to 2009, the most recent year for which there was comprehensive data. The report includes maps for each metro area that provide neighborhood-level details to show the shifts in extreme poverty between urban and suburban neighborhoods over time.
Calls for comment to the mayors of Albany and Poughkeepsie were not returned in time for broadcast on Mid-Day Magazine.