From our March 2015 issue: Distress in the Desert: Neighborhood Disorder, Resident Satisfaction, and Quality of Life During the Las Vegas Foreclosure Crisis

1. Christie D. Batson1
2. Shannon M. Monnat2

1. ¹University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA
2. ²The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

1. Christie D. Batson, Department of Sociology, University of Nevada, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, Box 455033, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5033, USA. Email:Christie.batson@unlv.edu

Abstract

Using surveys collected from a sample of households nested within “naturally occurring” neighborhoods in Las Vegas, Nevada, during the 2007–2009 economic recession, this study examines the associations between real and perceived measures of neighborhood distress (foreclosure rate, physical decay, crime) and residents’ reports of neighborhood quality of life and neighborhood satisfaction. Consistent with social disorganization theory, both real and perceived measures of neighborhood disorder were negatively associated with quality of life and neighborhood satisfaction. Residents’ perceptions of neighborliness partially acted as a buffer against the effects of neighborhood distress, including housing foreclosures, on quality of life, and neighborhood satisfaction.

• neighborhoods
 
• foreclosures
 
• quality of life
 
• neighborhood satisfaction
• disorder
• • http://uar.sagepub.com/content/51/2/205.abstract

From our March 2015 issue: Implications of Public School Choice for Residential Location Decisions

1. Todd L. Ely1
2. Paul Teske1

1. ¹University of Colorado Denver, Denver, CO, USA

1. Todd L. Ely, School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, P.O. Box 173364, Campus Box 142, Denver, CO 80217-3364, USA. Email: todd.ely@ucdenver.edu

Abstract

A growing empirical literature demonstrates the effects of introducing public school choice on housing values. The weakening of the connection between home location and school location has implications for urban and suburban communities. In this article, we contribute to the understanding of how public school choice is related to the residential location decisions of parents. Using a nationally-representative sample, we demonstrate that where public school choice is reported to be available, the probability that parents choose a residence based on the assigned schools is 6.5 percentage points lower. Parents are actively incorporating the option to choose schools into the decision of where to live and report relatively high levels of parental satisfaction with those schools. At the same time, roughly, one out of every eight children engaged in school choice attends a school that was not their family’s first choice and report substantially lower levels of school satisfaction. This mismatch between schools and students may limit the likelihood that more families will eschew traditional residential school choice.

• school choice
 
• residential location
 
• parental satisfaction
• • http://uar.sagepub.com/content/51/2/175.abstract

In our March 2015 issue

Table of Contents

March 2015; 51 (2)

Articles

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  • Todd L. Ely and
   
  • Paul Teske

  Implications of Public School Choice for Residential Location Decisions

  Urban Affairs Review March 2015 51: 175-204, first published on April 20, 2014doi:10.1177/1078087414529120
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  • Christie D. Batson and
   
  • Shannon M. Monnat

  Distress in the Desert: Neighborhood Disorder, Resident Satisfaction, and Quality of Life During the Las Vegas Foreclosure Crisis

  Urban Affairs Review March 2015 51: 205-238, first published on March 24, 2014doi:10.1177/1078087414527080
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  • Pei-te Lien

  Reassessing Descriptive Representation by Women and Men of Color: New Evidence at the Subnational Level

  Urban Affairs Review March 2015 51: 239-262, first published on April 4, 2014doi:10.1177/1078087414529124
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  • Leland Saito and
   
  • Jonathan Truong

  The L.A. Live Community Benefits Agreement: Evaluating the Agreement Results and Shifting Political Power in the City

  Urban Affairs Review March 2015 51: 263-289, first published on March 25, 2014doi:10.1177/1078087414527064
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Research Note

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  • Daniel S. Scheller

  Neighborhood Governments and Their Role in Property Values

  Urban Affairs Review March 2015 51: 290-309, first published on July 7, 2014doi:10.1177/1078087414542088
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