How neighborhood conditions and policy incentives affect relocation outcomes of households from low-income neighborhoods—Evidence from intra-city movement trajectories

This paper examines residential mobility patterns of households living in low-income neighborhoods, paying close attention to the neighborhood characteristics that influence their mobility. Using several million records of household-level datasets for address change trajectories in the Chicago metropolitan area, this paper explores the relationship among movers and the associated neighborhood-level income differences between origin and destination locations, to interpret which households from low-income neighborhoods can use residential mobility to move up to more neighborhood conditions result in residential mobility outcomes to favorable neighborhood conditions and potentially end the cycle of poverty. This research finds the positive prospects for low-income neighborhood households to move up, while the characteristics (e.g., racial composition) of origin and destination neighborhoods play a significant role in relocation outcomes. In addition, housing mobility programs can have various impacts on households moving from neighborhoods of different income levels. Policymakers should be aware of the diverse needs of households in extremely low-income neighborhoods (less concentrated housing assistance) and in very low-income neighborhoods (public housing) that can help them move out of concentrated poverty and move up to neighborhoods with higher income spectrums.