In the Wake of Desegregation

Abstract

This study examines the early effects of seven scattered-site public housing developments on the receiving neighborhoods in Yonkers, New York, where opposition to court-ordered desegregation was particularly hostile over the last decade. Because people keep their neighborhoods strong by investing in them—financially, to be sure, but in other ways as well—we use a unique, two-part analysis to examine effects of public housing on neighborhood expectations, sense of community, and homeowner plans to move, as well as effects on sale prices of nearby homes over a twelve-year period. Happily, reports by homeowners showed no signs of neighborhood withdrawal or “flight.” Moreover, while effects on particular “panic sales” are certainly possible, none of the controversial sites show generalized effects on home prices.