Eviction and the Dissolution of Neighborhoods

ABSTRACT

Research has documented the negative impacts of eviction on individuals, particularly the resulting financial insecurity, health challenges, and increased likelihood of homelessness. In this article we study a potential unintended impact on the neighborhoods that experience evictions: a decrease in community engagement with neighborhood problems. Using data from the Eviction Lab and calls to 311 collected from seven cities’ online depositories, we study the level of participation in neighborhoods, as well as how changes in eviction impact changes in public engagement. We find evidence that eviction is a predictor of the number of service calls within a census block group and a clearer indication that increases in eviction reduce calls to 311. These results demonstrate that the costs of eviction may extend beyond the individuals who are forced from their residences and can be reflected throughout a neighborhood.

KEYWORDS:

• neighborhood
• rental housing
• services
• eviction
• community engagement

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eric Joseph van Holm

Eric Joseph van Holm is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and the Urban Entrepreneurship and Policy Institute at the University of New Orleans. His research focuses on community development, neighborhood change, and entrepreneurship.

Jake Monaghan

Jake Monaghan is an assistant professor of Philosophy in the Urban Entrepreneurship and Policy Institute at the University of New Orleans. His research focuses on questions in political philosophy and normative policy analysis.