Tracking Financial Fragility

Abstract

 Household poverty rates have risen across the Bay Area, both in urban and suburban areas. The Bay Area's total household poverty rate increased 1.1 percentage points during the period of analysis, from 2000 to 2009.  The population in poverty rose faster in suburban census tracts and varied across racial groups and nativity status. The number of people living in poverty rose 16 percent in the suburbs, compared to 7 percent in urban areas. Blacks and Hispanics saw the greatest percentage growth in suburban poverty, as did the native-born population.  The share of the poor living in suburban tracts has increased across all racial groups, but the change is highest among Blacks. The share of the poor Black population living in the suburbs increased more than 7 percentage points, whereas the next highest group, Asians, increased 2 percentage points.  Changes in the percent of urban and suburban residents in poverty also varied between racial categories and nativity status. Poverty rates increased across almost all groups – except Asians and the foreign-born population living in suburban areas. The poverty rates for suburban Blacks and urban Hispanics each rose more than two percentage points.  Access to transit decreased for the population in poverty. While the percent of people living within 0.5 miles of a rail station did not change significantly for the total population, it did decrease 1.5 percentage points for the poor population. Furthermore, the percentage of poor people living more than 4 miles from a rail station increased 3 percentage points. Taken as a whole, these data points indicate that poverty has become more suburbanized in the Bay Area over the past decade, which presents several challenges for the community development field. Suburban areas lack the density of social service providers found in urban areas, and they also tend to lack public transit infrastructure. Given the rise in the suburbanization of poverty, there is an increased need for inter-jurisdictional coordination and capacity building among suburban nonprofits and foundations. Finally, the changing geography of poverty may have implications for community development policy and financing, such as the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit, and the Community Reinvestment Act.