One-in-seven adults and one-in-five children in the United States live in poverty. Individuals and families living in poverty not only lack basic, material necessities, but they are also disproportionally afflicted by many social and economic challenges. Some of these challenges include the increased possibility of an unstable home situation, inadequate education opportunities at all levels, and a high chance of crime and victimization. Given this growing social, economic, and political concern, The Hamilton Project at Brookings asked academic experts to develop policy proposals confronting th.

Examines the economic underworld of migrant farm workers, the aged, minority groups, and other economically underprivileged groups.

This report--a joint effort of the Federal Reserve's Community Affairs function and the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program--examines the issue of concentrated poverty and profiles 16 high-poverty communities from across the country, including immigrant gateway, Native American, urban, and rural communities. Through these case studies, the report contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of poor people living in poor communities, and the policies that will be needed to bring both into the economic mainstream. It is not the intention of this publication to explain poverty causation. Instead, the goal is to add texture to our understanding of where and how concentrated poverty exists, by studying new areas and by interviewing local stakeholders, including residents, community leaders, and government representatives, to understand how concentrated poverty affects both individuals and communities. The report begins with "Concentrated Poverty in America: An Overview" (Alan Berube) and "Introduction to the Case Studies" (Carolina Reid). It then presents the following 16 case studies: (1) Fresno, California: the West Fresno neighborhood (Naomi Cytron); (2) Cleveland, Ohio: the Central neighborhood (Lisa Nelson); (3) Miami, Florida: the Little Haiti neighborhood (Ana Cruz-Taura and Jessica LeVeen Farr); (4) Martin County, Kentucky (Jeff Gatica); (5) Blackfeet Reservation, Montana (Sandy Gerber, Michael Grover, and Sue Woodrow); (6) Greenville, North Carolina: the West Greenville neighborhood (Carl Neel); (7) Atlantic City, New Jersey: the Bungalow Park/Marina District area (Harriet Newburger, John Wackes, Keith Rolland, and Anita Sands); (8) Austin, Texas: the East Austin neighborhood (Elizabeth Sobel); (9) McKinley County, New Mexico: Crownpoint (Steven Shepelwich and Roger Zalneraitis); (10) McDowell County, West Virginia (Courtney Anderson Mailey); (11) Albany, Georgia: the East Albany neighborhood (Jessica LeVeen Farr and Sibyl Slade); (12) El Paso, Texas: the Chamizal neighborhood (Roy Lopez); (13) Springfield, Massachusetts: Old Hill, Six Corners, and the South End neighborhoods (DeAnna Green); (14) Rochester, New York: the Northern Crescent neighborhoods (Alexandra Forter Sirota and Yazmin Osaki); (15) Holmes County, Mississippi (Ellen Eubank); and (16) Milwaukee, Wisconsin: the Northwest neighborhood (Jeremiah Boyle). Following these case studies is "Learning from Concentrated Poverty in America: A Synthesis of Themes from the Case Studies" (Alan Berube, David Erickson, and Carolina Reid). Appended to this report are: (A) References for Comparison Statistics Tables; (B) Literature Review: Federal Reserve System Poverty-Related Research; (C) References for Overview in Alphabetical Order (by First Author); and (D) Photo Credits. (Individual case studies contain tables, figures, and footnotes.).