Indepth analysis of persistant problems in the field of community development. Woodstock's research reports contribute to the body of knowledge used by policymakers and community development practitioners.
Analyzes job patterns in the Chicago Empowerment Zone (EZ), examining
demographics of those who work in the EZ, the number of EZ jobs held by
EZ residents, and the work locations of EZ residents. The report
provides examples of efforts in Chicago and around the country aimed at
linking neighborhood residents to nearby jobs and calls for increased
attention to the barriers between jobs and residents in low-income
urban areas.
Dan Immergluck, Grand Valley State University
Geoff Smith, Woodstock Institute
Examines the impact of foreclosures of single-family mortgages – both conventional and government guaranteed – on levels of violent and property crime at the neighborhood level.
Shows that community development (CD) banks far outperform regular
banks in serving low-income and minority communities. Includes
extensive data analysis which describes the performance of banks in
Chicago. Demonstrates that a considerably higher percent of CD banks'
home loans go to lower-income neighborhoods and borrowers than is true
for all other lenders. The same pattern is repeated for loans to
minority neighborhoods and borrowers.
This report analyzes the deceptive effect of credit card terms and
conditions and how these terms and conditions massively raise the cost
of using credit cards and contribute to rising levels of consumer debt.
