Armand Carriere
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of University Partnerships

In recent years the Office of University Partnerships (OUP) has assumed direction of the doctoral research grant program. This comprehensive program of support—beginning with research grants for second-year Ph.D. students (the Early Doctoral Research grant), progressing through a dissertation grant program (the Doctoral Dissertation Research grant), and culminating with a postdoctoral grant program (HUD’s Urban Scholars Fellowship program)—seeks to establish a cadre of scholars who will dedicate much of their academic work to issues that pertain directly to HUD’s goals. OUP’s mission speaks to the impact that colleges and universities have on the major issues confronting our local communities. The doctoral research grants have made it possible to tap into serious scholarship and apply the results in ways that support HUD’s mainstream programs.

In this edition of Cityscape we are proud to feature articles by selected scholars whose research was supported, at least in part, by HUD. In highlighting these works, we acknowledge the quality of the research and its relevance to HUD’s mission. We also hope to encourage other doctoral students to participate in our research-support programs and thereby help to advance HUD’s research agenda.

To obtain the articles in this issue, we contacted recipients of HUD dissertation grants in the past 5–7 years and asked them to submit an article-length version of their dissertation. A panel of subject-matter experts reviewed the submissions. The eight articles contained in this edition of the journal were chosen based on the quality of the writing, the relevance of the topic to HUD’s mission, and the currency of the information and data presented.

The articles in this issue of Cityscape are only a sample of the quality research submitted to HUD during the life of this program, and we are honored to know that this work takes place on the campuses of America’s best universities. We hope to include additional articles from this group in a future issue of Cityscape.

Articles in This Issue

The articles in this issue of Cityscape come from a variety of disciplines, including planning, sociology, and economics. They deal with a wide range of policy concerns, from underemployment and fair housing to the living arrangements of the elderly—to name just a few. In approach they range from case studies to statistical analyses. There is no theme to this issue of Cityscape beyond the desire to highlight a representative group of outstanding HUD-supported dissertations. The topics are as broad and inclusive as the interests of the scholars whose work is represented herein.

“Neighborhood Jump-Starting: Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative,” by Mahyar Arefi, examines the experiences of eight neighborhoods in Los Angeles in the context of needs versus assets, and people- versus place-prosperity dichotomies. Arefi is an assistant professor of planning at the University of Cincinnati.

“Valuation of Metropolitan Quality of Life in Wages and Rents,” by Roxanne Ezzet- Lofstrom, examines how the values of urban quality-of-life indicators, including a wide range of amenities and disamenities, are capitalized in wage levels and housing costs. Ezzet-Lofstrom is an assistant professor of political economy at the University of Texas at Dallas.

“Positive Homeownership Attitudes, Homeownership Behavior, and Neighborhood Ties in Poor Urban Neighborhoods,” by Sandra L. Barnes, examines the degree to which neighborhood poverty characteristics, household economics, and demographics influence positive attitudes, behavior, and neighborhood ties. Barnes is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Purdue University.

“Moving Over or Moving Up? Short-Term Gains and Losses for Relocated HOPE VI Families,” by Susan Clampet-Lundquist, looks at a HOPE VI project in Philadelphia and the effects that moving from this site had on 41 families. Her findings may have implications for future HOPE VI relocation policy. Clampet-Lundquist is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University.

“Aging in Place in Multifamily Housing,” by Vera Prosper, examines the growing presence of elderly residents in multifamily (nonsenior) subsidized housing, the degree of environmental support available to senior tenants, and the attitude of housing managers toward providing the special support services that they may need. Prosper is senior policy analyst for the New York State Office for the Aging.

“The Work of Cities: Underemployment and Urban Change in Late-20th-Century America,” by James R. Elliott, considers how globalization and deindustrialization may contribute to underemployment in different types of metropolitan areas. Elliott is a professor of sociology at Tulane University.

“The Struggle for Housing Equality: Impact of Fair Housing and Community Reinvestment Laws on Local Advocacy,” by Mara S. Sidney, examines the impact of national fair housing and community reinvestment policy on local fair housing programs through the experiences of advocacy groups in Denver and Minneapolis. Sidney is an assistant professor of political science at Rutgers University–Newark.

“Knowledge Production and Use in Community-Based Organizations: Examining the Influence of Information Technologies,” by Laxmi Ramasubramanian, examines how grassroots organizations use information technologies for decisionmaking and leadership, focusing on the experiences of four organizations in Boston and Chicago. Ramasubramanian is an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College–City University of New York.

Conclusion

The diversity of disciplines represented in this issue of Cityscape reflects a strength of the doctoral grant programs sponsored by HUD, enabling the Department to draw upon differing perspectives regarding urban issues. We hope that those whose research was supported by HUD will nurture an interest in urban issues among their own students and guide them toward future HUD-sponsored doctoral research grants. The research provided by dedicated graduate students and faculty will assist HUD in accomplishing its mission to serve low-income citizens.