The authors examine the longitudinal fortunes of the poorest fifth of U.S. metropolitan neighbor-hoods, defined as those with 20% or higher poverty rates in 1980. They employ logistic regression to identify the factors correlated with 1980-1990 increases and decreases in poverty rates across these poor neighborhoods and examine whether factors vary by predominant racial/ethnic composition. Regional economic cycles and population growth performance are the dominant determinants of neighborhood poverty change, although the neighborhood's initial poverty rate also influences it. Neighborhoods with higher poverty rates in 1980 evince less stability. Extremely poor neighborhoods are roughly as likely to experience an increase in poverty of 5 or more percentage points as a comparable decrease in poverty. The authors conclude that continued poverty is not the only or even most likely fate of poor neighborhoods; their fortunes depend on both local and regional context.

Dog parks have the potential to be sites that engender community benefits. The purpose of this study is to examine whether dog parks, as places providing social interaction opportunities with other dog owners, can engender perceived social cohesion. Dog parks represent small-scale places where social interaction can occur to improve the personal connections and interpersonal interactions that facilitate neighborhood livability and urban quality of life. The theoretical frameworks of bridging and bonding social capital were explored, in terms of weak/bridging and strong/bonding social ties, as aspects affecting perceived neighborhood social cohesion. We hypothesized that both bridging/weak ties and bonding/strong ties were precursors to neighborhood social cohesion but explored the extent to which weak and strong social ties impact social cohesion in a simultaneous or stepwise manner. Our findings indicate support for the latter.

The authors explore the recreation pattern of Puerto Ricans in Southbridge, Massachusetts; to date, a relatively understudied Latino ethnic group in the field of recreation and leisure studies. The authors employed several OLS regression analyses to identify the individual, residency, and neighbourhood factors associated with patterns of Puerto Rican park use and perceived park use benefits. The findings suggest that factors associated with ethnicity, socio‐economic status, park alternatives, and neighbourhood characteristics do affect park use and perceived benefits, especially when used in combination. Lastly, our findings indicate that objective measures of distance to the resource do not significantly impact park use or perceived park use benefits.

This study describes changes in the use of sworn volunteers among the nation’s local law enforcement agencies and identifies those state-level certification, community, and agency characteristics associated with agencies using such volunteers in 2013. Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics data from 1999 through 2013 were analyzed to document trends in both the number of sworn volunteers and the prevalence of agencies using sworn volunteers. While there has been a modest decline in the use of sworn volunteers since 1999, in 2013, about 36% of all local law enforcement agencies used sworn volunteers; furthermore, these volunteers comprised 7% of all local sworn personnel having arrest authority nationwide in 2013. A survey of peace officer standards and training agencies found that approximately two thirds of states required state-level certification of sworn volunteers. Multivariate analyses of state-level certification standards, census data, and agency characteristics found that agencies were more likely to use sworn volunteers if they (a) are a sheriff's office, (b) serve jurisdictions with larger populations, (c) have greater levels of social disadvantage, (d) do not require recruits to have more than a high school education, or (e) are located within states offering graduated levels of sworn volunteer certifications. Agencies were less likely to use volunteer officers if they (a) hire part-time sworn officers, (b) have a greater entry-level salary, or (c) are accredited.

Since 1992, the federal government has established regulations encouraging the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase home mortgages originated in neighborhoods traditionally underserved by financial institutions, with the aim of stimulating housing-market activity within such neighborhoods. This research tests this proposition empirically through an econometric analysis of variations in secondary mortgage market activity and single-family home prices across underserved census tracts in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1993 to 1999. We find no large or statistically significant relationship between variations in secondary-market purchasing rates of home-purchase mortgages in underserved neighborhoods and home prices one or two years hence, controlling for a rich variety of dwelling and neighborhood characteristics. These conclusions follow both for GSE and other sectors of the secondary market. We find some evidence that the secondary market was more responsive to changes in home prices than vice versa. We offer a possible explanation and draw policy implications.