The Ralph and Goldy Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies

Changes in the economic conditions are responsible for broad gains and losses across a region, but the ways that these changes play out at a neighborhood level throughout the region are not uniform. Neighborhoods may benefit or suffer disproportionately according to their mix of jobs and income sources, and the ability to respond to new conditions depends on the resources avialable to residents. Spatial differences in economic outcomes have been linked to secular economic changes in which the economy undergoes structural transformations. Communities are also influenced by the short-run up and down variation that are collectively referred to as the business cycle. In the past, little attention has been given to the effects of cyclical contractions and expansions on neighborhoods. This report represents an important first step in understanding the dynamic nature of neighborhood response to cyclical economic fluctuations, but mor study is clearly required. To facilitate such studies, we strongly recommend new efforts to make existing data available to researchers and to explore new avenues of data collection.