Pockets of poverty rise in metropolitan areas

After years of decline during a strong economy, concentrated poverty is back in the U.S., a report found.

By ALLIE SHAH, Star Tribune

Last update: August 12, 2008 - 12:00 AM

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Gains made in the 1990s toward loosening pockets of poverty in metropolitan areas have started to erode, according to a new report.

"The trend is that we have lost some ground against concentrated poverty," said Elizabeth Kneebone, senior research analyst for the Brookings Institution.

The Washington, D.C.-based think tank released its report, "Reversal of Fortune: A new look at Concentrated Poverty in the 2000s," today.

Poor neighborhoods in 58 of the nation's largest metropolitan areas -- including Minneapolis-St. Paul -- were examined.

The Twin Cities area ranked 49th overall in its concentration of working, poor people.

Poor people who live in neighborhoods with high poverty levels face a "double burden," researchers argue in the study. "Very poor neighborhoods tend to have under performing schools, higher crime rates, less private investment in these communities and less job opportunities for people living there," Kneebone said.

The study found that in 1999, the Twin Cities was one of five metro areas that had a zero percent concentrated working poverty rate. By 2005, that rate had climbed to 3.4 percent.

"This really points to the importance of the overall economy in making progress against concentrated poverty," Kneebone said.

In lieu of census data, which wasn't available for the years studied, researchers used information from the IRS to calculate the number of working poor people and where they lived.

Russ Adams is executive director of the Alliance for Metropolitan Stability, a social justice umbrella organization that serves the seven-county metro area.

He said reports like the one from the Brookings Institution raise important public policy questions.

"It's not enough to say, 'isn't this terrible?'" he said. "You have to tackle it from all angles. We should never blame people for being poor and choosing to live close together. We should always give them more opportunities, build more affordable housing and create more mobility and access for them to get better jobs."

Allie Shah • 651-298-1550.

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