Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Rethinking the Institutional Basis of Urban Development - Hurricane Katrina and Neighborhood Recovery Efforts in New Orleans

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。在城市发展文献中，社会资本被认为是社区发展的关键，但支持这一主张的经验证据却参差不齐。鉴于理论论证与实证研究结果之间的差距，本项目将探讨以下问题：就组织模式和密度而言，贫困社区与富裕社区有何不同？ 社会资本在多大程度上有效地促进了城市发展，社会资本的哪些方面与城市发展过程相关？ 最终，是什么政治和社会力量塑造了城市地区的社会资本地形？拟议中的研究将通过研究新奥尔良先前存在的社区机构对卡特里娜飓风后恢复速度和范围的影响来回答这些问题。利用GIS，调查重建的地形存在于卡特里娜飓风和统计分析是否有贫困，地方机构安排和卡特里娜飓风后重新安置之间的关联的地方机构。此外，通过对公屋居民和政府部门的访谈，可以了解政治力量在多大程度上塑造了地方层面的社会资本特征。从理论上讲，本项目可以通过将社会关系的正式和制度维度与非正式的横向网络并列，完善社会资本的运行概念。 此外，研究结果将有助于我们更好地从经验上理解社会资本形成的机制，并有助于城市地区的发展。这反过来将鼓励设计和执行正确反映居民需求和利益的城市政策，并相应地分配资源，该项目的结果将通过通讯和媒体报道向新奥尔良居民传播。研究人员还计划与一群参与新奥尔良以及美国其他灾区重建的城市规划者、社区领袖和政府官员讨论拟议研究的结果。 新奥尔良的完整数据集？卡特里娜飓风前的组织将与城市研究的学者谁有兴趣在经验上了解美国城市发展的来源分享。这将潜在地促进在那些正在经历衰退并需要重建战略的城市中利用拟议研究模型的研究活动。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).In the urban development literature social capital is considered essential to community development, and yet empirical evidence that supports this claim has been mixed. In light of the gap between theoretical justifications and empirical findings, this project will examine the following questions: Are poor neighborhoods any different from their richer counterparts in terms of their organizational pattern and density, and how is it associated with community development? To what extent is social capital effective in promoting urban development, and which aspect of social capital is associated with the processes of urban development? Ultimately, what are the political and social forces that shape the topography of social capital in urban areas? The proposed research will answer these questions by looking at the effects of New Orleans's preexisting neighborhood institutions on the pace and scope of recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Using GIS, the investigator reconstructs the topography of local institutions that existed before Hurricane Katrina and statistically analyzes whether there is an association among poverty, local institutional arrangements and post-Katrina resettlement. Also, interviews with public housing residents and authorities will shed light on the extent to which political forces shape the characteristics of social capital at the local level.Theoretically, this project can refine the running conceptualization of social capital by juxtaposing formal and institutional dimensions of social relations with informal, horizontal networks. Furthermore, the results will help us better understand empirically the mechanisms through which social capital is formed and contributes to the development of urban areas. This, in turn, will encourage the design and implementation of urban policies that correctly reflect the needs and interests of residents and allocate resources accordingly.The results of the project will be disseminated to the residents of New Orleans via newsletter and media coverage. The investigator also plans to discuss the results of the proposed study to a group of urban planners, community leaders, and government officials who are engaged in the reconstruction of New Orleans as well as other disaster-stricken areas in the United States. The complete dataset of New Orleans?s pre-Katrina organizations will be shared with the scholars of urban studies who are interested in empirically understanding the sources of development in American cities. This will potentially promote research activities that utilize the model of the proposed study in those cities that are experiencing decline and need strategies for redevelopment.