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，社会资本被认为对社区发展至关重要，然而支持这一说法的经验证据却参差不齐。鉴于理论论证与实证发现之间的差距，本项目将研究以下问题：贫困社区在组织模式和密度方面与富裕社区有何不同？它与社区发展有何关系？社会资本在多大程度上有效促进城市发展？社会资本的哪些方面与城市发展过程有关？最终，是什么政治和社会力量塑造了城市地区社会资本的地形？拟议的研究将通过观察新奥尔良原有的社区机构对卡特里娜飓风后恢复的速度和范围的影响来回答这些问题。研究者利用GIS重建了卡特里娜飓风之前存在的地方制度的地形，并统计分析了贫困、地方制度安排和卡特里娜飓风后移民安置之间是否存在关联。此外，对公共住房居民和当局的采访将揭示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，该项目可以通过将社会关系的正式和制度维度与非正式的水平网络并列，来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实证角度理解社会资本形成和促进城市发展的机制。这反过来又将鼓励设计和执行正确反映居民的需要和利益并相应地分配资源的城市政策。该项目的结果将通过通讯和媒体报道传播给新奥尔良的居民。研究者还计划向参与新奥尔良以及美国其他受灾地区重建的城市规划者、社区领导人和政府官员讨论拟议的研究结果。新奥尔良的完整数据集？美国卡特里娜飓风前的组织将与城市研究领域的学者分享，这些学者对从经验上理解美国城市发展的根源感兴趣。这将潜在地促进在那些正在经历衰退和需要重新开发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.