INNER CITY RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURE AND DECLINE

Abstract

ABSTRACT The lack of an adequate theoretical foundation to explain residential structure has become increasingly evident as researchers attempt to incorporate blighted areas of the city into a conceptual framework. Empirical evidence based on Cedar Rapids data indicates that the findings of social area analysts are applicable to the inner city with its downgraded socioeconomic character and abundant substandard housing. A case is made for decline and expansion, improvement and contraction, with respect to housing quality being instances of a common process of residential change. Expanding poverty and/or ghetto areas, coupled with intra-urban migration flows superimposed on a relatively fixed housing stock, suggest that decline follows a concentric ring expansion process most accelerated along sectors experiencing the most rapid out-migration, particularly in those areas away from the expanding ghetto. Key Words: Cedar RapidsHousing qualityInner cityResidential successionSocial area analysisUrban structure