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Urban Sprawl and Intergenerational Mobility: City- and Neighborhood-Level Effects of Sprawl

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  • Kelsey Carlston
  • Yehua Dennis Wei

Abstract

Characteristics of sprawl, like decreased social cohesion and lower accessibility to jobs and services, could negatively affect economic opportunity and intergenerational mobility. City-level studies have found mixed results, but neighborhood effects have been largely ignored. This study uses census tract and city-level data in a multilevel model to develop a richer understanding of the scale-dependent relationship between sprawl and intergenerational mobility. The authors found that a 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in sprawl at the tract level is associated with a 0.07 SD decrease in upward economic mobility, while a 1 SD increase in city-level sprawl is associated with a 0.08 SD decrease. Sprawl negatively affects upward intergenerational mobility at the metropolitan level and the census tract level. The negative relationship of economic outcomes to sprawl does not hold for high-income children, indicating that there may be conflicting benefits for different income families. Policy makers should understand these conflicting pressures.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelsey Carlston & Yehua Dennis Wei, 2024. "Urban Sprawl and Intergenerational Mobility: City- and Neighborhood-Level Effects of Sprawl," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 38(4), pages 235-248, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecdequ:v:38:y:2024:i:4:p:235-248
    DOI: 10.1177/08912424241279561
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