Housing and Criminal Justice
In the United States, approximately 656,000 individuals leave facilities of incarceration each year. Disproportionately, they are members of two ethnic groups? African-American and Latino. They are also overwhelmingly male and from low-income backgrounds. Metropolitan areas tend to be affected more than ex-urban and rural areas of the United States. In particular, central city neighborhoods and inner suburban ring communities where much of urban poverty is situated are playing host to the majority of inmates leaving jails, prisons, and detention centers.
Where people live and the means by which they use the city can be determinative of their personal health and welfare. This Research Project examines the experiences of individuals who are exiting jails and prisons. The report focuses on a sample of ex-offenders who are returning to neighborhoods in the New York metro area. All these individuals have allowed research staff to observe their movements and personal interactions during the first thirty days of their re-entry into the city. The results show that how ex-offenders use the city can shape their social outcomes and quality of life.
The Socio-Spatial Consequences of Inmate Release in New York City.
by Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh, Eva Rosen, Cynthia Golembeski, Grace June Kim, Sarah Williams, Laura Kurgan, James Connelly, and Ann Foss (2007).