2004 University of Michigan Poverty Research Grants
Funded research
Zaire Dinzey-Flores, Doctoral Candidate, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and Department of Sociology, University of Michigan.
Public Housing, Crime, and Social Interaction in Puerto Rico
Description
Puerto Rico has the second largest number of public housing units in the federal
public housing system. Yet, Puerto Rico has rarely been evaluated for the
lessons it can provide to the body of knowledge on federally assisted
populations. In 1992, mano dura contra el crimen (hard hand against crime), a
policy that targeted public housing sites as the place of intervention in the
fight against crime in Puerto Rico, was launched. The mano dura policies
included a number of interventions—building gates to control access, installing
policemen, renovating housing projects, initiating social program, privatizing
management of housing projects, and building recreation programs and
centers—intended to benefit public housing residents, in particular, and
improve the quality of residential life for all Puerto Ricans.
This research aims to understand and specify the relationship between residential space and the ability of members of communities to interact with each other. Specifically, the mano dura policies will be studied to show how changes in the built environment brought about by these policies affected poor people’s abilities and/or desire to interact within and across neighborhoods of similar and differing socio-economic profiles.
This project utilizes a multi-method approach employing quantitative,
qualitative, and historical methodologies to understand the impact of the
policy on social outcomes that were not accounted for in the policy’s design.
The research design is a 2-way comparison of eight residential sites that
differ along two axes: 1) whether they are public or private housing and 2)
whether they had one major intervention of mano dura—gating—implemented. The
intent is to analyze how the differing physical character of the communities,
as affected by the mano dura policy, influences social interactions. The
analyses will both provide a picture of the generalizable patterns as well as
display the language, words, and experiences that illustrate how residents
respond to changes to their housing spatial environments.
Barr | Dinzey-Flores | Garcia | Rivas | Index
