The grant was awarded by the university's Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach under the Poverty and the Economy Research Grants Program sponsored by the University of Georgia Research Foundation. The grants program provides seed funding to support and encourage applied research and creative scholarship related to poverty and the economy in Georgia.
For this year's awards, particular emphasis was placed on how the university can address the public policy barriers that inhibit or limit an individual's ability to participate fully in the economy and build personal wealth.
O'Looney reports that the grant project is a collaborative effort of the Institute, the School of Law, the Terry College of Business, and the College of Education. "We are excited to be working with some of the university's best young researchers as well as with the students and faculty involved with the Law School's Public Interest Practicum, a service learning project where law students combine research, classroom study, and hands-on service to the community," he explains.
The team's research will attempt to answer three questions:
- To what extent do Georgia communities have in place ordinances (zoning, planning, and building codes) and other policies (e.g., enterprise zones, Home programs, rehabilitation districts, etc.) that have the potential to impact affordable housing and residential segregation?
- To what extend are publicly funded unwanted land uses concentrated in areas of persistent poverty and thereby constrain home ownership-related wealth creation?
- To what extent do school catchment zones constrain the wealth-creating ability of home ownership by families living in areas of persistent poverty?
