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Background: The relationship of fine particulate matter < 2.5 μm in diameter (PM₂.₅) air pollution with mortality and cardiovascular disease is well established, with more recent long-term studies reporting larger effect sizes than earlier long-term studies. Some studies have suggested the coarse fraction, particles between 2.5 and 10 μm (PM₁₀-₂.₅), may also be important. With respect to mortality and cardiovascular events, questions remain regarding the relative strength of effect sizes for chronic exposure to Hne and coarse particles. Objectives: We examined the relationship of chronic PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀-₂.₅; exposures with all-cause mortality and fatal and nonfatal incident coronary heart disease (CHD), adjusting for time-varying covariates. Methods: The current study included women from the Nurses' Health Study living in metropolitan areas of the northeastern and midwestem United States. Follow-up was from 1992 to 2002. We used geographic information systems-based spatial smoothing models to estimate monthly exposures at each participants residence. Results: We found increased risk of all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR), 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.54] and fatal CHD (HR = 2.02; 95% CI, 1.07-3.78) associated with each 10-μg/m³ increase in annual PM₂.₅ exposure. Ihe association between fatal CHD and PM₁₀-₂.₅) was weaker. Conclusions: Our findings contribute to growing evidence that chronic PM₂.₅ exposure is associated with risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

This paper examines the process of 'tourism gentrification' using a case study of the socio-spatial transformation of New Orleans' Vieux Carre (French Quarter) over the past halfcentury. Tourism gentrification refers to the transformation of a middle-class neighbourhood into a relatively affluent and exclusive enclave marked by a proliferation of corporate entertainment and tourism venues. Historically, the Vieux Carre has been the home of diverse groups of people. Over the past two decades, however, median incomes and property values have increased, escalating rents have pushed out lower-income people and African Americans, and tourist attractions and large entertainment clubs now dominate much of the neighbourhood. It is argued that the changing flows of capital into the real estate market combined with the growth of tourism enhance the significance of consumption-oriented activities in residential space and encourage gentrification. The paper contests explanations that view gentrification as an expression of consumer demands, individual preferences or market laws of supply and demand. It examines how the growth of securitisation, changes in consumption and increasing dominance of large entertainment firms manifest through the development of a tourism industry in New Orleans, giving gentrification its own distinct dynamic and local quality.

In the two studies reported here, we examined the relation among residential mobility, economic conditions, and optimal social-networking strategy. In Study 1, a computer simulation showed that regardless of economic conditions, having a broad social network with weak friendship ties is advantageous when friends are likely to move away. By contrast, having a small social network with deep friendship ties is advantageous when the economy is unstable but friends are not likely to move away. In Study 2, we examined the validity of the computer simulation using a sample of American adults. Results were consistent with the simulation: American adults living in a zip code where people are residentially stable but economically challenged were happier if they had a narrow but deep social network, whereas in other socioeconomic conditions, people were generally happier if they had a broad but shallow networking strategy. Together, our studies demonstrate that the optimal social-networking strategy varies as a function of socioeconomic conditions.

Study objectives: To determine which area based socioeconomic measures can meaningfully be used, at which level of geography, to monitor socioeconomic inequalities in childhood health in the US. Design: Cross sectional analysis of birth certificate and childhood lead poisoning registry data, geocoded and linked to diverse area based socioeconomic measures that were generated at three geographical levels: census tract, block group, and ZIP code. Setting: Two US states: Massachusetts (1990 population=6 016 425) and Rhode Island (1990 population=1 003 464). Participants: All births born to mothers ages 15 to 55 years old who were residents of either Massachusetts (1989–1991; n=267 311) or Rhode Island (1987–1993; n=96 138), and all children ages 1 to 5 years residing in Rhode Island who were screened for lead levels between 1994 and 1996 (n=62 514 children, restricted to first test during the study period). Main results: Analyses of both the birth weight and lead data indicated that: (a) block group and tract socioeconomic measures performed similarly within and across both states, while ZIP code level measures tended to detect smaller effects; (b) measures pertaining to economic poverty detected stronger gradients than measures of education, occupation, and wealth; (c) results were similar for categories generated by quintiles and by a priori categorical cut off points; and (d) the area based socioeconomic measures yielded estimates of effect equal to or augmenting those detected, respectively, by individual level educational data for birth outcomes and by the area based housing measure recommended by the US government for monitoring childhood lead poisoning. Conclusions: Census tract or block group area based socioeconomic measures of economic deprivation could be meaningfully used in conjunction with US public health surveillance systems to enable or enhance monitoring of social inequalities in health in the United States.

We study the local effects of a federal program that helped cities clear areas for redevelopment, rehabilitate structures, complete city plans, and enforce building codes. We use an instrumental variable strategy to estimate the program's effects on city-level measures of income, property values, employment and poverty rates, and population. The estimated effects on income, property values, and population are positive and economically significant. They are not driven by changes in demographic composition. Estimated effects on poverty reduction and employment are positive but imprecise. The results are consistent with a model in which local productivity is enhanced.

What effect, if any, does the extent of economic inequality in a country have upon the political engagement of its citizens? This study examines this question using data from multiple cross-national surveys of the advanced industrial democracies. It tests the theory that greater inequality increases the relative power of the wealthy to shape politics in their own favor against rival arguments that focus on the effects of inequality on citizens' objective interests or the resources they have available for political engagement. The analysis demonstrates that higher levels of income inequality powerfully depress political interest, the frequency of political discussion, and participation in elections among all but the most affluent citizens, providing compelling evidence that greater economic inequality yields greater political inequality.

The collapse of the labor, housing, and stock markets beginning in 2007 created unprecedented challenges for American families. This study examines disparities in wealth holdings leading up to the Great Recession and during the first years of the recovery. All socioeconomic groups experienced declines in wealth following the recession, with higher wealth families experiencing larger absolute declines. In percentage terms, however, the declines were greater for less advantaged groups as measured by minority status, education, and prerecession income and wealth, leading to a substantial rise in wealth inequality in just a few years. Despite large changes in wealth, longitudinal analyses demonstrate little change in mobility in the ranking of particular families in the wealth distribution. Between 2007 and 2011, one-fourth of American families lost at least 75 percent of their wealth, and more than half of all families lost at least 25 percent of their wealth. Multivariate longitudinal analyses document that these large relative losses were disproportionally concentrated among lower-income, less educated, and minority households.

In the United States (US), the area-based measure of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics used in health research varies considerably from one study to another. However, it is unclear whether different area-based measures capture the same or different dimension of neighborhood context. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between single measures (i.e., area-based median household income and median family income) and composite measures (i.e., area-based measures derived from a combination of multiple variables) of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. Area-based socioeconomic data at the census tract level were obtained from the 200509 American Community Survey (ACS) for St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; San Diego, California; and Los Angeles, California. Single measures of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics were simply taken from the ACS data, and composite measures were derived from the computational methods described in previous studies. Separate correlation statistics were then conducted for four US cities. Despite the differences in how selected area-based measures of neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics were derived from the ACS data, they were highly correlated (either negatively or positively) with one another. In other words, selected area-based measures capture the same dimension of neighborhood context. A neighborhood affluence-deprivation continuum in US cities may be captured by an area-based median household (or family) income. Nevertheless, to ensure the generalizability and transportability of results from four US cities, further comparisons of area-based measures (not limited to those considered in this study) are needed in different US cities.

Current methodologies in small area estimation are mostly either parametric or heavily dependent on the assumed linearity of the estimators of the small area means. We discuss an alternative empirical likelihood-based Bayesian approach, which neither requires a parametric likelihood nor assumes linearity of the estimators, and can handle both discrete and continuous data in a unified manner. Empirical likelihoods for both area- and unit-level models are introduced. We discuss the suitability of the proposed likelihoods in Bayesian inference and illustrate their performances on a real dataset and a simulation study.

New social transformations within and beyond the cities of classic urban studies challenge prevailing accounts of spatial inequality. This paper pivots from the Rust Belt to the Sunbelt accordingly, disentangling persistence and change in neighborhood median income and concentrated income extremes in Los Angeles County. We first examine patterns of change over two decades starting in 1990 for all Los Angeles neighborhoods. We then analyze an original longitudinal study of approximately six hundred Angelenos from 2000 to 2013, assessing the degree to which contextual changes in neighborhood income arise from neighborhood-level mobility or individual residential mobility. Overall we find deep and persistent inequality among both neighborhoods and individuals. Contrary to prior research, we also find that residential mobility does not materially alter neighborhood economic conditions for most race, ethnic, and income groups. Our analyses lay the groundwork for a multilevel theoretical framework capable of explaining spatial inequality across cities and historical eras.