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647 Annals Am. Acad. Pol. & Soc. Sci. 6 (2013)

handle is hein.cow/anamacp0647 and id is 1 raw text is: INTRODUCTION Reconsidering the Urban Disadvantaged: The Role of Systems, Institutions, and Organizations By SCOTT W. ALLARD and MARIO L. SMALL The recent economic recession and a sluggish recovery have made conditions especially precarious for the most disadvantaged members of the urban poor population-those with criminal records, health condi- tions, undocumented status, or unstable housing. We argue that the fewer the resources to which people have access, the more their circumstances will depend on the organizations in which they participate, the sys- tems in which these organizations operate, and the institutions governing the behavior of both. We call for a renewed focus on systems, institutions, and organiza- tions among researchers who study urban disadvantage, and review a series of studies that show the promise of these perspectives. Well into the dawn of the twenty-first cen- tury, the prospects for the urban poor seem far less promising than they were at the dusk of the twentieth. The robust economic expansion of the 1990s now seems like distant history, replaced by a weak labor market, a fragile housing sector, a fraying health care system, and a sense of public austerity that threatens to evis- cerate the safety net. While these conditions are affecting all low-income people, they are espe- cially pernicious for those whose income poverty is compounded by other serious disadvantages. For example, a criminal record makes it nearly impossible to find stable employment in today's tough economy. For those with chronic health conditions and fixed incomes, grappling to pay medical bills often means teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. For unauthorized immigrants, a lack of legal status inhibits con- nections to the formal labor market and com- munity institutions, particularly given the recent intensification in the enforcement of immigration law. Experiments with public housing demolition have created greater hous- ing instability for many families formerly receiv- ing project-based assistance. And the rapidly rising returns to education in an economy that increasingly rewards advanced training has cre- ated daunting obstacles to upward mobility for those with no postsecondary schooling. DOJ: 10.1177/0002716213479317 ANNALS, AAPSS, 647, May 2013 6

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