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Despite the multiple and diverse types of school reform to influence instruction, curriculum and fiscal policies, many urban students have low educational success and attainment. A fundamental problem of school reform is that it fails to address the economic, social, physical and cultural challenges that plague urban communities, families and children. Many urban neighborhoods are plagued by violence, crime, homelessness, property damage, poverty and other ruinous and dire circumstances. The empirical literature on neighborhood effects has described a positive relationship between neighborhood conditions and youth developmental and behavioral outcomes. However, the results vary, and there is little consensus on which neighborhood characteristics is most important. The present study examines this issue by identifying several neighborhood characteristics that influence students' college-going behaviors and beliefs, specifically their college preparation, aspirations and enrollment. This study is difference from previous research in that it incorporates ideas from place-identity theory to conceptualize the individual experiences students face in have in their neighborhoods. To conceptualize or measure concepts related to place-identity theory, I use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create student-level measures of neighborhood characteristics. The main data source for this study is the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS), a seven-wave, longitudinal investigation of high school students and their parents. For this study, PELS is utilized to describe students' background characteristics, educational aspirations, and academic engagement and to link students to school data. In addition, census and geographic data are used to measure neighborhood disadvantage and students' spatial relationship to neighborhood liquor and beer stores and drug crimes. Consistent with findings from other neighborhood effects studies, the results from this study are mixed. Specifically, the findings reveal that the presence of some types of liquor stores and indicators of neighborhood disadvantage predict students' college-related indicators. The finding also indicate the individual-level neighborhood characteristics, that is the neighborhood features encountered the events experienced and those things seen by students, are important. Overall, I conclude from this study that student' experiences outside of school matter. Furthermore, this research suggests that future neighborhood research should utilize theories that directly hone in on individual perspectives and development, rather than focus on macro theories that solely focus on neighborhood processes, relationship and aggregate characteristics. Furthermore, future studies should incorporate GIS technologies and spatial analyses. Finally, I recommend that school reform measures to alleviate educational gaps and shortfalls should not only focus on the schooling environment, but also should incorporate broader policies to directly confront urban neighborhood disadvantage and family challenges. / Urban Education

Seventy five percent of older adults are affected by multiple chronic diseases. Consuming a high quality diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein assists with chronic disease prevention and management. Healthful food availability is a major determinant of individual eating behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to describe the types, variety, and density of food outlets and to estimate access to a high quality diet for older adults in an urban setting. The Community Nutrition Environment Evaluation Data System (C-NEEDS) survey and restaurant menus were used to determine availability of healthful food in thirteen neighborhoods in Springfield, Massachusetts. A "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment" (DGAIFE) algorithm was created to estimate access to a high quality diet based on the stores and restaurants within the study area. Environmental characteristics that are recognized as facilitators or barriers to a high quality diet were added to the DGAIFE algorithm to calculate a "Dietary Guidelines for Americans Adherence Index Food Environment plus Environmental Characteristics" (DGAIFEC) score. The DGAIFE and DGAIFEC score ranges for all study areas were 1.53-2.25 and 1.38-2.50, respectively (possible range 1.00 higher to 5.00 lower access). Access to a high quality diet is within reach but not equal across the thirteen study areas. The findings can be used by Registered Dietitians to guide clients to make healthful food choices in urban neighborhoods and provides information to improve public health policy to increase access to healthful foods.

This problem was begun with the idea that the Negro housing problem existed in Blacksburg as in many other cities and towns all over America. The Negro population here was thought to be decreasing as in many rural areas and small towns. Lack of Housing was given as the chief cause of this migration because the financial status of the local Negro was considered to be very good This lack was thought to be due chiefly to the unwillingness of white persons to sell property to the colored. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of housing- and neighborhood-related deficits and stress in female heads of single-parent households. The main objectives were to determine: (1) if a correlation existed between the characteristics of the housing and neighborhood occupied by single-parent households and the number of deficits they reported; (2) if a correlation existed between the number of housing and neighborhood deficits and the amount of stress reported; and (3) what specific housing and neighborhood deficits were significantly associated with stress. A proportionate sample was drawn systematically from the 1983 school census data of Roanoke County and the independent city of Roanoke, Virginia. A self administered questionnaire was developed, pretested, and mailed to 1000 mothers of elementary school aged children and 162 usable responses were obtained. The Langner 22-item Index of Mental Illness was used to measure stress. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance, linear regression, and multiple regression with controls for the effect of extraneous variables on stress. Significant differences were found between the number of deficits reported and several characteristics of the respondents’ housing, including the type of dwelling, length of tenancy, method of housing payment, and dwelling satisfaction. A significant positive relationship was also found between the number of housing- and neighborhood-related deficits and the stress level of the respondents. Twelve of the 48 possible housing deficits were significantly related to stress (p < .01). These included inadequate size of rooms, inadequate space for family activities, entertaining, or children’s activities in the kitchen, no separate bedroom for the parent, lack of freedom to make changes in the Interior of the dwelling, inadequate Indoor storage, hard—to clean materials on the floors and in the bathroom, bedrooms not large enough for needed furnishings, no assigned parking space, and lack of privacy for family members. Four of the 21 possible neighborhood deficits were significantly related to stress (p < .01). These included inadequate police surveillance, lack of social acceptance of the single-parent lifestyle, and neighborhoods which were not clean or were not pleasant and attractive looking. / Ph. D.