Not in My Back Yard -- but Where? Neighborhood Locations of Group Quarters Institutions

Nancy A. Denton, University at Albany, State University of New York

For Census 2000, the nearly 8 million people not living in households were categorized as living in 52 different types of institutions: detailed types of correctional institutions, halfway houses, nursing homes, dormitories, barracks, etc., the types of institutions that evoke the NIMBY response. Since the neighborhood (census tract) of this population is known, this paper uses Summary Files 1 and 3 to examine how neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics predict the location of any (and which type) institution. Are certain groups more likely to have these institutions in their midst than others? Does institutionalization status, age, sex, and Race/Hispanic origin of the facility's residents matter? Preliminary findings show that as neighborhood socioeconomic status rises, the likelihood of having a facility in the neighborhood decreases, though there is substantial variation depending on the type of facility. Furthermore, socioeconomic status appears to matter less as neighborhood racial composition becomes less white.