CC-BYSchmitt, Brian2025-05-092025-05-091999https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/2779Book of abstracts : AESOP PhD workshop 1999, Finse, Depertment of Geography Univeristy of Bergen, NorwayThis dissertation project investigates whether the Community Reinvestment Act and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act have substantially strengthened community-based organizations' capacities to influence residential credit availability in US cities and neighborhoods. The community reinvestment movement developed as a response to extensive post-war urban disinvestment and racism in US housing markets. While these problems persist, the community reinvestment movement appears to have made great strides in promoting homeownership opportunities for minority and low-and-moderate income borrowers. This abstract briefly recounts the history of urban disinvestment in the US, describes the research questions and methodology of my dissertation, and then couches the work in the broader context of local control of capital. My goal is to connect the mechanics of these two laws to Agenda 21's concerns with participatory planning and community-based issue analysis (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, 1996). In 1950 central cities, as distinct from their suburbs, accounted for nearly 6 of 10 persons living in metropolitan areas in the US. By 1970 central city residents accounted for barely 4 of 10 persons. The dramatic population shift from cities to suburbs, indeed the deep distinction between the two, is a particularly American urban phenomenon with many explanations. Strong and persistent consumer preference for new homes in the suburbs has played a significant factor in the process.EnglishopenAccessconferenceObject208-213