Cited by 20Criminal Justice and Corrections AnalysisUrban, Neighborhood, and Segregation StudiesCrime Patterns and Interventions

Concentrated incarceration and the public-housing-to-prison pipeline in New York City neighborhoods

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Holder, Jay, Calaff, Ivan, Maricque, Brett, Tran, Van C.·2022·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Using public housing developments as a strategic site, our research documents a distinct pathway linking disadvantaged context to incarceration—the public-housing-to-prison pipeline. Focusing on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) housing developments as a case study, we find that incarceration rates in NYCHA tracts are 4.6 times higher than those in non-NYCHA tracts. More strikingly, 94% of NYCHA tracts report rates above the median value for non-NYCHA tracts. Moreover, 17% of New York State’s incarcerated population originated from just 372 NYCHA tracts. Compared with non-NYCHA tracts, NYCHA tracts had higher shares of Black residents and were significantly more disadvantaged. This NYCHA disadvantage in concentrated incarceration is also robust at different spatial scales. Our findings have implications for policies and programs to disrupt community-based pipelines to prison.

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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.2123201119

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Authors
Holder, J., Calaff, I., Maricque, B., & Tran, V. C.
Affiliations
  • Columbia University (US)
  • Washington University in St. Louis (US)
  • The Graduate Center, CUNY (US)
Corresponding author
Tran, Van C.
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2022-08-29
Volume
119
Issue
36
Pages
e2123201119-e2123201119
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W4293485839
Cited by
20
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1
FWCI
5.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Commons@Becker (Washington University School of Medicine) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Graduate Center
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Crime Patterns and Interventions
Keywords
public housing, New York City Housing Authority, neighborhood disadvantage, Black residents, incarceration rates, regional disparities, New York City neighborhoods
MeSH terms
Black or African American, Humans, New York City, Prisons, Public Housing, Residence Characteristics, Vulnerable Populations, Black People

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