UNDERSTANDING NEIGHBORHOOD DYNAMICS - A REVIEW OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF GRIGSBY,WILLIAM,G

This paper summarises William G. Grigsby's contribution to our underst anding of neighbourhood change. We discuss seven contributions among G rigsby's most-lasting. First, he staked out the boundaries of the stil l-nascent field very early in his career. Secondly, he situated the su bject within the broader framework of metropolitan housing market dyna mics. Thirdly, he developed a theoretical framework for investigating the subject that featured the analysis of housing sub-markets, the mar ket process of neighbourhood succession, and residential segregation. Fourthly, he identified the economic, social, institutional and demogr aphic forces that create neighbourhood change. Fifthly, he linked neig hbourhood decline and deterioration to the spatial concentration of po verty. Sixthly, he underscored the significance of this understanding for formulating public policies to deal with deteriorated neighbourhoo ds. And seventhly, he provided a remarkably complete and robust framew ork for analysing neighbourhood change. This last-mentioned contributi on is the culmination of his lifetime work and will prove perhaps to b e his most significant. It provides a road map to future research on n eighbourhood dynamics that others may wish to follow. It is very impor tant to note that Grigsby's contributions are so foundational to the m odern field of housing economics and housing policy that many of the f irst-generation analysts like John Kain, John Quigley, William Wheaten , Richard Muth and Anthony Downs do not bother to cite his works. Grig sby's contributions have become ingrained in the core of housing polic y. The paper concludes by noting that Grigsby did not let the state of technology or the availability of data limit his vision. As a result, his ideas about neighbourhood change remain fresh and will remain imp ortant for years to come.