Recipients of PSC Small Grant Awards

Explanations for the departure of residents from Detroit are numerous, but less attention has been given to the reasons that residents stay and how they experience their depopulated neighborhoods. This study uses in-depth interviews with current and previous residents of Detroit’s most depopulated neighborhoods to examine their reasons staying or moving. The goals of this study are (1) to identify the motivations and rationales behind mobility decisions for those living in a depopulated area, and (2) to examine the experiences of residents, their use of neighborhood space, and the social construction of place for those who remain in neighborhoods with substantial population loss.