2 APPROACHES TO SCHOOL-DESEGREGATION AND THEIR IMPACTS ON CITY-SUBURBAN CHOICE - CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

This paper employs stepwise multiple regression to test the effectiveness of combined city-suburban school districts in increasing the willingness of families with children to choose central city locations. Over 5000 recent homebuyers in Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio, and New Castle County (Wilmington), Delaware, were surveyed. New Castle County had combined city-suburban school districts and families living there were expected to be more likely to choose the central city when all other relevant characteristics were controlled. Just the opposite occurred. Hamilton County buyers were more likely to choose the city, reflecting the greater variety of attractive middle income neighborhoods within the City of Cincinnati. It is suggested that efforts to attract middle income families to cities should focus on maintaining the quality of the older housing stock and on improving neighborhood business districts. Additional research is needed on the impact of different school desegregation schemes on location choices.