significantly, as Carter (2003: 4) states the borders of some neighborhoods in south Chicago were
originally determined by white resistance to black migration. In Australian cities, as Lee (2000; cited in
Carter, 2003) stated, distribution of poverty is very uneven across social groups and poverty rates are higher
in certain groups such as urban Aboriginal people, recent immigrants, visible minorities and people
with disabilities, lone-parent families, unattached individuals, children and elderly women, in comparison
with national average of urban dwellers. In short, poverty, unemployment and segregation in the inner city
residential areas appear as common indicators of unevenness.
Since the capital moves through the built environment in order to gain more profit, certain areas where
the capital does not chose to invest, remain poor in terms of capital investments. In this context,
disinvestment is one of the major characteristics of declining inner neighborhoods. Carter (2003: 22) notes
that disinvestment process is triggered when a community offers lower returns to investor. On the other
hand, disinvestments may occur in the existing housing stocks of the neighborhood. In consequence of
falling income and leaving wealthier families, prices and rents decline in a community in comparison to
other areas. Namely these areas lose their attractiveness for any type investment. Property owners in that
community, gradually become less interested in maintenance, and do not spend for the repair for their
property. Therefore Carter (2003: 22) emphasizes that disinvestments is initially manifested in delayed home
improvements and discretionary repairs. Carter (2003: 22) notes that in many urban areas, the principle
matter of the disinvestment process is the ‘market gap’. He explains this problem in the context of cost-
benefit. Disinvestment occurs when the cost of renovation and property acquisition exceeds the market value
of the renovated home. In these circumstances, private capital avoids to invest these areas.
The most visible indicator of inner city decline is the occurance of vacant and abandoned property in the
neighborhood. This problem is generally accepted as an indicator of decline rather than a cause. On the other
hand, Cohen (2001; cited in Carter, 2003: 20) shows that vacant and abandoned properties also contribute to
neighborhood decline and frustrate revitalization efforts as becoming eyesores, fire hazards, and sites for
drug-related activity, vagrancy, and rodent infestation. Moreover, Burchell and Listokin (1981; cited in
Carter, 2003) state that abandonment is both a symptom and a disease signing poverty, selected migration,
unemployment and the tax base loss. It is clear that, deteriorating houses, apartments, commercial and
industrial buildings, and lots undermine the vitality of city neighborhoods. According to Glennerster and
others (1999; cited in Carter, 2003: 21) “the more unattractive the housing and the area’s facilities, the more
segregated the population, the lower the social and human capital of the area, the less capable are the
individuals and the area of attracting jobs”. Regarding abandoned properties in US inner cities, Accordino
and Johnson (2000; cited in Carter, 2003: 21) note that inner areas of 95 cities have the problem of vacant
and abandoned property. According to their study, nearly half of the cities reported that 20% or less of the
community is affected, and almost one-third of the cities reported that 21% to 40% of the total community is
affected by the problem. Also, Northern British cities such as Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool,
and Manchester have faced to inner city disinvestments and abandonment of physical urban areas.
According to Carley (1999; cited in Tom Carter, 2003) about one in seven of British homes are in poor
conditions and they need to major repairs. In other word, Carley specifies that, in England, 4.8 per cent of
the total dwelling stock is unfit, 2.5 percent lacks one or more of the basic amenities, and 12.9 percent is in
poor repair. In total, nearly 15 percent of the stock is in poor condition.
The central business district expands physically due to the agglomeration, surrounding residential areas
are affected from this development. Land use pattern of the residential areas surrounding the central business
districts may transform from housing to commercial units, store or manufacture uses gradually with the
pressure of widening business district. On the other hand, in developed countries, inner city areas are
generally the sites of under-utilised commercial space. These commercial spaces are inexpensive to lease and
therefore become a magnet for business serving the underprivileged. These types of commercial units
illustrated by Carter (2003: 22) as pay day loan, cheque-cashing outlets, pawnshops, temporary labour
centers, low priced saloons, sex shops, massage parlours and others.
Decline of public education is another important indicator of residential decline. Firstly, as Carter (2003)
notes, low educational attainment is considered to be an important indicator of areas in decline. Furthermore,
the school failure is often attributed to neighborhood effects. In other words, “several negative collective
processes such as abandonment of parental responsibilities on the part of modern parents and the high rates
of juvenile delinquency, criminality and street violence, explain why so many young people in these areas
lose interest in education” (Carter, 2003: 25). School performance is a second important problem. Carter
(2003) notes that schools with high numbers of poor students are more likely to rate lower in achievement
tests in comparison to the average of the whole city schools. While families with resources move away in
order to utilize middle-class public or private schools, concentration of poor students in schools of declining
neighborhoods increases. According to Glennerster et al., (1999; cited in Carter, 2003: 25), such children’s
school performance is worse and so their later earnings are lower. Another character of the schools in
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