Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Wrecking Recreation Center Relationships: How Policy Affects Urban Youth In Tampa, Florida, Brett A. Mervis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the impact of housing and recreation policy on Tampa's urban youth. Deconcentration policy suggests that public housing youth have improved life chances when relocated to mixed-income neighborhoods. In 2007, Tampa's Central Park Village (CPV) public housing complex was demolished and all families were relocated to new neighborhoods. Similarly, neoliberal policy advocates for the government's reduced role in poverty-alleviating mechanisms to include housing the poor and the funding of afterschool programs. To offset a smaller city budget due to state property tax rollbacks in the mid-2000's, Tampa Parks and Recreation instituted increased afterschool and youth sports participation fees. …