Jennifer Washco, City and Regional Planning, M.A.

Contact

DLGS, Würzburger Str. 35, room 211

Email:   j.washco[...]dlgs.ioer.de
Phone:  +49(0)351 / 463 42348
Fax:       +49(0)351 / 4679 212

Doctoral Thesis

working title:
The Neighborhood Impacts of Local Responses to Foreclosures – A Case Study of Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Supervisors:  Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Bernhard Müller, Prof. Dr. Hazel Morrow-Jones

Abstract:
The US mortgage crisis of the late 2000s has resulted in greatly increased occurrences of residential delinquencies, defaults, and foreclosures. Previous research shows strong evidence of negative, likely cyclical relationships between foreclosures and neighborhood change. Due to relatively ineffective federal responses to the foreclosure problem, some localities have created local foreclosure prevention and mitigation programs. The goal of this research is to understand the impacts of these programs on neighborhood stability and decline, and whether these efforts function differently across neighborhoods and/or intervention periods. The research is a mixed methods case study of responses to foreclosures and related problems in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Ohio.
The research design incorporates two levels of analysis, to facilitate iterative investigation and triangulation. First, county level analysis is done primarily through quantitative methods, including, spatial, temporal, and regression analysis of socioeconomic, property, and foreclosure data. This analysis is complemented and verified using qualitative interview data from program experts.
These results serve as a starting point for the second level of analysis, which occurs on the neighborhood level. Neighborhoods are purposively selected for heterogeneity along variables of interest derived from the county level analysis, such as urban or suburban location, the level of foreclosures, and whether the neighborhood is targeted by a specific program. This qualitatively focused analysis is comprised primarily of content analysis of neighborhood resident expert interviews, and supplemented by analysis of quantitative neighborhood-level data.
This research will add a neighborhood impact component to the foreclosure prevention program discussion, which currently focuses on individual home-owner outcomes. Understanding the impacts of these programs will allow for improved design and implementation of local neighborhood stabilization efforts during periods of housing and economic uncertainty.

CV

Education

Since 01/2010
Doctoral Student at the TU Dresden, Faculty of Forest, Geo and Hydro Science
2008 - 2009
Doctoral student, City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University
2006 - 2008
Master of City and Regional Planning, The Ohio State University
2001 - 2006
Bachelor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University

Awards

Since 01/2010
Scholarship holder at the Dresden Leibniz Graduate School (DLGS)
2008
City and Regional Planning Faculty Prize, 2nd Year Student
2007
Outstanding Student Project Award, Small Town and Rural Division, APA for Community Plan for Pineville, Mississippi

Professional Experience

2009
Graduate Research Assistant, The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, The Ohio State University
2008 - 2009
Lead Graduate Teaching Assistant, Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program, The Ohio State University
2007 - 2008
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program, The Ohio State University
2007
Graduate Research Assistant, City and Regional Planning Department, The Ohio State University
2006 - 2007
Graduate Teaching Assistant, First Year Engineering Program, The Ohio State University
2003 - 2006
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program, The Ohio State University
2004, 2005
Engineering Intern, Eaton Corporation, Vehicle Controls Business Unit, Fluid Power Division
2003
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Electrical Engineering Department, The Ohio State University

Research Interests

Housing finance, neighborhood effects, housing equity/fair housing, foreclosure mitigation

Publications

Washco, J. (2010): Book Review: Immergluck, D. 2009. Foreclosed: High-risk lending, deregulation, and the undermining of America's mortgage market. Journal of Planning Literature, 24: 266-267.