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Tennessee State University
HUD (Department of Housing and
Urban Development)-
HBCU Project
Nekya J. Young
Student Researcher
NASA-CASS Program
Tennessee State University
Spring 2001
During the 2001 spring semester I helped research the historic, African American, North Nashville (Sub Area 8) community employment and residential market. I used Arc View GIS and the 1990 U.S. Census data to map the socio-economic data and how the program would impact and bolster the of North Nashville community. My research helped benefit the Tennessee State University HBCU-HUD (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) and Tennessee State University Sociology's department. This program provided employment opportunities that allowed them to use the industrial labor skills (carpentry, masonry, etc.,) obtained during their incarceration period. The ex-offenders would have an opportunity to use skills to construct HUD homes in North Nashville.
The images below shows the average commuting time from home to
work. These maps prove that the most of the residents travel to the surrounding
Metro suburbs for employment
opportunities. The U.S. 1990 Census data was the resource for
these maps.
The map below shows the economic character of the North Nashville
area. According the 1990 census and presently in 2002, North Nashville
is the
poorest and the most under resourced area in Nashville.
The maps below gives insight to the labor market in North Nashville.
Most residents commute to work via public transportation because there
are few employment opportunities are
in North Nashville. Ultimately, because of the median income
being so low most residents do not own vehicles so they are dependent upon
public transportation to transport them to their
jobs.
My research was submitted to the Oscar Miller, Ph.D Workforce Development in the HBCU-HUD program . Dr. Miller heads this initiative and he is also the Head of Tennessee State University's Sociology department. In conclusion , the research supported the theory that ex-offenders industrial labor skills could be useful in the HBCU-HUD inititiaves because they had few employment opportunities in the North Nashville area. This research was completed in Tennessee State University's Geographic Information Lab under the supervision of Dr. David A. Padgett.