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Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing, and Immigrant Networks

Online ISBN:
9780814785072
Print ISBN:
9780814720776
Publisher:
NYU Press
Book

Getting Ahead: Social Mobility, Public Housing, and Immigrant Networks

Published online:
24 March 2016
Published in print:
20 December 2010
Online ISBN:
9780814785072
Print ISBN:
9780814720776
Publisher:
NYU Press

Abstract

This book tells the compelling stories of Latin-American immigrant women living in public housing in two Boston-area neighborhoods. It argues that these immigrant women parlay social ties that provide support and leverage to develop networks and achieve social positioning to get ahead. The strong voices of these women demonstrate how they successfully negotiate the world and achieve social mobility through their own individual agency, skillfully navigating both constraints and opportunities. The book makes it clear that many immigrant women are able to develop the social support needed for a rich social life, and leverage ties that open options for them to develop their social and human capital. However, it also shows that factors such as neighborhood and domestic violence and the unavailability of social services leave many women without the ability to strategize towards social mobility. Ultimately, the book makes important local and international policy recommendations on issues ranging from public housing to world labor visas, demonstrating how policy can help to improve the lives of these and other low-income people.

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