Steinberg, S. & Steinberg, S., (2006). Geographic information systems for the social sciences; Investigating space and place. Sage Publications Incorporated. http://www.uk.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book226052&currTree=Subjects&level1=900&level2=9C0
This book was a rare find and takes the reader through GIS functions from a social science perspective. I recommend this "how to" book for any social scientist looking for ways to integrate GIS into their research methods. It is very user friendly.
Oregon State University (2008) Oregon Rural Communities Explorer, a natural resources digital library. http://www.oregonexplorer.info/rural/.
This website provided information for interested citizens, policy makers, and researchers on rural communities and issues in Oregon. At this link, you will find the Oregon Community Reporter and the Advanced Mapping Tool that link the public to free Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software and data bases. These tools allowed access to anyone interested in creating map layers unique to their areas of interest on topics related to Rural Oregon.
Jackson, N., (2008) Housing Assistance Council, Rural Data Portal. http://www.ruralhome.org/dataportal/
The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) developed this rural housing data portal, supported by funding under Cooperative Agreement H-21519 CA with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), this portal is a free public service. HAC takes full responsibility for maintaining the accuracy of the data and interpretations. On this site you can find national data on rural housing related issues. It is very user friendly.
Housing Assistance Council, (2008). Rural America at a glance.http://www.ruralhome.org/manager/uploads/HousinginRuralAmerica_2.pdf
The article discussed housing trends and issues, renting and owning, the manufactured housing dilemma, housing affordability, rural housing quality, household crowding, mortgage access in rural areas, and the role of federal housing assistance in rural regions. This document used GIS imagery to help tell the story of a struggling Rural America.
Geospatial Research and Information Laboratory (GRAIL) Using HUD Foreclosure Data and GIS to Visualize Foreclosure Risk in Google Earth, (2009)
http://grail.nau.edu/fcb/foreclosure/foreclosuredata.html
This website is an innovative mash-up utilizing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development foreclosure data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies, and Google Earth to visually represent nationwide housing blocks at risk of foreclosure. KML and KMZ files have been created to show foreclosure risk and can be downloaded here for each state in the country. These files can then be opened using Google Earth. You can specify your search and interpolation to rural communities – and it is free!
Talen, E. & Swasti, S. (2007). Neighborhood evaluation using GIS. Environment and Behavior, 39, 583-615.http://eab.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/39/5/583
The authors use GIS to investigate what residents think of a neighborhood in Urbana, Illinois. I included this article as an example of how GIS can be used to gain understanding of social issues utilizing GIS technologies. The author’s used some very creative images to tell the stories of the neighborhood residents.
Committee on Review of Geographic Information Systems Research and Applications at HUD: Current Programs and Future Prospects, Committee on Geography, National Research Council, (2003). GIS for Housing and Urban Development.This free PDF was downloaded from: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10674.html
This report described potential application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis by the U.S. Department of Urban and Housing Development’s Office of Policy Development and Research. Although directed at urban housing, this book offered suggestions for utilizing GIS to create imagery around important housing options such as: vacancies, proximity to schools, public transportation routes, entry level jobs, and access to services when considering placement of public housing units. These are issues important to consider for urban and rural housing developments and add a relevant piece to the GIS housing research literature.
Myron P. Gutmann & Paul. C. Stern, eds. (2007). Putting people on the map: Protecting Confidentiality with linked social spatial data.Panel on Confidentiality Issues Arising from the Integration of Remotely Sensed and Self-Identifying Data, National Research Council
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309104149
This book added to the dialogue on ethical issues associated with access versus confidentiality and identified some of the associated promises and challenges of putting people on the map. There was a useful chapter which suggested a number of approaches to preserving participant confidentiality when they were linked to geospatial data. In addition, I found the reference list to be very useful for background on this heated debate.
HUD's new Neighborhood Stabilization Program, (2008). www.hud.gov/nsp
I chose to include this website because it is a resource for grant funding to state and local governments for redeveloping foreclosed properties at risk of abandonment. It is important to consider where funding is being supported when gathering and interpreting data so that projects can be sustained. This site also provides data that can be used with GIS technologies.
Fitchen, J. M. (1992). On the edge of homelessness: Rural poverty and housing insecurity. Rural Sociology, 57, 173-193.
The author used qualitative methods in a longitudinal field research study that connected rural homelessness to poverty trends in the 1990’s. She added context around rural housing issues that are still relevant today, almost 20 years later. She examined how people of a lower income were made more vulnerable to housing insecurity because of the complex barriers faced when individuals were both poor and living rurally. The piece was poignant because it defined factors unique to poorer people in Rural America at a time when the public debate on poverty and housing focused on urban areas. In addition, Fitchen’s study presented a good example of how qualitative methods can provide detail to the broad strokes of GIS imagery. Oregon State University students and faculty can access the full text article at the following link for free: http://mw8xt6bj7r.scholar.serialssolutions.com/?sid=google&auinit=JM&aulast=Fitchen&atitle=On+the+edge+of+homelessness:+Rural+housing+and+housing+insecurity&title=Rural+sociology&vol
ume=57&date=1992&spage=173&issn=0036-0112