Housing Quality Can Impact Child Development

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University tracked connections between Cleveland children's homes and their early literacy skills. What they found, the authors believe, should influence how cities craft housing policy.

As Alexia Fernández Campbell explains in The Atlantic, many Cleveland houses were built before 1978, and around 40 percent of the city's kindergarteners have suffered lead poisoning.

The study found that "the amount of time a child spent living in housing units that were tax delinquent, in foreclosure, or owned by a speculator," as well as exposure to lead paint in old houses, had "significant effects on kindergarten readiness."

Author Rob Fischer says the results should motivate cities to consider the quality, not just the quantity, of housing stock—and avoid potentially "devastating" effects on children's success and wellbeing.