For years, academic studies, social experiments and basic intuition have suggested that growing up in bad neighborhoods is bad for upward mobility. But in two breakthrough studies by Harvard University economists, data now shows that neighborhoods themselves can actually cause people to earn greater or lesser incomes when they’re older. Interpreted in another way, the longer kids spend in nicer neighborhoods, the better they’ll do as adults. The landmark conclusions are serving as a wake-up call for housing policy planners and parents alike as they confront big questions about the long-term effects of America’s high-poverty neighborhoods. Kojo explores what the data mean for counties in our region, and how families can improve their children’s lives even if they can’t move.