New 'outer edge' poverty due to forclosures in remote areas

[Liberal_in_LA]

It's life on the edge of foreclosure for many in suburbs

By Mary Shanklin | Sentinel Staff Writer
March 19, 2009

POINCIANA - When first-time homebuyer James Wentworth left South Florida three years ago and purchased a new house in the burgeoning suburb of Poinciana, he had tired of city living and was drawn by the quiet neighborhood streets an hour south of Orlando.

But now that the former bus driver and his roommate have lost their jobs, had their water shut off and found themselves facing foreclosure, suburbia has become a dead-end street.

The two men represent the extreme of what experts describe as a new "outer edge" of poverty in remote suburbs hit hard by foreclosures. Fueled by "subprime" mortgages that made new homes suddenly affordable for those who otherwise might not have qualified, outlying communities mushroomed during the middle of this decade.

Wentworth's roommate recently enraged neighbors by walking the streets with a hand-lettered sign that pleaded for gas money to make the 20-mile round trip for a loaf of bread and boxes of macaroni and cheese. The same remoteness that drew them to the community that straddles Polk and Osceola counties has left them stranded in a sparsely furnished house.

The nearest bus stop is a two-hour walk. Existing without running water for more than a week, they have no church or emergency housing within seven miles. Every day they face the prospect of losing power and cell-phone service, which would further isolate them.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-asecforeburb19031909mar19,0,7928840.story









http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-photos-foreclosure-suburbs-poinciana-0319-09,0,6285829.photogallery

[burythehatchet]

1. This area sounds like an exurb, which is where the decline would logically begin

but will certainly continue eating its way inward to the suburbs. It would be good to have a sane discussion about this coming phenomenon but that is not possible. www.endofsuburbia.com

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. why not possible to have sane discussion?

[burythehatchet]

3. There is a contingent here that believes that the right to live a suburban

lifestyle is an inalienable American right and anyone who questions the viability of that position is tarred and feathered.

The discussion was tried several times and resulted in a flame-fest. Facing reality is not a strong suit here. :) Cheers.