What’s the most determinative factor when it comes to predicting a child’s future success? Certainly race, access to education, and economic factors play a role. So too, sadly for my kids, does parenting (I had to Google how to spell determinative). But another key element — perhaps the key element — is where you grow up. Not only does it make a big difference in what city, town, or even neighborhood you live. Your life chances can be dramatically different depending on which block you grew up on. From the NYT Upshot: Detailed New National Maps Show How Neighborhoods Shape Children for Life. “What matters, the researchers find, is a hyper-local setting: the environment within about half a mile of a child’s home.”

+ “The map reaffirms that neighborhoods matter, but also provides insights into how much and why.” CityLab on what policymakers hope to learn from this new data. The Neighborhoods that Offer a ‘Bargain’ on Upward Mobility.