Rethinking Public Housing

Does the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) decision to tear down Prospect Plaza, a high rise development in Brownsville Brooklyn, portend the demise of public housing in New York City as we know it?

2 minute read

April 25, 2010, 2:24 PM PDT

By Lance Freeman


Does the New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) decision
to tear down Prospect Plaza, a high rise development in Brownsville Brooklyn,
portend the demise of public housing in New York City as we know it? Probably
not.  The Prospect
Plaza case appears to be an isolated
case in New York City
at least.  But it is a truism that the New
York City Housing Authority remains a anomaly. 
Public housing in many cities has been demolished and in other places is
considered a failure.  The fact that
NYCHA is generally viewed as a success is illustrative of the fact that public
housing can be successful.  At the
national level, however, public housing has been a political failure in the
sense that new public housing is not being built, units are being torn down in
many cities, and the program is chronically underfunded.

The culprit is not the public housing program.  There is nothing inherent in the public
housing program that deems it a failure. Look no further than the American
political culture.  It is a culture not
hospitable to redistribution programs that target the poor or minorities. 

But there is a way for public housing to continue serving
its "public" function and be viewed in a more esteemed light.  Public Housing was initially able to achieve
political support in the 1930s because it was billed as a jobs program during a
time when joblessness was one of America's most pressing problems.  Why not use public housing to address some of
the bigger challenges facing America
today? Global warming and the fallout from the housing bust are two of the most
pressing problems.  We need to experiment
with new types of green housing if we hope to curtail our energy
consumption.  Prototypes of housing that
experiment with new technologies could be part of the Public Housing
program. 

The foreclosure crisis is another area where bold and
experimental thinking is in order. 
Currently, the foreclosure crisis is proving intractable with millions
of homes underwater and banks still reluctant to redo mortgages.  Might not there be an opportunity for the
federal government to step in, particularly in neighborhoods where demand is
weak, and acquire foreclosed properties and convert them into affordable
housing?

More important than any specific proposal that I may have,
is the need to rethink the role of public housing in our society.  Rather than being a program of last resort,
public housing should be a model for how we might house ourselves including the
most vulnerable among us.


Lance Freeman

Lance Freeman is an associate professor in the Urban Planning program at Columbia University in New York City where he teaches courses on housing policy and research methods. He has also taught in the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware. Prior to this, Dr. Freeman worked as a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research, a leading social policy research firm in Washington D.C. Dr. Freeman holds a Masters degree and a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight