The trend should serve as a "wake-up call" for housing policy, researchers say.
Families using federal housing vouchers are funneled to low-income, racially segregated neighborhoods even when affordable homes are available in "higher opportunity" areas, a new study shows.
Across the country, the Washington Post reports, "just 5 percent of metropolitan families using vouchers live in high-opportunity neighborhoods even though those areas account for 18 percent of all affordable rentals." And it's Black and Latino voucher holders who most consistently end up in neighborhoods that lack access to quality schools, jobs, and transit.
To address the barriers that keep aid recipients out of wealthier neighborhoods, researchers from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Poverty & Race Research Action Council recommend specific tweaks to local voucher programs: calculating aid to reflect prices in specific ZIP codes and offering greater subsidies for apartments in more expensive communities. They also note that while some jurisdictions have outlawed source-of-income discrimination, federal law does not require landlords to accept housing vouchers. The Trump administration has opposed recent attempts to move HUD toward these strategies.
Section 8 Not Welcome
More landlords are refusing Section 8 vouchers for housing, neither willing to deal with the federal bureaucracy nor to risk missing out on the peak windfall of an expansive rental market.
Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies
A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.
Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users
A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
DOT Officially Cancels California High-Speed Rail Funding
The Trump administration has repeatedly taken aim at the LA-to-Bay Area rail project, blaming Democratic leaders for cost overruns and delays.
Legislators Push Back Against ‘Rent-Setting’ Software
In the last six months, lawmakers in more than two dozen cities and states have made strides to stop landlords from using anti-competitive rental software to determine how much to charge for rent. Shelterforce looks at the wins and losses so far.
DOT Awards 77% of BUILD Grants to Road Projects
Trump’s DOT is directing 87 percent of total grant dollars to states that backed the President in the last election.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie