Public Housing Transformation And The Hard-to-House

The transformation of public housing will necessarily have profoundeffects on the lives of thousands of very vulnerable families. For three decades, public housing served as the housing of last resort, with federal regulations increasingly favoring the neediest households. But this transformation has meant dramatic changes in federal policy for housing the poor by promoting mixed-income housing and the use of vouchers to prevent the concentration oftroubled, low-income households. This transformation has largely failed toaddress the needs of the hard-to-house residents who have relied on publichousing for stable, if less than ideal, housing.

This article by Susan J. Popkin, Mary K. Cunningham, and Martha Burt concludes that housing authorities are not adequately meeting the needs of hard-to-house residents living in public housing developments slated for HOPE VI redevelopment. According to Popkin, Cunningham, and Burt, these tenants are not readily served by the private market, and they require additional supportive services to ensure proper housing placement. Further, the authors argue that the federal government and local housing authorities have an obligation to ensure that all families displaced by HOPE VI redevelopment end up in safe and stable housing.

[Editor's note: The link below is to a 100KB PDF.]

Thanks to Chris Steins