LIMITED EXPOSURE: CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES AND NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS IN THE GAUTREAUX TWO HOUSING MOBILITY PROGRAM

ABSTRACT: Housing mobility programs intend to improve the well‐being of low‐income families by changing the neighborhood environment in which they live, and thereby creating access to a new set of opportunities and resources. Using data collected in a study of the Gautreaux Two (G2) Housing Mobility program, which offered housing vouchers to public housing residents in Chicago to move to lower‐poverty and less segregated “opportunity” neighborhoods, this article explores families’ access to programs and services for their children in the neighborhoods where they move. The analysis is based on a sample of 46 families who moved through the G2 program. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were conducted with mothers in four waves, which started when the family still lived in public housing. The results show that almost three‐quarters of the families utilized activities for their children in the baseline neighborhoods, but mothers also expressed concerns about the safety and lack of program variety available in these disadvantaged neighborhoods. After moving through the G2 program, only one‐third of the children in these families are using activities. The decline in activity participation is especially steep for children in families that move to areas outside of the city. Although few mothers are concerned with safety or the variety of programs available, several report barriers to activities for children in the new neighborhood, including fewer programs for low‐income children, high cost, transportation difficulties, and issues finding daycare or preschool for younger children. Some children continue to use activities in the old neighborhood and some families end up making subsequent moves to nonqualifying neighborhoods. These findings suggest that activity participation is important for many low‐income families, and losing access to these activities upon moving through the G2 program may limit children's exposure to the new neighborhood and contribute to subsequent moves.     

The lost history of urban renewal

Contrary to common understanding, the US government's policy of “urban renewal” was conceived as an alternative policy to slum clearance. Bitterly opposed to public housing, conservative housing‐industry trade associations sought a way to reform the urban redevelopment formula of clearance and public housing established in the Housing Act of 1949. In the early 1950s, the industry groups seized on citizens' neighborhood fix‐up efforts, particularly the Baltimore Plan, to conduct a national campaign to popularize code enforcement, rehabilitation, and private low‐cost housing development as methods to restore and stabilize city neighborhoods. At conferences organized by House and Home magazine and in the President's Advisory Committee on Government Housing Policies and Programs, the housing industry associations fashioned policies, now named “urban renewal,” which were codified in the Housing Act of 1954. But private industry's venture in urban policymaking failed in implementation. Home builders proved reluctant to participate in the new programs, public housing hung on, and hundreds of thousands of homes fell to the wrecking ball. As urban renewal became synonymous with slum clearance, neighborhoods continued to decline. In the end, ironically, housing rehabilitation reemerged as a populist tool for reviving the inner city.     

Towards modern urban housing: redefining Shanghai's lilong

This paper examines both the traditional and the modern aspects of the lilong, traditional low‐rise row houses adapted from the Western tradition to accommodate the families of Chinese workers from the beginning of the Treaty Port era in the late 19th century to the establishment of the People's Republic in 1948. The paper aims to redefine the abstract concept of the lilong, arguing for their potential to be rethought as a typology of low–medium rise‐high density (LMRHD) housing today. In particular, the paper delivers a practical answer to a conceptual question: how does lilong provide the dwelling identity of Shanghai, China, taking into account its form, meaning, and culture? The emergence of both lilong and Western modern housing is rooted in a crisis of space and the economic drive of modern cities. Lilong architecture and the normative living programme embedded in the typology of modern housing have been proper development housing strategies in modern Shanghai. By closely examining both the physical and community aspects that make lilong a mediating agency between Chinese locality and Western modernity, the paper presents the assumption that the architecture of lilong does not confine itself to certain forms or physical configurations; instead it is an “abstract concept” of an urban neighbourhood – the spatial organization, architectural practicality, casual formation of semi‐private space, and community lane‐life – a concept that should be taken into account for the design of urban housing today. The redefinition of lilong is a conceptual idea that will serve as a point of departure for the last part of the paper: a discussion of the possibility to develop this housing strategy for today's situation. This paper also presents the preliminary strategies for the designing of the new LMRHD housing.     

Social Disorders in the Early Stages of Public Housing Decline: A Helsinki Case Study

While Helsinki's council housing is in physically good condition, it is beginning to experience crime, drug dealing and anti-social behavior. Through a case study of Helsinki's council housing the paper seeks to improve understanding of public housing decline early in the process. Open-ended interviews with Helsinki housing experts and housing officials highlight weak eviction laws and inadequate funding for transitional housing as key causes of increases in the number of multi-problem families. Analysis of a 2001 Helsinki public housing residents' survey indicates that while most residents did not believe neighborhood conditions were getting worse, almost half of the respondents were pessimistic about one or more neighborhood conditions (e.g. noisy neighbors, crime) and those who were most pessimistic about their neighborhood were most likely to plan to move. Recommendations for preventing further decline are discussed.     

THE LOCATION CHOICES OF PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS DISPLACED BY REDEVELOPMENT: MARKET CONSTRAINTS,PERSONAL PREFERENCES,OR SOCIAL INFORMATION?

ABSTRACT: Since the early 1990s, federal housing policy in the U.S. has become increasingly concerned with the confluence of the neighborhood quality and location of assisted housing residents, and the HOPE VI program is one within this family of programs. Yet a lack of dispersal has characterized HOPE VI and other efforts to relocate public housing residents. Using one HOPE VI site in Seattle, Washington, as a case study, this article fits a conditional multinomial logit model to examine how ethnically diverse relocatees make relocation decisions. The postrelocation neighborhood's minority composition, poverty concentration, and distance from the original public housing site interact with market characteristics, personal preferences, individual characteristics, language proficiency and information based in social networks to influence eventual location outcomes. Results suggest that personal preferences and information available through close social relationships may play an important role in determining location outcomes, and that some social network contacts may enable moves to neighborhoods of lower poverty. Once these factors are taken into account, the housing market conditions do not determine location decisions of relocatees. Implications for HOPE VI and other similar relocation programs are discussed.     

From Tenants to Homeowners: Housing Renters After Disaster in Bhuj,India

While renters comprise one-third of urban housing markets, the barriers to long-term housing needs of renters following a disaster are significant. This paper examines post-disaster urban housing policy for renter households following the 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India and its implications for the housing recovery of renters in Bhuj city, an urban area close to the epicenter of the earthquake. Employing a qualitative case study method, the study finds that urban housing policy for renter households was defined by an ad hoc approach with multiple shifts over a period of 4 years. The improvised policy eventually lead to the creation of a publicly funded homeownership program that could rehouse less than one-third of impacted renters, whereas issues of equity, land tenure, lack of affordable units, and uncertainty of recovery for the poorest renters in the city remained.     

Atlanta's Last Demolitions and Relocations: The Relationship Between Neighborhood Characteristics and Resident Satisfaction

Using data from an Atlanta-based longitudinal study following 311 public housing residents relocated between 2009 and 2010 as the city's housing authority demolished its remaining public housing, the purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between changes in relocated residents' satisfaction with home and neighborhood and the socioeconomic, racial composition, and crime characteristics of their destination neighborhood. Consistent with previous research, we find that residents moved to somewhat safer neighborhoods with less poverty than those of the public housing. In addition, we find that residents view their new homes and neighborhoods as improvements over public housing. However, subjective pre- to postmove changes in satisfaction are not driven by changes in neighborhood characteristics (i.e., reductions in poverty and crime), but rather by decreases in perceived social disorder and increases in community attachment. Thus, our findings challenge some of the assumptions of poverty deconcentration. Policy implications are discussed.     

Rethinking Federal Housing Policy

Problem: Federal housing policy is made up of disparate programs that a) promote homeownership; b) assist low-income renters’ access to good-quality, affordable housing; and c) enforce the Fair Housing Act by combating residential discrimination. Some of these programs are ineffective, others have drifted from their initial purpose, and none are well coordinated with each other.

Purpose: We examine the trends, summarize the research evaluating the performance of these programs, and suggest steps to make them more effective and connected to each other.

Methods: We review the history of housing policy and programs and empirical studies of program effectiveness to identify a set of best principles and practices.

Results and conclusions: In the area of homeownership, we recommend that the federal government help the nation's housing markets quickly find bottom, privatize aspects of the secondary mortgage market, and move to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction and replace it with a 10-year homeownership tax credit. In the area of subsidized rental housing, we recommend that the current system of vouchers be regionalized (or alternatively, converted into an entitlement program that works through the income tax system), sell public housing projects to nonprofit sponsors where appropriate, and eliminate some of the rigidities in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. In the area of fair housing, we recommend that communities receiving Community Development Block Grants be required to implement inclusionary zoning programs.

Takeaway for practice: In general, we recommend that federal policy build on proven programs; focus on providing affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families and provide the funding to meet that goal; avoid grandiose and ideological ambitions and programs; use fewer and more coordinated programs; offer tax credits, not tax deductions; and promote residential filtering.

Research support: Partial funding support was provided by the National Science Foundation.     

ANOTHER LOOK AT HOUSING ALLOWANCES: A RESPONSE TO CHESTER HARTMAN

Program experience with the Section 8 Existing Housing program and final research findings from the Experimental Housing Allowance Program have shown that, contrary lo Chester Hartman's conclusions in his recent Journal article, housing allowance programs similar to HUD's proposed Housing Payment Certificate program are an effective way to provide housing subsidies for families in need of assistance. Comparisons with public housing and unrestricted cash grants show that allowances produce the largest increase in housing consumption per subsidy dollar, and the design of the Housing Payment Certificate program will assure that those subsidies go to families most in need. Criticisms suggesting an inadequate supply of affordable, standard housing are refuted by the Section 8 Existing record of 750,000 families now renting units on the private market. Finally, discrimination has not prevented these families from finding standard housing or moving to different neighborhoods. The Housing Payment Certificate program is proposed not as a substitute for the Department's current commitment to a range of housing programs, but rather as the vehicle for new assistance.     

My Career as a Pragmatist

In this article Varady reviews his 46 years of teaching, scholarship, and service in housing policy and community development. His New York City (NY) upbringing led to interests in cities and public policy, which led to degrees in city planning and eventually to receiving his university's highest award for academic excellence. Varady's pragmatism offers realistic solutions, questions long-held attitudes, and seeks objectivity in research. Although he takes ideology seriously, he is not an ideologue. Here he explains how his pragmatic perspective affected his research on neighborhood racial change, public housing, housing vouchers, and middle income housing programs. His career is best measured by the success of his many students who have had the benefi ts of his years of experience in the fi eld of housing research in both America and Europe .     

Repurposing a historic school building as a teacher’s village: exploring the connection between school closures,housing affordability,and community goals in a gentrifying neighborhood

ABSTRACT

The redevelopment of urban school buildings of historical value has the potential to contribute to the needs of current residents. Using a case study from Chicago, IL—where more than 50 schools in primarily minority and low- and moderate-income neighborhoods were closed in 2013—this article shows how a community group “Community As A Campus” (CAAC) sought to repurpose a former school site for community purposes in an already mixed-used, amenity-rich, and walkable area. CAAC advocated for housing for educators in the gentrifying neighborhood of West Town. The project, however, created tensions within residents from density related to market-rate units. This paper argues that the future of historic buildings to be preserved sustainably would depend on the ability of local leaders to find a balance between economic and community goals.     

Achieving a Socio-Spatial Mix? Prospects and Limitations of Social Housing Policy in Santiago de Chile

In the Chilean housing sector, the combination of free-market imperatives guiding investment decisions and a long tradition of social housing subsidies has generally had remarkable success in quantitative terms but has also contributed to the large-scale segregation of poor families on the urban periphery. With the goal of a better socio-spatial mix and, ultimately, social integration, the Chilean government recently revised its guidelines for housing subsidies, promoting small-scale social housing in central locations. This paper examines the early effects of this new housing policy in a cluster of the so-called “pericentral” municipalities in Santiago de Chile. Specifically, it raises the question of whether the policy has a chance of achieving its objectives in light of prevailing free-market conditions. We demonstrate strong interrelations between the current dynamics of real-estate investment and government-led housing programs which together continue to promote uneven socio-spatial development and segregation of the urban poor on a smaller scale.     

Indirect Benefits of Subsidized Housing Programs

This article's review of the social science literature provides little support for the widely accepted belief that government subsidized housing programs have neighborhood spillover effects and that the programs produce indirect benefits over larger areas. In particular, the evidence on the relationship between housing programs and property values is contradictory and confusing. Of the recent HUD funded studies reviewed in this article, only one supports the existence of neighborhood spillover effects. In the Urban Homesteading Demonstration, higher investments and property values radiated out from homesteading sites during the 1970s. This program is, however, relatively unique in terms of the magnitude and visibility of improvements to individual dwellings. The preceding indicates that government subsidized housing programs will have to be justified on the basis of the direct benefits provided to participants rather than on any possible indirect effects.     

Too Good to be True? The Variable and Contingent Benefits of Displacement and Relocation among Low-Income Public Housing Residents

The forced displacement and relocation of low-income residents resulting from public housing redevelopment has attracted a great deal of research attention. Tracking studies of HOPE VI and similar redevelopment efforts in the US have depicted a record of mixed and inconsistent benefits for the families displaced. Detailed case studies of individual families are used to illustrate the variable and contingent nature of the impacts of displacement and relocation away from public housing. The cases presented here provide examples of how the experience of displaced families can change, sometimes dramatically, over time and how this affects their own assessments of the experience. Residents' perception of relocation is strongly influenced by their overall view of neighborhood restructuring, regardless of whether they themselves directly benefit. The findings suggest that qualitative and or ethnographic research into the experiences of displaced public housing residents can be useful in understanding how relocation affects the lives of very low-income households.     

Reassessing State Housing Trust Funds: Results of a Florida Survey

While their structure and targets vary, state housing trust funds offer an increasingly common form of assistance designed to flexibly meet local housing needs. Frequently they are generated through real estate transaction fees, making them particularly relevant in high growth states such as Florida. For 16 years, Florida's housing trust fund (SHIP) has consistently met its major funding targets, assisting housing initiatives from rural counties to the largest urban centers. A survey of local SHIP administrators provides insight on defining characteristics and key policy dilemmas. Although this critical housing program fails to consistently meet certain goals, those stakeholders involved in its passage, maintenance and implementation consider it a success. Given these conditions, strengthened state oversight to ensure consistency with housing plans and increased state support for other programs, particularly those targeting rental strategies and the lowest income, rather than major legislative changes, could result in more informed, effective and equitable local implementation.     

Preservation from the bottom-up: affordable housing,redevelopment, and negotiation in Washington,DC

Previous iterations of large-scale redevelopment were been marked by displacement of the residents whose homes stood in the way of perceived progress. Now these neighborhoods face a new kind of urban renewal. A city with significant vacancy and city government ownership, Washington, DC, is in the process of rapid infill redevelopment. As property values surrounding city-backed developments that were once affordable increase, residents struggle to afford housing. DC has developed significant tools for the preservation of affordable housing, including an existing stock of subsidized housing, legal and financial resources, and a network of organizers and advocates that have given many residents in changing neighborhoods the opportunity to remain. This paper uses the example of Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC to examine potential strategies to preserve affordable housing in rapidly changing housing markets.     

The Limitations of Public Housing: Relocation Choices in a Working-Class Community

Public housing is regarded as a map resource for rehousing families displaced by the urban renewal and highway programs. Yet a study of some 500 families relocated from Boston's West End reveals that the overwhelming majority refused to consider the possibility of living in a housing project, for reasons consistent with their preference for the residential patterns and life-styles prevalent in their former neighborhood. Those who do relocate in projects are not typical of the stable working class, and most frequently are characterized by some personal situation that limits their rehousing choice. Planners are confronted with the alternative of allowing public housing to become a care-taking institution for the disabled elements of the society, or of creating new forms for the public housing subsidy to encourage mobility, to provide satisfactory living environments consistent with the values of the inhabitants, and to permit the kinds of heterogeneity which prevail in existing neighborhoods.     

Publications Received

Problem: At present, homelessness in the United States is primarily addressed by providing emergency and transitional shelter facilities. These programs do not directly address the causes of homelessness, and residents are exposed to victimization and trauma during stays. We need an alternative that is more humane, as well as more cost-efficient and effective at achieving outcomes.

Purpose: This article uses research on homelessness to devise alternative forms of emergency assistance that could reduce the prevalence and/or duration of episodes of homelessness and much of the need for emergency shelter.

Methods: We review analyses of shelter utilization patterns to identify subgroups of homeless single adults and families with minor children, and propose alternative program models aimed at the particular situations of each of these subgroups.

Results and conclusions: We argue that it would be both more efficient and more humane to reallocate resources currently devoted to shelters. We propose the development of community-based programs that instead would focus on helping those with housing emergencies to remain housed or to quickly return to housing, and be served by mainstream social welfare programs. We advocate providing shelter on a limited basis and reserving transitional housing for individuals recently discharged from institutions. Chronic homelessness should be addressed by permanent supportive housing.

Takeaway for practice: Changing existing shelter-based responses to homeessness could produce better outcomes for homeless individuals and families.

Research support: None.     

Social Capital and Migrant Housing Experiences in Urban China: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Rural–urban migration and housing for the urban poor have attracted worldwide attention from both scholars and policy makers. In China, empirical studies have revealed tremendous discrimination experienced by temporary migrants in the urban housing system, but most have emphasized constraints by formal institutions such as the hukou system. This paper adopts a sociological theory of social capital and employs structural equation modeling to investigate, simultaneously, the impacts of social capital on migrants' housing experiences in Chinese cities, as well as the causal relationships between a migrant's socioeconomic status and his/her social capital profile. Based on data from a twelve-city migrant survey conducted in 2009, statistical analysis revealed that, although migrant workers in general possess a small and truncated network of social ties in the city, those migrants who are connected to individuals with local hukou, rather than connected to more people, have higher access to formal housing and tend to enjoy better housing conditions.     

From a top-down to a bottom-up urban discourse: (re) constructing the city in a family-inclusive way

This paper focuses on urban discourses as powerful instruments intertwined with the dialectic of inclusion and exclusion. First, three dominant contemporary urban discourses developed in the field of urban planning are scrutinized on their inclusiveness of families and daily family life. The attractive city, the creative city and the city as an emancipation machine are examples of urban discourses communicated top-down via reports, debates and media attention. It is argued that these three discourses do not address families as urban citizens nor the very notion of reproduction and its daily manifestation. The exclusionary character of contemporary urban discourses does not only result in a neglect of urban families, it also legitimates non-intervention when it comes to family issues. This conclusion activated the search for an alternative discourse as expanded in the second part of the paper. This alternative discourse is constructed from the bottom-up and is rooted in the day-to-day experiences of urban families themselves. It is a refined discourse, with interrelated geographical scales including the city as a whole, the neighbourhood, the street and the home. This is a city that integrates—as families themselves do—the different domains of life. The city is appreciated for its qualities of proximity, the neighbourhood for its ethnically mixed children’s domains, the street as an urban haven and the house as the place that accommodates private life for each member of the family. This alternative discourse is called the balanced city. The empirical basis is drawn from middle-class urban families in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.