Deconcentrating Poverty With Housing Programs

Problem: Housing programs of the past have exacerbated the problems of concentrated poverty. Current housing programs serving very low-income households, including homebuyers as well as renters, should be examined to determine the extent to which they help households make entry into neighborhoods with low concentrations of poverty.

Purpose: This research is designed to assist planners in understanding how well various approaches to resolving housing affordability problems can facilitate the poverty deconcentration process.

Methods: Administrative data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development are used to assess the degree to which federal housing programs help lowincome homebuyers and renters locate in neighborhoods where less than 10% of the population is below poverty.

Results and conclusions: Subsidizing households ought to be more effective than subsidizing housing units at helping lowincome households locate in low-poverty areas, and whether a household rents or buys should not matter to whether a program succeeds at deconcentration of the poor. Yet, analysis of national datasets across several housing programs finds neither of the previous propositions to be true. Housing vouchers suppliedto households are not helping renters locate in low-poverty areas any more effectively than are current project-based subsidies. It also turns out that tenure matters; a disproportionately higher share of low-income homebuyers are locating in low-poverty neighborhoods than are lowincome renters.

Takeaway for practice: I recommend that housing planners seeking to make poverty deconcentration more effective use housing placement counselors, administer programs at the metropolitan scale, lease and broker market-rate housing directly, promote mixed-income LIHTC developments, practice inclusionary zoning, and monitor the impacts of these efforts.

Research support: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.     

轻型钢骨结构低层住宅设计荷载分析

本文讨论了北美低层钢骨结构住宅结构设计的荷载问题，包括各类荷载的取值和计算方法，以及荷载组合模式，并提出了在我国相关规范没有出台前，在国内进行设计时应该注意的一些问题。     

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 SUBURBANIZATION OF DECLINE: FILTERING,NEIGHBORHOODS, AND HOUSING MARKET DYNAMICS

This study explores how the locations and characteristics of neighborhoods affected the process of housing filtering in the Orlando metropolitan area during the 2000s. The results show that racial composition was an important determinant of filtering down and that the foreclosure rate and income composition of neighborhoods became more important factors during the housing market bust period. The filtering process tended to be more affected by neighborhood attributes than by changes in the housing market, especially during the housing market bust period. As the filtering down process was not sensitive to the neighborhood location itself, suburban areas were also susceptible to filtering down processes like inner city areas. Moreover, there was a high probability of suburban decline through filtering down during the housing market bust period. These results may be the reflection of recent trends of central city rebound and suburban decline in the Sun Belt.     

Exploring the socio-spatial patterns of diversity and its influencing factors at a metropolitan scale

ABSTRACT

Responding to a critical gap in diversity studies which have been mostly dedicated to Western contexts, and setting the scene for celebrating an ignored issue in the Iranian context are the aims of this study. To these ends, Tehran is selected, and its socio-spatial patterns of diversity are studied through a GIS-based analysis. Results suggest that housing and residential diversity are highly correlated. Influencing factors of diversity also indicate that diverse neighborhoods are usually smaller ones with higher population density. Surprisingly, land-use diversity does not have any significant relationship with housing and residential diversity in Tehran neighborhoods. Residential diversity usually occurs in neighborhoods, where jobs opportunities are more available, open spaces are more frequent, and individuals feel more secure. Recovering balances between residential and housing predictory variables and planning in the scale of neighborhoods rather than urban regions are what planners should seek through the notion of planning for diversity.     

Social diversity and construction era of neighborhoods with traditional design features: Portland and Atlanta compared

This paper compares neighborhoods with more traditional features in two very different cities. As expected, in Portland the majority are socially diverse and in Atlanta they are low‐income. However, in both cities about a quarter are high‐income. In Atlanta the latter are located in older neighborhoods, whereas in Portland they are also in areas combining newer and older housing. A return to valuing a more traditional urbanism may explain the signs of revitalized central cities in both places. Our findings, however, indicate it may be accompanied by the relocation of low‐income neighborhoods to areas where activities are not readily accessible.     

Balancing act: the effects of race and poverty on LIHTC development in Boston

Abstract

The debate about where to build affordable housing remains unresolved. Fair housing advocates encourage placement in low poverty neighborhoods while community development proponents support the opposite approach. Prior work notes the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program is disproportionately found in Black and poor areas but the results are based on 20-year old data and ignore effects within LIHTC neighborhoods. This paper uses recent data and multivariate analysis to explore the impact of neighborhood racial composition and poverty rate on LIHTC development in the Boston metropolitan region. We find race is associated with the presence of LIHTC development while poverty is associated with the amount of LIHTC housing built, which reveals important differences between project siting and size. LIHTC units are not more heavily concentrated in Black or poor neighborhoods, conditional on LIHTC development. The findings suggest how the LIHTC program can be used to balance competing fair housing and community development priorities in developing affordable housing.     

What should housing vouchers do? A review of the recent literature

This paper challenges the assumption that housing vouchers help recipients move from crime-ridden inner-city areas to ‘good’ lower-poverty neighborhoods and, in turn, to achieve self-sufficiency. A review of the American and European literature on housing mobility programs and on mixed-income communities fails to support this belief. Efforts to maintain, and expand, the voucher program should be based on the program’s proven ability to provide decent and affordable housing rather than on unproven claims that it promotes poverty deconcentration and family self-sufficiency. I find considerable evidence that voucher recipients cluster spatially and that this promotes social decline in neighborhoods already vulnerable to change. Policymakers need to monitor voucher settlement patterns and to address programmatic weaknesses that cause negative neighborhood effects and voucher controversies.     

Los Angeles housing models and neighbourhoods’ role in supportive housing residents’ social integration

Social integration is an indicator of programmatic success in supportive housing, yet is an ongoing challenge for residents. This study examines varying supportive housing models’ (i.e. congregate, single-site, scatter-site) and neighborhoods’ (i.e. Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles [DTLA], Other) differential impact on social integration outcomes- measured by residents’ social networks (i.e. size, diversity, social support). Participants were formerly homeless English or Spanish speaking unaccompanied adults (N=405), aged 39 years or older, living in supportive housing for 3 months. Housing model and neighborhood were examined separately with social network measures in controlled multivariable linear regression models. Compared to Skid Row residents, DTLA residents reported less emotional support and less tangible support, while residents in Other neighborhoods reported less emotional support and less instrumental support. Findings suggest overall differing housing models may be less influential in social integration, while neighborhoods may facilitate social support.     

A long view of polluting industry and environmental justice in Baltimore

PurposeThis study examines the density of polluting industry by neighborhoods in Baltimore over the long term, from 1950 to 2010, to determine if high pollution burdens correspond spatially with expected demographic and housing variables predicted in the environmental justice literature. For 1960–1980 we use data on heavy industry from Dun and Bradstreet directories and for 1990–2010 the US EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory to calculate a Hazards Density Index. Drawing on the decennial censuses for 1960–2010, we populate census tracts from corresponding years with data on race, ethnicity, educational attainment, income, and housing tenure.FindingsDensity of polluting industry is positively correlated with low-income neighborhoods and renter-occupied housing in 1960 and by 2010 with white, Hispanic, and low educational attainment populations. In general, over time density of polluting facilities shifts from an association with wealth to race and ethnicity while educational attainment remains a significant variable throughout. This study confirms earlier analyses on Baltimore that white neighborhoods are more likely than African–American neighborhoods (1990–2010) to contain polluting facilities but reveals for the first time that educational attainment is also significant. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Baltimore Sustainability Plan and its weak efforts to address persistent environmental injustices.     

Aging Baby Boomers and the Generational Housing Bubble: Foresight and Mitigation of an Epic Transition

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Transit-oriented developments (TODs) often consist of new housing near rail stations. Channeling urban growth into such developments is intended in part to reduce the climate change, pollution, and congestion caused by driving. But new housing might be expected to attract more affluent households that drive more, and rail access might have smaller effects on auto ownership and use than housing tenure and size, parking availability, and the neighborhood and subregional built environments.

I surveyed households in northern New Jersey living within two miles of 10 rail stations about their housing age and type, access to off-street parking, work and non-work travel patterns, demographics, and reasons for choosing their neighborhoods. The survey data were geocoded and joined to on-street parking data from a field survey, along with neighborhood and subregional built environment measures. I analyzed how these factors were correlated with automobile ownership and use as reported in the survey.

Auto ownership, commuting, and grocery trip frequency were substantially lower among households living in new housing near rail stations compared to those in new households farther away. But rail access does little to explain this fact. Housing type and tenure, local and subregional density, bus service, and particularly off- and on-street parking availability, play a much more important role.

Takeaway for practice: Transportation and land use planners should broaden their efforts to develop dense, mixed-use, low-parking housing beyond rail station areas. This could be both more influential and less expensive than a development policy oriented around rail.

Research support: Data collection and initial research were funded under contract with the New Jersey Department of Transportation.     

EXAMINING CHANGES IN LONG‐TERM NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING VACANCY DURING THE 2011 TO 2014 U.S. NATIONAL RECOVERY

High levels of neighborhood housing vacancy—especially periods exceeding more than several months—have long been a concern to community developers and policymakers in the United States. During the foreclosure crisis, such concerns became more pronounced, exemplified by the adoption of three legislated rounds of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program from 2008 to 2011. Despite such concern, what we know about longer term neighborhood housing vacancy has been limited, in part by a lack of good data. This article utilizes data from the U.S. Postal Service to explore changes in vacancy over a critical period of broader housing market recovery. It identifies the extent to which neighborhood characteristics predict changes in long‐term vacancy from 2011 to 2014 for the 50 largest metropolitan areas. High neighborhood vacancy rates persisted in some neighborhoods during this period, and these tended to be high‐poverty neighborhoods. Neighborhoods with more Hispanic and Asian residents experienced larger declines in long‐term vacancy. However, poorer neighborhoods lagged significantly. If a neighborhood had a poverty rate that was one standard deviation above—and a median income that was one standard deviation below—an otherwise comparable neighborhood, it was expected to see 13% more vacancies at the end of the period.     

Analyzing CRA Lending During the Tsunami in Subprime Lending and Foreclosure in the Philadelphia MSA

Until the onset of the financial meltdown, independent mortgage companies (IMCs) had begun to originate an increasing share of subprime loans, a high proportion of which went into foreclosure. In this study, we compare and contrast the characteristics of neighborhoods that have high proportions of loans made by Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)-regulated institutions with those that have high proportions made by IMCs. We find that IMC-dominated neighborhoods are characterized by high proportions of Blacks/African-Americans, low average family incomes and low nominal average family income increases, an old housing stock with inexpensive homes, a low homeownership rate, high vacancy rates, and a high proportion of high-cost loans. Based on t-tests and regression analyses, we find that areas dominated by IMCs are different from neighborhoods dominated by CRA Lenders and that the proportion of people of color helps explain foreclosure rates.     

New housing construction in Phoenix: Evidence of “new suburbanism”?

Stereotypical images of suburbs as homogeneous, residential neighborhoods comprised of single-family houses on individual lots have become synonymous with sprawl. Discourses on smart growth, new urbanism, and sustainability promote increasing residential density because housing is such a large part of the built environment. Recent literature has emphasized the potential for denser residential development at the urban fringe contesting the idea of monotonically decreasing density gradients that underpin traditional location models. Analysis of new housing completions between 1990 and 2005 in rapidly-growing metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, examined changes in the form and location of new housing constructed in 2000–2005 compared to the prior decade, to identify patterns of densification. Features included rapid decentralization of multiple-family home construction, and the emergence of a wide range of multiple-family housing forms at the fringe, including large apartment complexes in accessible freeway locations, high-end condominium developments in high-amenity areas, and subsidized apartments in less-prestigious areas. Densification no longer equates to urban infill, but takes many forms and occurs all over the metropolitan region, especially the urban fringe where “new suburbanism” may be emerging in response to the “sustainability turn” in contemporary planning.     

HOUSING REHABILITATION IMPACTS ON NEIGHBORHOOD STABILITy IN A DECLINING INDUSTRIAL CITy1

This study explores the impacts of publicly and privately funded housing rehabilitation efforts in Cleveland, Ohio. The results show that (1) selective census tracts receiving publicly funded home owner rehabilitation assistance did not experience demographic, economic or property stabilization; (2) private borrowing for housing renovation increases as the number of home owners, median gross rents, median family incomes, median values of owner-occupied housing and median sales-to-median assessed market ratios increase and (3) heterogeneous populations, poverty incomes, high unit vacancies, high tax delinquencies and housing demolitions decrease home owner propensities to borrow for repairs and maintenance. Many neighborhoods have experienced incumbent upgrading, but housing disinvestment and property tax delinquency threatens neighborhood stability. Public intercession is unlikely to influence these real estate market processes because housing disinvestment is merely symptomatic of a deeper economic malaise. Only a dramatic economic upturn can possibly slow housing disinvestment. Otherwise, housing unit removal shall continue unabated, inevitably wrecking neighborhoods and frustrating public efforts.     

VICTIMS OR VICTORS? THE EFFECTS OF FORCED RELOCATIONS ON HOUSING SATISFACTION IN DUTCH CITIES

Urban restructuring is changing the face of many Western European cities. Old, relatively cheap dwellings are being demolished and replaced by new, more expensive ones. The spatial effects of this process have been extensively studied, but little is known about the residents who are forced to relocate so that their dwellings can be demolished or updated. We therefore studied how satisfied forced movers are with their current housing situation, and what factors contribute to this. Using data from four Dutch cities, we found that most displaced residents were quite satisfied with their new dwellings and neighborhoods. However, those with low incomes and those from ethnic minority groups were less satisfied with their homes and neighborhoods. We can explain their lower level of neighborhood satisfaction by the fact that they move to less desirable neighborhoods—for example, neighborhoods with higher concentrations of ethnic minorities.     

The impact of urban renewal on neighborhood housing prices in Taipei: an application of the difference-in-difference method

This study examined the impact of urban renewal delineation time on housing prices in neighborhoods undergoing urban renewal. More specifically, the study used the difference-in-difference method to assess successful housing transactions in Taipei City from 2008 to 2011. According to the empirical results, before the implementation of urban renewal, the average housing price in the areas that later underwent urban renewal (the treatment group) was lower than that in neighborhoods that did not undergo urban renewal (the control group) by 11,180 NTD. After the urban renewal projects were publicly announced, the price per ping of the control group was increased by 148,800 NTD, while the price per ping of the treatment group was increased by 163,680 NTD. This means that the housing prices per ping in the urban renewal areas were increased by 14,880 NTD more than the housing prices per ping in the areas not affected by urban renewal after the urban renewal projects were publicly announced. This increase, then, indicates the value added after implementation of urban renewal delineation time on houses in the neighborhood. Therefore, research into the impact of urban renewal on housing prices should be concerned not only with the neighborhood factors or time factors of urban renewal delineation. Rather, the two types of factors should be considered at the same time.     

The Foreclosure Crisis,Foreclosed Properties,and Federal Policy: Some Implications for Housing and Community Development Planning

Problem: Foreclosures surged during the 2007 to 2009 national foreclosure crisis and federal policymakers failed to respond quickly and forcefully to the problem. The large numbers and geographic concentration of foreclosed properties have posed a particular problem for many planners.

Purpose: I aim to describe the intrametropolitan distribution of foreclosed properties at the zip code level, the often anemic or delayed federal policy response to rising foreclosures, and the potential effects of likely changes in federal policy and housing finance for metropolitan housing, development patterns, and local housing and community development planning.

Methods: I used archival research and secondary and media resources to document the federal response to the foreclosure crisis. I analyzed a proprietary data set to describe the problem of the accumulation of foreclosed properties across and within metropolitan areas.

Results and conclusions: Foreclosed properties were already accumulating in metropolitan areas with weak housing markets by 2006, but formerly hot markets such as Riverside, CA, Las Vegas, NV, and Phoenix, AZ, had many more by mid-2008. Within metropolitan areas, foreclosed properties were disproportionately concentrated in central city neighborhoods, although suburban zip codes with long commute times also had relatively high levels. The federal response to rapidly worsening foreclosures was faltering and timid. More conservative finance following the crisis will put downward pressure on housing consumption, potentially shifting demand to smaller homes. However, financing may be difficult or expensive to obtain for condominium buildings, and lenders and investors may shy away from less conventional projects, due partly to higher risk premiums.

Takeaway for practice: In the short run, local governments must confront the problems of foreclosed properties, especially when they are highly concentrated in certain neighborhoods. More conservative mortgage markets are likely to persist for some time, with potential impacts on housing demand. Planners should strive to diversify tax bases by promoting more diverse land use and housing patterns to make their communities more resilient in future crises. Federal policymakers may move toward greater mortgage market regulation, but this will be vigorously debated. Policymakers will also consider the ongoing federal role in secondary markets, without which long term stability is unlikely. Finally, Congress may extend the Community Reinvestment Act to nonbank financial institutions given the federal support they have received during the crisis.

Research support: None.     

Structural Disparities of Urban Traffic in Southern California: Implications for Vehicle‐Related Air Pollution Exposure in Minority and High‐Poverty Neighborhoods

Abstract: Structural inequalities provide an important context for understanding and responding to the impact of high traffic densities on disadvantaged neighborhoods. Emerging atmospheric science and epidemiological research indicates hazardous vehicle‐related pollutants (e.g., diesel exhaust) are highly concentrated near major roadways, and the prevalence of respiratory ailments and mortality are heightened in these high‐traffic corridors. This article builds on recent findings that low‐income and minority children in California disproportionately reside in high‐traffic areas by demonstrating how the urban structure provides a critical framework for evaluating the causes, characteristics, and magnitude of traffic, particularly for disadvantaged neighborhoods. We find minority and high‐poverty neighborhoods bear over two times the level of traffic density compared to the rest of the Southern California region, which may associate them with a higher risk of exposure to vehicle‐related pollutants. Furthermore, these areas have older and more multifamily housing, which is associated with higher rates of indoor exposure to outdoor pollutants, including intrusion of motor vehicle exhaust. We discuss the implications of these patterns on future planning and policy strategies for mitigating the serious health consequences of exposure to vehicle‐related air pollutants.     

NATIVITY,ETHNICITY, AND RESIDENTIAL RELOCATION: THE EXPERIENCE OF HMONG REFUGEES AND AFRICAN AMERICANS DISPLACED FROM PUBLIC HOUSING

ABSTRACT: This article focuses on how the experiences of refugee public housing residents differ from those of other public housing residents when they participate in housing dispersal programs. An analysis of the spatial resettlement patterns and survey responses of Hmong and African‐American public housing residents who were involuntarily relocated from public housing in Minneapolis, MN indicates the extent to which residents resettled in ethnically concentrated neighborhoods and their satisfaction with their new housing arrangements and neighborhoods. Research results suggest that Hmong did not settle in ethnically concentrated neighborhoods to the same extent as African Americans after relocation, and experienced lower levels of satisfaction in their new housing arrangements and neighborhoods. These findings indicate that the outcomes for residents involved in housing dispersal programs may depend in part on nativity status.