DESIGNING HOPE: RATIONALES OF MIXED‐INCOME HOUSING POLICY

Rationales used to legitimize forced dispersal and mixed‐income housing policies are socially constructed based on assumptions about concentrated poverty. This study evaluates qualitative data on public housing residents who were in the process of being dispersed as part of a HOPE VI program in order to examine their thoughts about their original home and neighborhood. Residents’ thoughts about their neighborhood are compared to policy rationales. Results indicate that current policy rationales are mostly in line with the goals and motivation of the city but are largely incongruent with the perceptions residents have of their pre‐relocation home and neighborhood. The article concludes with policy recommendations for increasing and incorporating residents’ views into policy design.     

美国包容性区划对我国保障性住房建设的启示

通过对现阶段我国保障性住房建设主要特征与问题的认识,提出保障性住房建设应转变传统的供给方式。转变方式的一个重要方面是,借鉴美国包容性区划实践经验,在城市中心区普通商品房开发项目中配建一定比例的保障性住房。通过对美国包容性区划经验的学习以及中美相关背景的比较,认为我国目前采用与包容性区划性质相似的保障性住房配建政策不仅具有重要的现实意义,同时具有较强的政策执行优势。最后,论文提出当前采用保障性住房配建政策尚需解决的主要问题和解决建议。     

HOMEOWNERSHIP AND NEIGHBORHOOD SATISFACTION AMONG LOW‐ AND MODERATE‐INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

ABSTRACT: Most research on homeownership is conducted on nationally representative samples of homeowners and fails to isolate the unique experience of low‐ and moderate‐income (LMI) homeowners. Given the interest of policymakers in promoting homeownership among LMI households over the past 20 years, along with the apparent role played by risky borrowers—many of whom are low‐income—in the current housing market crisis, it is important to evaluate both economic and social outcomes for this subgroup of homeowners. Using a matched set of LMI owners and renters in the 2007 Community Advantage Program (CAP) panel, we assess the effect of homeownership on neighborhood satisfaction. By including various individual and neighborhood characteristics as covariates, we employ multilevel modeling and propensity score matching to address the nested structure of the data and endogeneity issues. Findings indicate that homeownership is an important predictor of neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households, even when controlling for a host of socioeconomic, demographic, and neighborhood characteristics. This may suggest that homeownership can serve as a viable way to improve neighborhood satisfaction among LMI households. This is important as neighborhood satisfaction is highly associated with overall quality of life.     

SOCIAL INTERACTION IN MIXED‐INCOME DEVELOPMENTS: RELATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND EMERGING REALITY

ABSTRACT: In many cities, public housing has come to exemplify concentrated urban poverty and the social problems associated with it. One major policy response to addressing these problems is the demolition and redevelopment of public housing complexes as mixed‐income communities. Several theoretical propositions that lie behind this policy are based on assumptions about the ways in which living among higher‐income residents can lead to relationships and interactions that may benefit poor people. Based on in‐depth qualitative research in two mixed‐income developments in Chicago, this paper explores the dynamics of social interaction in an effort to better understand the processes and factors that influence such interaction on the ground, the differential experience of residents from different backgrounds, and the factors that contribute to their decision‐making about and interpretation of social relations with their neighbors. This analysis helps to better interpret the findings of earlier studies and craft more informed expectations about such interactions and their likely effects.     

THE EXTERNAL NEIGHBORHOOD EFFECTS OF LOW‐INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT PROJECTS BUILT BY THREE SECTORS

ABSTRACT: This study examines the external neighborhood effects of Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Projects built in Santa Clara County, California from 1987 to 2000. Three types of developers have built LIHTC projects in this area: nonprofit, for‐profit, and a county public housing authority. Using a difference‐in‐difference hedonic regression approach, this study finds that almost all the LIHTC projects examined have generated significantly positive impacts on nearby property value. In particular, the study also finds that most nonprofit projects have delivered benefits similar to those of for‐profit projects. Yet projects built by some of the largest nonprofits and the county housing authority have generated the greatest neighborhood impacts. Low‐income neighborhoods have also benefited more from LIHTC developments than other types of neighborhoods.     

TRANSFORMING LEASE-PURCHASE HOUSING PROGRAMS FOR LOW INCOME FAMILIES: Towards Empowerment and Engagement

ABSTRACT: To what extent should lease-purchase programs for low income families emphasize the importance of home ownership? This paper suggests that the traditional emphasis on homeownership as a criterion for stability and thriving families and communities may be misplaced when dealing with housing for disadvantaged populations. While there is little research on the lease-purchase approach to ownership, the literature on homeownership and the authors' study suggest that low income families may benefit more from stable, long-term housing, whether owned or leased, that is situated within an active and supportive community network. Organizations that coordinate housing programs need to develop effective administrative and property management practices so they can act as buffers between low income families and the market and become skilled at facilitating client involvement in program administration and the development of supportive community networks.     

EARLY RESIDENT EXPERIENCES AT A NEW MIXED‐INCOME DEVELOPMENT IN CHICAGO

ABSTRACT: Mixed‐income development is an increasingly popular poverty deconcentration strategy in the United States but there have been few in‐depth studies about the experiences of residents once they move in to the new housing developments. This article explores the early experiences of residents of all income levels who have moved into a new mixed‐income development on the south side of Chicago. In‐depth interviews have been conducted with 46 residents of the development, including 23 former public housing residents. Interviews were also conducted with a comparison group of 69 public housing residents who did not move to the development. I find that public housing movers appear to be a substantially different group than non‐movers. I find that overall satisfaction with the new development is quite high among residents of all income levels. Early social relations are limited, particularly across income levels, and there are key barriers to interaction, such as physical design, stigma and assumptions based on class and housing status, and segregated associational structures.     

城乡统筹视野下农村宅基地与住房制度的思考

基于新制度经济学的相关理论,分析宅基地制度影响下的农村住房产权与住宅资源,剖析"空心村"、"城中村"、"小产权房"等当前农村住房资源配置的热点问题。在此基础上,通过对城乡二元住房制度的对比分析,从城乡统筹的视野提出农村住宅相关制度变革的需求与政策建议,包括:建立完善的城乡土地市场,促进土地资源的集约利用;建立完善的城乡住房制度和保障制度,促进城乡资产的高效配置;建立完善的城乡户籍制度,促进城乡人口有序流动,以实现城乡一体化全面发展的目标。     

HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD REHABILITATION: A NEW METHOD TO HANDLE OLD PROBLEMS

One of the major national goals in the area of urban housing is to stem neighborhood deterioration and to upgrade and conserve America's housing and neighborhoods. In recent years increased attention and resources have been devoted to rehabilitation at the local government level and increased support has been provided by the Federal Government. The rehabilitation of neighborhoods and housing is, however, a complex and difficult problem which is not subject to easy or quick resolution. This paper describes the nature of the problem and identifies some of the constraints and principles that must be considered when framing strategies to cope with problems. Existing national policies and programs are briefly covered. The paper concludes with a suggested strategic approach which would help cities monitor neighborhood changes and aid in the allocation of community development funds.     

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT,HOUSING AND ZONING: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Extensive economic development and central business district expansion generate both positive and negative public impacts; assessing those impacts is a major challenge for urban social and economic analysts. For students of urban politics and policy processes, the strategies and conflict patterns surrounding the generation and distribution of these impacts are of central interest. This paper examines exactive zoning/housing trust fund programs in San Francisco and Boston…the most far-reaching examples of emerging policies adopted by cities to shift pan of the public costs of private economic development back to the developer. The paper suggests that two conditions must be present for exaction programs to be implemented: (1) CBD demand so high that monies can be “creamed off” for redistribution without causing developers to “exit,” and (2) the mobilization of community and neighborhood interests to counter pro-CBD-growth advocates. The exaction programs in both cities, though not panaceas, appear to be generating substantial funds for housing.     

保障性住房的选址策略研究

针对目前保障性住房选址不当而带来的诸多问题,本文从五方面研究了在城市老城区、城市新市区与近郊区保障性住房的选址策略。     

PLACE‐BASED AND RACE‐BASED EXCLUSION FROM MORTGAGE LOANS: EVIDENCE FROM THREE CITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS

ABSTRACT: Do place and race matter in mortgage loan applications? This article presents evidence from mortgage markets in the Dutch cities of Arnhem, The Hague, and Rotterdam, suggesting that place, and to a lesser extent also race, do matter. In general, race and place are not factors of direct exclusion, but (1) zip codes are included in credit scoring systems, and (2) both place and race are significant factors in the assessments by loan officers because applicants who do not meet all formal criteria are more often accepted (“overrides”) for indigenous Dutch and low‐risk neighborhoods than for ethnic minorities and high‐risk neighborhoods. In addition, a “national mortgage guarantee” is compulsory for loan applications in high‐risk neighborhoods and thereby used as a substitute for redlining, comparable to the compulsoriness of private mortgage insurance in the United States. Some lenders also engage in direct redlining by rejecting low‐risk “national mortgage guarantee” loans in high‐risk neighborhoods, a practice potentially explained by transaction cost economizing. Since the high‐risk neighborhoods in all three cities accommodate relatively large shares of ethnic minority groups, they are hit twice: through place‐based and through race‐based exclusion. In other words, place‐based disparate treatment results in race‐based disparate impact. The neighborhood does matter; place‐based exclusion in the mortgage market has a neighborhood effect.     

NEIGHBORHOOD ATTACHMENT,SOCIAL CAPITAL BUILDING,AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: A CASE STUDY OF LOW‐ AND MODERATE‐INCOME RESIDENTS OF WATERLOO,IOWA

ABSTRACT: This case study examines the importance of neighborhood identity and engagement in place‐based social networks within the neighborhood in fostering and stimulating neighborhood‐based participation in the urban political process. Scholars concerned with civic engagement have argued that there is a strong link between the informal ties known as “social capital” and citizen engagement in the larger community. If this linkage can be shown to exist in the neighborhood setting, then it can provide guidance to both scholars and practitioners in utilizing informal, place‐based networks to empower disadvantaged neighborhoods. Evidence presented in this essay, based on interviews with a representative sample of neighborhood residents in the small industrial city of Waterloo, Iowa, suggests that strong informal networks of social capital exist within neighborhoods, but that persons who are more strongly engaged in these networks are not necessarily more involved in the efforts of formal neighborhood associations. However, individuals who are involved in these formal associations are much more likely to be connected to the local and national political systems through voting and other forms of participation.     

不同收入阶层混合居住模式——价值评判与实施策略

分析了混合居住模式产生的现实背景及其价值理念 ,介绍了美国混合居住项目运作的主要方法及其成功的关键因素 ,并对中国实施混合居住模式的现实基础进行了思考     

住房需求的收入弹性:模型、估计与预测

住房需求的收入弹性是描述居民住房需求特征的重要指标。本文从估计收入弹性所需的各个要素入手,深入探讨了收入弹性的理论含义和估计方法。在此基础上,利用微观截面数据来克服宏观数据的缺陷,对样本总体、不同收入家庭和不同年龄家庭的收入弹性分别进行了估计。实证分析的结果表明,北京市购房家庭的收入弹性约为0.86,该值比西方发达国家要低。这说明住房仍偏于消费品,居民住房投资的意识较为淡泊。对不同收入和不同年龄家庭的分组估计表明,随着收入和年龄的增长,收入弹性均呈现先升后降的趋势。收入弹性也被用于对一个城市的住房需求增长进行预测。这些定量结论对于分析住房市场结构和预测住房需求的变化,有重要的理论和实践意义。     

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.     

LOCAL HOUSING REHABILITATION PROGRAMS: A LOW-EFFORT EVALUATION*

The evaluation of a Federally funded housing rehabilitation program in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is used to illustrate the usefulness of low effort, formative program evaluation as a valuable tool for small and medium-size cities. The article sets out the analytical framework as defined by the program design and the concern for evaluating the effectiveness of the programs and alternatives for increasing its impact. The evaluation uses both primary and secondary data sources in examining program performance and relies on basic statistical analysis which are well within the capabilities of most cities' planning agencies.     

URBAN WELFARE REGIMES,ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES,AND CLIENT‐STAFF TIE ACTIVATION: A COMPARISON OF TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAMS IN LOS ANGELES AND TOKYO

With state safety nets failing to keep up with expanding urban poverty, ties to community organizations can provide crucial resources. But what explains variation in such tie activation at urban, organizational, and individual levels? I advance a multilevel framework of organizational client–staff tie activation that centralizes the role of trust and specifies effects of multiple social contexts. I apply the framework to an exploratory comparison of transitional housing programs in Los Angeles and Tokyo, including analysis of qualitative data collected among clients, staff, and administrators. I argue that urban welfare regimes and organizational cultures are key contexts shaping how macro‐level forces like neoliberalism intersect with micro‐level processes of social capital building in differentiated ways. Urban scholars can inform theory and practice by further analyzing how organizational‐level trust building practices of holism and flexibility can be affected by urban‐level regulations on scope of aid and inter‐organizational ties.     

IMPLEMENTING URBAN HOUSING REHABILITATION PROGRAMS: A COMPARISON OF THE FEDERAL AND STATE EXPERIENCES1

Recent changes in federal housing rehabilitation policy have shifted the emphasis from single-family to multi-family units and from direct federal delivery of housing services to state and local administration. To discover the implications of this shift, this study compares the implementation of a state home improvement loan program with the financing and administration approach adopted by the federal Section 312 and Community Development Block Grant loan programs prior to 1983. A survey of borrowers who participated in the state and federal rehabilitation loan programs reveals that both types of programs assist the “incumbent up grader,” both increased the value of property, both achieved high levels of borrower satisfaction, and both concentrated on the single-family unit. Differences, however, did arise between the federal and state programs in that the state program borrowers were encouraged to conduct preventive maintenance, while the federal programs advanced social goals of serving a greater number of low-income homeowners with larger loan amounts at lower interest rates. This comparison study does not support the federal withdrawal from providing direct single-family rehabilitation loans because it can supplement the bond-market orientation of the state approach with a social targeting function.     

FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS: HOMEOWNERSHIP AND SOCIAL CAPITAL AMONG LOW‐ TO MODERATE‐INCOME FAMILIES

ABSTRACT: This research explores whether homeownership leads to increased individual social capital among low‐ to moderate‐income families. Social capital refers to social resources a person can access through contacts with others in his or her social networks. We theorize that homeownership can motivate interactions with others in one's neighborhood and therefore build social capital. Using a sample of low‐ and moderate‐income homeowners and a matched sample of renters, we collect data on overall social resources and neighborhood‐specific social resources. We find that homeowners have more total social capital resources and more neighborhood social capital resources than renters. Neighborhood group involvement has an indirect effect on social capital, but explains only a small amount of the influence of homeownership. These findings hold when controlling for household‐level and neighborhood‐level sociodemographic variables, as well as when using statistical models that account for endogeneity. Based on this evidence, we conclude that homeownership gives people access to social capital via increased social ties to others. We discuss the implications of this finding for housing policy and suggest new directions for research on social capital.