America's Affordable Housing Crisis: A Contract Unfulfilled (original) (raw)
Related papers
2006
Households with “worst case needs” for housing assistance are defined as unassisted renters with very low incomes (below 50 percent of area median income—AMI) who pay more than half of their income for housing or live in severely substandard housing. In 2003, 5.18 million verylowincome households in the United States had worst case needs. The proportion of American families that had worst case needs was 4.89 percent. In Federal law, “extremely low income” households have incomes below 30 percent of AMI. 77 percent of families with worst case needs have extremely low incomes; conversely, nearly twothirds of extremely lowincome renter households have worst case needs. 36 percent of households with worst case needs have children; 22 percent are elderly; 10 percent have nonelderly members with disabilities. Over half of households with worst case needs are nonHispanic white. The number of Hispanic households with worst case needs rose from 2001 to 2003 by about 250,000 households;...
Housing in the broader context in the United States
Housing Policy Debate, 1995
Housing is central to participation in the economic mainstream, yet housing policy has been fragmented by competing, if not contradictory, goals. This article proposes an expanded policy that incorporates a stronger link between housing and economic inequality. Through examples, it argues that housing policy should be a tool for economic development, strengthening families, and building community.
The Affordable Housing Shortage: Considering the Problem, Causes and Solutions
Many observers claim that we are in the midst of an "affordable housing shortage" or, even worse, an "affordable housing crisis." The primary concern is that too many households live in "unaffordable" rental units. We hope to clarify the current debate by first measuring the size of the problem, then diagnosing its underlying causes and, finally, discussing treatments that policymakers should consider. While our review is hardly exhaustive, we conclude that a shortage of income is largely behind the housing affordability problem despite the current focus on housing. Policymakers should recognize that government financing of new housing units is unlikely to be a costeffective response to low household income.
The dismantling of public housing in the USA
Netherlands Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 1999
The market reigns supreme in the housing system of the United States. Its prominence has led to the efficient provision of housing of ever-rising standards for most Americans. At the same time, the poor continue to live in appalling conditions. The majority of them have to secure their housing without public support. In spite of the long history of government intervention in the housing system, the effect of that support has been marginal at best. Although the large cities contain substantial numbers of assisted housing, the public housing program has failed to provide the poor with the "decent housing and the suitable living environment"promised to every American family in the 1949 Housing Act. Even the direct support of households through housing vouchers and certificates has not broken up the concentrations of poverty. Many households remain trapped in substandard housing in crime-infested urban areas. The articles in this issue evaluate the (possible) outcomes of the latest round of reforms of the American public housing program, which are geared to more private-sector involvement.
Affordable Housing and its Impact on Communities and Families
The purpose of this research paper is to provide an historical overview of affordable housing and its relationship with the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), present detailed information on various affordable housing programs, and enlighten the reader as to why affordable housing programs are necessary and beneficial to both communities and families. This paper also addresses the challenges and negative opinions pertaining to affordable housing, such as; decline in property values, growth of neighborhood crime, health, education and employment. Frequently there are negative stereotypes placed upon affordable housing communities and the families that they serve; however, by means of broad proficient research, this paper will deliver to its readers practical information confirming that although there may be obstacles and challenges affordable housing unquestionably grants those that are underprivileged the ability to access valuable, affordable housing that is essential to everyday life.
Principles to Guide Housing Policy at the Beginning of the New Millennium
Cityscape a Journal of Policy Development and Research, 2001
The 1990s were a tumultuous time for Federal housing policy. The decade began with deep divisions in the housing community over how to deliver housing assistance. For the first time in recent history, Federal budget cuts in the mid-1990s essentially froze the number of households that received housing assistance. At roughly the same time, the continuing existence of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was itself in doubt, and in 1995 the New York Times Magazine published a lead article with the title "The Year That Housing Died." However, as the new millennium begins, the situation has changed dramatically. Not only is Congress no longer seriously questioning whether to disband HUD, but, in response to a record-setting economic expansion and internal reforms within the agency, Congress also has substantially increased HUD's budget. In marked contrast to the beginning of the past decade, remarkable consensus exists among housing policymakers and analysts about the future direction of housing policy. In this article, we explore this emerging consensus and set forth our views regarding the principles that should guide housing policy over the next decade.
A Review of “Housing policy in the United States, 3rd edition”, By Alex Schwartz
International journal of housing policy, 2015
What should be done? Goetz makes several suggestions, the thrust of which is that public housing should be rehabilitated and replaced, not demolished. The recognised failures of public housing, he says, largely reflect mismanagement and insufficient resources, rather than a lack of social mix. Goetz argues that 'although the discourse of disaster dominates discussions of public housing, the reality is that in most places it worked-and still does work'. The evidence he presents, though, leaves a rather different impression: that much of it was characterised by concentrated poverty and crime, but that residents were attached to and valued their homes even so. For an academic book, this is a real page-turner: deftly and passionately written, with a strong narrative. It is recommended for students of urban studies and housing, or for anyone interested in the politics of race and housing in the USA.