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Inclusionary housing is considered a powerful local policy tool that can help address housing affordability and social inclusion issues. This paper draws from empirical research conducted in the City of Santa Monica in California to provide fresh insights on a successful innovative inclusionary housing program, the Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP). This program was established to increase affordable housing production and enable social integration. Based on the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the General Plan, the AHPP seeks to capture some of the increase in land value resulting from planned increases in the intensity of development. Our research shows that the program increased inclusionary housing production by market-rate developers by 15% over the previous inclusionary housing policy. The study finds that land use policies and planning can, through inclusionary housing, help harness the strength of the real estate market to (1) increase affordable housing production, and (2) achieve effective social integration in neighborhoods of opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show how Van Wel's theory of problem figuration, Carlen's concept of imaginary systems and Zizek's notion of cynical ideology may advance our theoretical and empirical understanding of the contemporary construction of housing policy narratives and embedded localised housing practise. Applying this theoretical framework to a case study of responses to homelessness in Scotland and further illustrative examples from the UK and the USA, the paper examines how housing practise is constituted through different imaginaries of housing systems. These are based on fictional as well as rational elements, located within a form of cynical ideology whereby actors act ‘as if’ the realities of the present housing crisis are distanced from the imagined intended functioning of housing systems. This masks alternative social realities and denies an explicitly articulated politics of housing which would reveal new processes of capitalism, generational and class realignments and a reframing of the role of government itself. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

State governments are increasingly expected to help fill the gap between the demand and supply of affordable housing within the US. Little systematic attention has been paid to state housing strategies over the years, despite a lengthening record of policy innovation. This paper asks what factors influence state adoption of housing trust funds (HTFs), and if these factors differ based on how the trust fund is financed and which state agency is responsible for administering it. Utilizing an event history analysis of pooled cross-sectional data, the paper finds that whether or not a state adopts a HTF, who administers it, and how they fund it, varies based on rates of new, single-family development, the size of the black population, prior state housing expenditures, and citizen ideology. The broader implications of these findings are considered for future housing policy innovations beyond states and HTFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global financial crisis has generated many lessons for policy makers in the housing sphere, as well as in financial regulation. This paper discusses eight lessons drawn specifically from the United States housing meltdown that triggered the crisis. The housing sector is important for monetary policy and financial stability, highly interconnected with the financial system, and dependent on institutional details that vary widely across countries and through time. Easier and cheaper access to finance does not improve long-run housing affordability; but if credit conditions ease too much and the credit assessment process breaks down, strategic default becomes more likely. That defaults rose so far in the US shows how unusual its housing system is—a fact not revealed in simple aggregate statistics. One element of the US exceptionalism is that housing supply is quite flexible there, and that helped produce the bust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeownership is a desirable goal for most Americans and is considered an integral part of the American Dream. Empirical studies indicate homeownership has many positive outcomes. However, homeownership is not prevalent among low-income populations. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts designed to help the working poor save for a home or other assets. This paper examines the savings outcomes of IDA participants saving for a home in the American Dream Policy Demonstration, which was the first large-scale test of IDAs. Data were collected from 1997 to 2001 on 1176 participants saving to purchase a home. Results indicate that low-income IDA participants can successfully save when provided structured opportunities. This paper examines individual and program characteristics that are important to explaining saving behaviors. Implications for policy makers, program administrators, and future research are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether the policy environment in the United States is supportive of addressing the asthma epidemic through housing plans and policies. Asthma is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and is linked to allergens in the housing environment such as ground-level ozone, excessive moisture and dust, rodents and pests, and environmental tobacco smoke. The study finds basic laws and regulations are in place regulating outdoor air quality and calling for the maintenance of public and rental housing in good condition, but there is still a need for specific standards to be adopted into law, for better enforcement of existing laws, and for increased funding. Because asthma prevention programs are relatively new, the paper reviews the US experience with lead-based paint hazard control programs to identify the components of effective strategies. These include explicit health objectives in housing plans and policies, promotion by both health and housing officials, advocacy by citizens' groups and tenants' associations, adequate funding for implementation, and focus on multiple health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By enabling low-income families to move from high- to low-poverty neighbourhoods, tenant-based rental subsidies for poor families have the potential to reduce the degree of economic segregation in the US. This paper provides a framework for identifying the benefits and costs of such housing mobility programmes, and reviews the available empirical evidence on the net effects of quasi- or formal randomised housing mobility experiments. The best available evidence suggests that families in public housing who receive rental subsidies to move from high- to lower-poverty areas may experience reductions in welfare receipt and improvements in health status. Such moves may also improve schooling outcomes for children and reduce their problem behaviours. The benefits to society from these changes are substantial when measured in dollar terms. Unfortunately, very little is currently known about the effects of housing-mobility efforts on non-participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent housing crisis's devastating effects on U.S. households’ economic situations provides reason to examine the risks, pitfalls and assumptions underlying contemporary housing policy. This paper examines issues associated with renting and owning housing in America. It argues that housing operates as (1) a dimension of the U.S. system of stratification, (2) a method for the unfair distribution of resources in metropolitan space, and (3) a mechanism for the construction of the “other” and as a vehicle for social exclusion. Homeownership restricts people to homogeneous neighborhoods, renders low-income families and renters of all types unacceptable, makes neighborhoods fertile ground for learning who is socially undesirable, breeds class-based distinctions, and puts people in financially risky situations. Rethinking questions about renting and owning may allow consideration of how housing can play a more constructive role in pursing economic opportunities, redistribution and social and economic justice in America. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the great recession began, public housing authorities (PHAs) were just beginning to experience the full effects of neoliberal policy implementation and devolution. Using 13 case studies of the largest PHAs in the Pacific Northwest, this paper outlines activities that PHAs undertook to balance public mission with private-market means. PHAs made trade-offs among five paths that emphasize agency survival, producing housing for the poorest households, identifying as a nonprofit housing provider, poverty alleviation, or gaining other public powers. This diversity of responses points to the under-valued attribute of PHAs as local organizations with diverse mandates. Dependence on the federal government, local charter, and the degree of integration with local government likely contributed to PHAs' propensity to develop non-US Department of Housing and Urban Development-assisted affordable housing. Even with this creativity, adequate resources are necessary to meet the demand for affordable housing for the poorest households as market conditions change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As the US foreclosure crisis approached its climax in 2007 and 2008, the buildup of lender-owned homes had been building for some time. Around this time, however, lenders began selling homes, especially low-value properties, at a much faster pace, releasing them into local housing markets. This paper examines the sales of foreclosed single-family homes into the Atlanta market from January 2005 through early 2009. A primary goal is to understand the drivers of such sales. A proportional hazards model is used to identify factors affecting the time that homes spend as ‘real estate owned’ properties, with a special focus on low-value properties. We find that the pace of sales of low-value properties accelerated during 2007 and, especially, in late 2008 and early 2009, and the rate varied based on lender type, neighborhood characteristics, and submarket location. These findings have implications not simply for understanding real estate markets more broadly, but especially for housing market recovery and neighborhood stabilization policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing policy in the United States now serves an agenda defined by concerns over economic and racial segregation in older central city neighborhoods. HOPE VI, the main US initiative in this area, is aimed at the large-scale demolition of public housing projects and their replacement by smaller-scale, mixed-income developments. The logic model behind the effort to redevelop public housing and disperse subsidized housing residents anticipates benefits at both the individual and community level. Individuals are expected to progress in a range of economic, social and physical ways when freed of the negative area effects associated with high levels of income and racial segregation. Communities are expected to become more livable when rid of dysfunctional and outmoded public housing estates and their discouraging influence on private investment patterns. This paper examines the strengths and weaknesses of this model, assessing, in the process, the potential for achieving the policy goals set out by those advocating dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 1990s, the HOPE VI program has been the United States' largest, most ambitious community revitalization program. HOPE VI sought to transform not only distressed public housing communities, but also to transform residents' lives and help them to become self-sufficient. This paper uses new evidence from the HOPE VI Panel Study on how HOPE VI families have fared. The long-term findings from this research paint a more positive picture than many critics had predicted, showing that the program has had profound benefits for many public housing families—particularly those who have relocated to less poor communities. However, the long-term results highlight the limitations of the HOPE VI approach, particularly the lack of impact on economic outcomes. These findings point to the need for new and creative strategies for addressing some of the worst consequences of concentrated poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the housing segregation literature major disagreements have developed over two fundamental issues: (1) the role that whites' aversion to racially mixed neighbourhoods plays in causing modern segregation in the US; and (2) the factors that underlie this aversion, including the effects of inter-racial contact on whites' neighbourhood racial preferences and whether these preferences reflect neighbourhood stereotyping as opposed to pure racial prejudice. Extant evidence on these issues is either old or indirect. This paper provides direct evidence on these issues using new data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality. The results suggest that (1) whites' neighbourhood racial preferences play an important role in explaining the racial composition of their neighbourhoods; (2) inter-racial contact in neighbourhoods and workplaces leads to a greater willingness among whites to live with blacks; and (3) although younger and more educated whites express a stronger taste for integration than other whites, the magnitude of these differences leads to only a small increase in the black percentage of the neighbourhood. In addition, the results provide no evidence in support of the hypothesis that whites stereotype black neighbourhoods rather than blacks per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deconcentration of poverty in the US has involved both voluntary mobility programmes for low-income households and involuntary relocation of families through government action. This paper examines the effects on families of these two different strategies. Using data on over 600 families in the Twin Cities region of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, the study reveals only sporadic support for the hypothesis that voluntary or involuntary participants in the deconcentration effort will report improvements in their living conditions, or report better conditions than a control group of public housing and Section 8 residents. Several possible explanations for the lack of programme effects are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal leadership and funding for affordable housing policy declined in the 1980s. In the 1990s, the commitment to low-income housing continues to wane and is accompanied by funding uncertainties as the federal government redefines its role as policy-maker. The federal withdrawal leaves a void in housing policy-making as yet unfilled by lower levels of government. Given the direct impact of housing availability and conditions on local communities, cities may be the most likely candidates to assume the primary role in affordable housing policy. Some policy analysts, however, argue that cities will not assume the lead role or spend local dollars on redistributive policy such as affordable housing programmes. This paper examines affordable housing policy in the inter-governmental context, the influence of inter-governmental factors on local housing commitment, and the potential for cities to fill the gap left by the federal government. The analysis uses US Census data combined with data from a mail survey of city housing professionals in a representative sample of US cities with populations of 25 000 or greater. The findings from the analysis show that many cities do spend local dollars on housing programmes, but that the decision to do so is influenced by inter-governmentalfactors. Moreover, the results suggest that states, not cities, are likely to assume the leadership role for affordable housing policy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of spatial dependence in land use regulatory levels was first found in Brueckner (1998) for California cities. Recent research has not incorporated this consideration despite the considerable consequences of the relationship. We seek to expand the empirical find ings to a current, larger and more diverse data-set for municipalities across the USA. Analyzing regulatory levels and their determinants from over 2000 municipalities, we find strong evidence of spatial dependence at the local level even after controlling for geographic and political influences. This suggests that political competition, rather than welfare maximization exclusively, may be influencing the level of regulations adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I examine the failure of fair housing policy to desegregate public housing in the USA. The article reviews major federal actions toward public housing segregation, as well as broader public housing segregation patterns and trends in the USA. It then draws on a variety of archival sources to present an in-depth case study of public housing segregation and desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky. Unlike previous studies of the subject, this article provides a detailed investigation of the relationship between local public housing tenancy policies and changes in racial occupancy across Louisville's housing projects spanning the last 50 years. The article argues for the importance of research on local-scale policy implementation for our understanding of fair housing policy, and it draws from its investigation of Louisville some conclusions about the inability of fair housing policy in the USA to realize its stated objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The older population in many countries is large and growing rapidly, increasing the number of people with disabilities and driving up the need for accessible housing. In a previous study, the authors projected the number of households in the USA with at least one disabled resident and estimated the probability that a newly built single-family detached unit will house at least one disabled resident during its expected lifetime. This study extends the analysis to the sub-national level by constructing similar estimates and projections for four states that differ widely on two characteristics affecting the need for accessible housing: age structure and disability rates. The results vary from state to state, but all four display a substantial need for accessible housing. Homebuilders, planners and policy makers are urged to account for this need when building new homes and making modifications to the current housing stock. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The financial infrastructure of guarantees, insurance and regulation that underpins US housing markets is an important federal policy tool. Historically, housing policy in the US has relied much more heavily on regulating private market actors to achieve public goals, than it has on direct expenditures. But the commonalities between the US and restructured welfare states such as the UK and Canada have become more striking in recent decades. Similar dilemmas face policy makers in many settings: if homeownership is to be the centerpiece of housing policy, how do we ensure it is affordable and sustainable for those once served by a larger social housing sector? If direct expenditures are to be cut back, with what do we replace them? The story of the Clinton administration's efforts to reform the US financial infrastructure illustrates how these dilemmas have been addressed (although obviously not resolved) in a specific instance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of housing policy in the US is often presented as a progression shifting from liberal to conservative to liberal, depending on the political party in power. But a review of that history suggests very limited differences between the two approaches, on the five key issues of market vs. government, distribution of benefits, locus of decision-making, fundamental ideology, or source of support. Both approaches rule out more challenging alternatives to dealing with problems of housing. Key points in the US history are reviewed to illustrate the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the housing policy in the United States during the 1990s. Housing crisis; Housing policy agenda of President Bill Clinton's Administration; Proposed progressive housing agenda; Politics of the urban housing crisis.