New Directions in Urban Public Housing

Public housing is at a crossroads, buffeted by demographic, economic, and political winds. Privatization, rehabilitation, demolition, rent certificates and vouchers, tenant management, tenant ownership, resident empowerment: these are just some of the current and proposed policy initiatives that could change the face of urban public housing.In this book the nation's foremost housing policy experts explore the problems and identify solutions that will define the future of this essential housing sector. The contributors review the origins of public housing policy, probe the current policy climate, and anticipate new directions. Chapters are illustrated with case studies from Boston, Chicago, Decatur, Indianapolis, San Francisco, and Seattle, as well as the United Kingdom.The book contains sections addressing: historical perspectives, social issues, design issues, comprehensive approaches to public housing revitalization, and future directions. The contributors include: Alexander von Hoffman, Peter Marcuse, William Petersen, Leonard F. Heumann, Karen A. Franck, David M. Schnee, Gayle Epp, Lawrence J. Vale, Richard Best, Mary K. Nenno, Irving Welfeld, and James G. Stockard, Jr. This book should be read by all city planners, housing officials, and government personnel.

I: Historical Perspectives; 1: High Ambitions: The Past and Future of American Low-Income Housing Policy; 2: Mainstreaming Public Housing; II: Social Issues; 3: The Meanings of Resident Empowerment; 4: Assisted Living in Public Housing; III: Design Issues; 5: Changing Values in U.S. Public Housing Policy and Design; 6: An Evaluation of Robert Pitts Plaza; IV: Comprehensive Approaches to Public Housing Revitalization; 7: Emerging Strategies for Revitalizing Public Housing Communities; 8: Public Housing Redevelopment: Seven Kinds of Success; V: Future Directions; 9: Successes, Failures, and Prospects for Public Housing Policy in the United Kingdom; 10: New Directions for Federally Assited Housing; 11: Gautreaux: Baby Steps to Opportunity; VI: Epilogue; 12: Public Housing—The Next Sixty Years?

David Varady