Estimating the Spatial Relationships Between Subsidized Housing and Crime

Author: Michael C. Lens

Dissertation School: New York University

Pages: 160

Publication Date: May 2011

Availability:
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Access Number: 10862

Abstract:

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and urban policymakers have made significant changes to subsidized housing policy with the hopes of allowing low-income rental housing subsidy recipients access to better neighborhoods, revitalizing distressed neighborhoods, and/or deconcentrating poverty. Included in these changes are a shift in emphasis from the traditional public housing program to the Housing Choice Voucher program (HCV or "vouchers")--a demand-side subsidy that theoretically allows for greater neighborhood choice--and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)--a supply-side subsidy that offers tax credits to developers of low-income rental housing.

Using the voucher program to help low-income households move to higher opportunity neighborhoods is one way to improve the neighborhood conditions of these households. Another way is to revitalize distressed neighborhoods from within. Some localities--most notably New York City--have utilized a diversity of funding sources to invest in distressed communities and expand the supply of affordable rental housing with the creation of smaller-scale, diffuse developments. Perhaps reflecting how daunting it is to revitalize neighborhoods, there is limited evidence showing positive impacts from government housing investments in neighborhoods.

One of the most troubling aspects of distressed neighborhoods is the fact that these neighborhoods are often dangerous places to live. Although there is evidence that these recent policy changes--particularly the HCV program--have had some success at gaining subsidized households access to lower poverty neighborhoods, we know very little about the extent to which these efforts have resulted in subsidized households living in lower crime environments.

Of additional concern is the resistance from residents in more affluent neighborhoods to the movement of subsidized households into these neighborhoods. Such residents typically express fears that an influx of lower-income households into their neighborhoods will increase crime. But in fact, we know very little about crime changes in higher income neighborhoods resulting from subsidized housing. Once more, it is possible that breaking up high poverty clusters may reduce crime in neighborhoods and metropolitan areas. If this is the case, this net benefit would justify deconcentration efforts on their own. Very little work has been done on the effect of subsidized housing on poverty concentration or crime in metropolitan areas.

This project responds to these gaps in the literature by examining recent attempts by HUD and local policymakers to deconcentrate subsidized housing, most notably the voucher and LIHTC programs, in addition to local affordable housing investments in New York City. This dissertation will analyze the efficacy of these policies in reducing the exposure of subsidized households to crime, the extent to which affordable housing investments can reduce crime in neighborhoods, and whether these policy changes have had an effect on poverty concentration and crime rates in U.S. cities and metropolitan areas.

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