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At its inception, research on African American families living in urban public housing focused narrowly on single-female-headed households with children. The perceived near absence of African American fathers in public housing households may have contributed to the lack of interest in assessing the effects of paternal behavior on the well-being of their children. Consequently, there is a dearth of research investigating the role that fathers play in the lives of their children in public housing communities. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to this gab in knowledge by modeling variations in paternal caregivers' behavior based on the perceptions on their children. Using a sample of 549 African American youth living in public housing, we employed latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression to identified paternal typologies and assessed how youth were correctly classified in paternal typologies based on the youths' attitudes and behaviors. The overall model significantly distinguished youth by paternal class membership. The model correctly classified 55% of the cases. Implications to practice are discussed. Keywords Paternal caregivers * Public housing * Latent profile analysis * Depressive symptoms * Substance use * Self-efficacy, Introduction At its inception, research on African American families living in urban public housing focused narrowly on single-female-headed households with children (Moynihan 1965). A review of the literature indicates that [...]

Debates on contemporary urban conditions often center on the periphery of the city where an ever-increasing proportion of the urban population is forced to live. This article focuses on the [...]

Building adaptation plays a pivotal role in arresting building deterioration and upgrading existing buildings to match the higher standards of new public housing estates. With limited budget on hand, policy makers in the public sector need to prioritize these buildings based on their adaptation potential so as to identify and rank existing buildings that have high potential for adaptation. This article considers the relevant factors that influence the building adaptation potential (BAP). The conceptual framework and the method adopted for computing BAP are also presented. The findings show that BAP would be determined by the synergies of building owners' utility, owners' risk preference, housing obsolescence, prospective impacts associated with adaptation activities, sustainable performance for buildings and urban planning policies. Keywords: Building adaptation; building adaptation potential; public housing; Singapore, INTRODUCTION Sustainable development has become a prevailing concern across the world (Bossel, 1999; Krajnc and Glavic, 2005). Sustainability requires resources to be preserved, the environment to be protected and a [...]

A study was conducted to assess the degree to which tenants in public-sector housing participate in low-cost household insurance schemes, and to evaluate the reasons beyond this level of participation. Findings indicate that the take-up rates by tenants are low, and the providers of social housing need to be more imaginative.

This article examines public administrators' perceptions of the effects of nonprofit networks on local affordable housing decisions. It builds on a larger body of research concerning the affordable housing activities of community-based organizations (CBOs). This analysis is based on a national survey of public administrators responsible for affordable housing programs in U.S. cities with populations over 100,000. The survey included questions about: CBO performance, factors influencing CBO funding decisions, and local government structure. This article provides insights into decision-making surrounding CBO funding at the local level. These insights improve our understanding of the connection between public administrators' perceptions, funding patterns, and interorganizational relations. Keywords: nonprofit networks; community-based organizations; affordable housing funding; public administrators

Since the mid-1980s, family self-sufficiency programs have been set up in over 1,000 cities and counties across the United States. These programs are aimed at helping public-housing residents and Section 8 tenants, who often have very little or no wage income, become economically self-sufficient and move into private housing. Though much has been written about the potential of such programs, research examining their benefits is virtually nonexistent. This article seeks to partly fill this void. The research reported here examined data on 135 participants of the City of Rockford, Illinois's Family Self-Sufficiency program. Using logistic regression techniques, the effects of several factors on program completion were explored. The author reports that Rockford's Family Self-Sufficiency program graduates derived significant economic and housing benefits, and that race did not seem to affect graduation while other factors, such as age and the number of skills acquired in the program, seemed to. Keywords: family self-sufficiency, low-income housing, welfare, poverty alleviation

This paper is concerned with how housing improvements instigated either publicly or privately influence the degree of psychological stress reported by council estate residents in South Manchester. Stress is measured on the GHQ12 scale containing standard symptomatic items. Potential sources of variation in this indicator are analysed within a geographical setting where repeated samples of residents were drawn from two adjacent suburban council housing estates before and after the implementation of a single regeneration budget (SRB) housing initiative in late 1999. The residents of one of these estates (Wythenshawe) were targeted by this funding while those in the other (Mersey Bank) were not. The latter, therefore, serve as a control for the effects of the enhanced incidence of housing improvement activity promoted by this SRB. Regression analyses revealed that stress was raised significantly among the SRB residents perhaps on account of the additional environmental nuisance they encountered. The experience of stress among all residents, however, was dominated by measures of personal psychosocial risk and it is argued that future regeneration initiatives should address the manifestation of these risks in the effort to achieve better mental health. Keywords: Manchester, UK; Council estate residents; Mental health; Urban regeneration

This article describes a place-based research demonstration program to promote and sustain employment among residents of selected public housing developments in six U.S. cities. Because all eligible residents of the participating public housing developments were free to take part in the program, it was not possible to study its impacts in a classical experiment, with random assignment of individual residents to the program or a control group. Instead, the impact analysis is based on a design that selected matched groups of two or three public housing developments in each participating city and randomly assigned one to the program and the other(s) to a control group. In addition, an eleven-year comparative interrupted time-series analysis is being used to strengthen the place-based random assignment design. Preliminary analyses of baseline data suggest that this two-pronged approach will provide credible estimates of program impacts. Keywords: place-based research; impact analysis; interrupted time-series analysis; Jobs-Plus Community Revitalization initiative for Public Housing Families; community-focused employment intervention

Summary. Largely because of the significant societal and economic aspects of public housing in Singapore, the current resale price index is published regularly by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). Based on average transaction prices, this HDB index does not control for a shift in the mix of public housing resale flats transacted. This paper looks into the usefulness of the current HDB resale price index that is reflective of pure price appreciation across time. Adopting the varying parameter technique, a constant-quality HDB resale price index is constructed instead for the period between January 1997 and June 2000. The usefulness of a constant-quality resale price index is evaluated using three assessment criteria. First, through a series of comparative studies between a constant-quality HDB resale price index and other resale price indices, it is found that the constant-quality resale price index provides a better indication of pure price appreciation. Secondly, the parameters of price determinants are found to be unstable across distinct phases of the market cycle. During market recovery, greater premiums are generally attainable for better-quality flats due to positive market sentiment and improved economic conditions. Nevertheless, greater discounts are also generally attainable for lower-quality flats due to greater expectation attributable to rising resale prices. This implies that owners of better-quality flats would probably be better motivated to put up their units for sale during a market recovery. Thirdly, the difference in the values of price determinants during different phases of the market cycle suggests that the varying parameter techniques should be appropriate for the construction of a constant-quality HDB resale price index.

CANADA'S OLDEST AND LARGEST public housing project, Regent Park in Toronto, was originally conceived as an ideal community for low-income families in housing hardship. By the 1990s, however, it had [...]

New York has devised a variety of policy approaches to improve the housing status of low-income households, including public housing, publicly subsidized private housing, rent vouchers, welfare shelter allowances, rent regulation, and tax incentives to landlords. Little systematic attention has been paid to how these various subtenures compare when judged by the housing outcomes they produce for low-income households in the city. Using data from the 1996 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey, this article compares New York City's rental subtenures in terms of the following outcomes: housing quality, crowding, affordability, residential mobility/stability, and various indicators of neighborhood quality. Adjusting for differences in household and housing stock characteristics, we find that the tenant-based Section 8 program seems to produce the best set of overall outcomes for low-income renters in the city.

Research into the social effects public housing has on self sufficiency are given. The research shows that children living in public housing from 1962 through 1980 increased employment, raised earnings, and reduced welfare use.

The effectivity of two of the most significant federal policies toward housing concerns certain inclusions in the federal income tax code which lead to owner-occupied housing preferential tax treatment and provisions in the code concerning housing to the poor at below market rent rates. If these two issues are studied as one question within a unified structure from the point of view of optimal tax theory, then the fundamental issue being considered is that of the usefulness of non-linear commodity taxes assuming consumer tastes are not identical. It will be proven that when consumers demonstrate different preferences, the differential tax treatment of housing and its subsidization to the poor may be desirable.

Interviews were conducted with UK housing benefit claimants whose eligible rent for housing benefit was less than the contractual rent agreed with their landlords. Whether the respondents pursued strategies in coping with the shortfalls in their eligible rent for housing benefit or not is considered. Research shows most of those interviewed did try to act strategically and thus were not simply the passive victims of circumstances beyond their control.

Epidemiologic survey data from elderly residents of six public housing developments were used to determine the prevalence of need and unmet need for mental health care. Thirty-seven percent of this predominantly African American sample needed mental health services, and 58% of those who needed care had unmet needs. Logistic regression analyses showed that males, older residents, those with no Medicare insurance, and those with more Activities of Daily Living (ADL) impairments were at greater risk of both needing mental health care and receiving no mental health care services. Findings suggest the need for targeted interventions that would increase service utilization and potentially reduce the likelihood of eviction or placement in more restrictive settings. Key Words: Health services utilization, Psychiatric disorders, Psychological distress, Self-rated mental health, African Americans

This article analyzes whether inner city public housing exacerbates the employment problems of its tenants. Results from two evaluations of public housing demonstrations are used to test the potential impact of location, address discrimination, eligibility criteria, and rent schedules on tenant work behavior. To supplement this analysis, the effects of public housing on tenant employment, including self-employment, are estimated using a unique cross-sectional data set known as the Urban Poverty and Family Life Survey. The results do not support the claim that public housing, independent of tenant characteristics, contributes to employment patterns. While it is true that most public housing residents do not work, their counterparts in the private real estate market are no more likely to be employed or to have ever worked. Overall, these results indicate that the provision of public housing does not inhibit work behavior., A study was conducted to determine whether public housing in the inner cities aggravates the employment problems of its residents. Tenant work behavior was examined to find out if it is adversely affected by address discrimination, location, eligibility criteria and rent schedules. The possible impact of public housing on tenant employment was further investigated with the use of the Urban Poverty and Family Life Survey. The findings failed to support the hypothesis that public housing hurts tenants' employment opportunities.

The Netherlands has a large and differentiated stock of social rented dwellings, forming more than 40 per cent of the total housing stock. Housing associations are by far the largest providers of housing services in this sector. Traditionally, these associations were subsidised heavily but since 1995 Dutch government has no longer directly subsidised these associations. This paper deals with changes in Dutch housing associations in a period (1988-95) characterised by government austerity, deregulation, market conformity, privatisation and promotion of home-ownership. It is explained how the housing associations were able to survive and even maintain prospects for a promising future in a political climate that threatened the social rented sector. It is clear that housing associations can now operate more independently than in the past. This is seen as a positive development, but the government is now discovering the drawbacks of complete privatisation. A firmer embedding in a public framework is considered desirable now. Recently the cabinet introduced a strengthening of public supervision. The housing associations' umbrella organisations presented their own National Housing Programme and published a business code for housing associations. A crucial issue has not been discussed so far: who will subsidise the housing investments for low-income households in periods of economic stagnation?, 1. Introduction The social rented sector is a marginal phenomenon in many countries particularly in the US, where it carries a certain stigma. In contrast, most western European countries have [...]

In focusing solely on owner occupation, housing policy and practice in third world cities ignores the fact that a significant proportion of households in low-income settlements live in rented accommodation. More importantly, it ignores the importance of private landlordism in that, although landlords form a small proportion of all households, they are responsible for the provision of housing for a large number of tenants. Offering low-income households a more balanced tenure choice requires an understanding of the conditions that underpin the production of rental housing. Using the concept of petty commodity production, this paper develops a theoretical framework which provides an explanation of how private property, finance and the labour process are articulated in low-income settlements to give rise to a continuum of petty commodity forms of landlordism. The theoretical framework also provides the basis for an analysis of the various factors underpinning the reproduction, conservation and/or dissolution of the various petty commodity forms of landlordism.

The factors that influence the length of time people avail of housing assistance should be identified because the present policy focuses on promptly helping physically able individuals attain self-sufficiency. Knowing who gets housing assistance for short periods can help determine the right residential composition of housing projects and targeting meager training budgets through the self-sufficiency programs of HUD. It is because of this that a study was conducted focusing on the duration of housing assistance spells. Data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation was used to develop a hazard model. Findings indicate that several individuals will continue receiving assistance for relatively long periods although some leave housing assistance after short spells. Results also show that there is no duration dependence in housing assistance spells.

We investigate the distribution of a measure of housing consumption among public tenants in cities of two Chinese provinces, using household survey data. We find the resulting distribution roughly consistent with the outcome of a market rental system, for fixed supply and CES preferences. There is surprisingly little evidence of allocative inefficiency in the present bureaucratic allocation system. We estimate the possible effects of market-oriented housing reform. Under alternative assumptions about the system of cash transfers used to compensate for a move to market rents, we investigate the distributional impact of reform and the likely need for supplementary cash benefits for low-income households.

Older home owners who have more housing than they need yet also have difficulty meeting other basic needs - who are housing rich and income poor - may have the most incentive to adjust their housing conditions to augment their postretirement income. A test of a revised model of housing adjustment is presented that indicates that indeed, such households are more likely to undertake both moving and nonmoving adjustments than are other households. The findings are used to assess the likely effects of two types of public programs on the choice of housing adjustment mechanisms by older home owners.

In Baltimore City, the relative well-being of black and white families using Section 8 housing vouchers versus Section 8 housing certificates is compared. Logistic regression is used to examine whether the social and economic characteristics of a regional planning district play a significantly different role in the likelihood that a district will have voucher or certificate recipients. A second analysis examines the average monthly rent paid by blacks and whites for housing in the certificate and voucher programs. The results suggest that whites receive greater economic benefits in the voucher program than in the certificate program while blacks do not.

In the aftermath of reductions in federal housing assistance programs during the 1980s, many cities are experiencing severe shortages of affordable housing. It is particularly difficult for low income and minority households to find and maintain adequate, low-cost housing. This article describes how Los Angeles has responded to this need through implementation of a particular housing policy and financing strategy. It specifically examines what impacts this program has had in producing affordable housing in the city's low-income, minority neighborhoods. Recommendations for further public action on housing needs in Los Angeles are also offered.

This paper examines the current model of sheltered housing and explores a central contradiction in that model: namely that if only those people who most need and appreciate the unique features of sheltered housing were allocated places in schemes, the existing model ultimately could not provide sufficient support. This central contradiction leads to a fundamental lack of clarity in the role of sheltered housing. This is reflected in the ambiguities apparent in allocation practices, where judgements are typically made not only in relation to the tenants' needs and demands but also in relation to the impact on schemes. Evidence is presented from a recent study of sheltered and amenity housing in Scotland, which exposes these issues and suggestions are made as to how the traditional model of sheltered housing can be made more flexible and more suited to those who need and value it most.

A study on the attitudes of public housing residents reveals the general malaise plaguing the country's housing system. Majority of the respondents reported feelings of pessimism, low self-esteem, emotional depression, and decreased opportunities. They also expressed that their childhood hopes have been frustrated and that they seldom think about their future anymore. Given these obstacles, communications assistance can be crucial in assisting public housing residents deal with changes in the system. The shift of welfare responsibilities from the federal government to the states provides a new opportunity to influence the attitudes of these people. The states can be oriented towards helping residents by facilitating access to computer-accessible information and online services, which can help them gain self-sufficiency.