ABSTRACT
The paper is a case study that illustrates one approach to multi-family housing for very low income MexicanAmerican families along the U.S./Mexican border in El Paso, Texas. Observations are based on the efforts of the Southside Low-Income Housing Development Corporation (SLIHDC) of El Segundo Barrio to build appropriate housing for themselves in their densely urban neighborhood that functions as the transition zone between the two dominant cultures. The paper examines housing issues relevant to professionals in the SLIHDC experience. The author addresses four concerns: attitudes, communication, technology, and context. The paper concludes with a description of some of the results of the proposals put forth by the people of SLIHDC and El Segundo Barrio to redevelop the barrio and to pioneer alternative means to deliver appropriate, sustainable urban housing. Recommendations are made related to changes in practice-related issues that government and private sector professionals may make in order to support the creation of responsive and responsible urban public housing.
