ABSTRACT
This chapter turns to the nation’s oldest federal housing subsidy program, public housing. It traces the historical evolution of public housing and discusses the origins of the program’s most critical problems, including concentrated poverty and social isolation, poor physical condition, and deficient management. It provides an overview of the existing stock of public housing and of households who live in public housing. The chapter reviews recent efforts to reform, rebuild, and preserve public housing, most notably the HOPE VI program for the revitalization of extremely distressed developments, and the subsequent Rental Assistance Demonstration program (RAD).
