Since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, American housing policy has focused on building homes for the poor. But seventy-five years of federal housing projects have not significantly ameliorated crime, decreased unemployment, or improved health; recent reforms have failed to revitalize low-income neighborhoods or stimulate the economy. To be successful in the twenty-first century, American housing policy must stop reinventing failed programs. Housing Policy at a Crossroads: The Why, How, and Who of Assistance Programs provides a comprehensive survey of past low-income housing programs, including public and subsidized housing, tax credits for developers, and block grants for state and local governments. John C. Weicher's comparative analysis of these programs yields several key conclusions: Affordability, not quality, is the most pressing challenge for housing policy today; of all the housing programs, vouchers have provided the most choice for the poor at the lowest cost to the taxpayer; because vouchers are much less expensive than public or subsidized housing, future subsidized projects would be an inefficient use of resources; vouchers should be offered only to the poorest members of society, ensuring that aid is available to those who need it most. At once a history of housing policy, a guide to issues confronting policymakers, and a case for vouchers as the cheapest, most effective solution, Housing Policy at a Crossroads is a timely warning that reinventing failed building programs would be a very costly wrong turn for America.

Contents
List of Tables xi
Preface xv
Introduction 1
1. Housing Assistance and the Problems of Poverty 4
Subsidized Housing as Social Welfare Policy 4
The Logic of the Rationale 6
Subsequent Evidence 9
Secretary Kemp¿s ¿New War on Poverty¿ 13
Subsidized Housing as Community Development 14
Subsidized Housing as Macroeconomic Stimulus 17
The Remaining Rationale 20
2. Housing Conditions and Problems 22
The National Housing Goal 22
Affordability 23
Quality 26
The Housing Situation of Lower-Income Renters 27
Priority Problems by Household Category 31
Trends in Housing Conditions 36
Long-Term Trends in Housing Quality 38
Why Has Housing Quality Improved? 44
The Trend in Rent Burdens 47
Conclusion 53
Exhibit 2-1: Income Categories Used in Federal Housing
Programs 54
Exhibit 2-2: Definitions of Inadequate Housing 55
vii
Weicher.indb 7 9/15/12 6:58 PM
viii Housing Polic y at a Crossroads
3. Housing Assistance Programs: Taxonomy and History 56
Public Housing 57
Privately Owned Projects 61
Tenant-Based Assistance: Section 8 Existing Housing 79
Housing Block Grants: The HOME Program 83
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 88
The Housing Trust Fund 92
What¿s Wrong with the Programs? 96
Conclusion 99
4. Program Activity and Costs in the Aggregate 101
Budgetary Cost Concepts and Basic Financing Practices 101
How Much and How Many? Dollars and Housing Units 104
Conceptual Confusions 117
Appendix to Chapter 4: HUD Funding for Rental
Housing Assistance 119
HUD Budget Authority and Outlays 119
Public Housing Modernization 122
Incremental Units 122
The Total Stock of Assisted Units 123
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 124
5. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Comparisons 127
Limitations of the Literature 128
¿A Decent Home¿: Housing Quality 130
HOPE VI: A Special Situation 143
Affordability and Rent Burden 145
Subsidy Utilization and Program Participation 151
Demographics of Program Participation 155
Housing Market Effects 159
Conclusion 165
6. The Voucher/Production Debate: Neighborhood Issues 167
¿A Suitable Living Environment¿:
Where Assisted Households Live 167
Neighborhood Revitalization and Preservation 178
House Prices 185
Racial Integration 188
Weicher.indb 8 9/15/12 6:58 PM
CONTENTS ix
Economic Opportunity 194
Health 199
Crime 201
Conclusion 202
7. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Costs 205
The GAO Cost Comparisons 206
Cost Comparisons between Vouchers and the
Older Project-Based Programs 212
Current Cost Estimates and Comparisons 214
The Ongoing Cost of Providing Housing Assistance 222
Conclusion 225
8. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Efficiency 226
The Concept of Program Efficiency 226
Production Efficiency 228
Consumption Efficiency 233
Overall Program Efficiency 236
Conclusion 240
9. Is There Enough Housing? 241
¿Enough Housing¿ for What? 242
Using the Voucher to Address Housing Needs 243
The Voucher and Local Markets 246
Conclusion 250
The Comparability of Housing Outcomes 250
The Lower Cost of Vouchers 251
Reviving the Rationales for Production Programs 253
Emerging Trends in Housing Policy 253
Summing Up and Looking Ahead 257
Notes 259
References 309
About the Author 327
Weicher.