Public housing in the United States and Canada

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In the United States and Canada, public housing is usually a block of purpose-built housing operated by a government agency, often simply referred to as "projects."

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, government involvement in housing for the poor was chiefly in the area of requiring new buildings to meet certain standards - like having airshafts - for decent livability.

Most housing communities developed from the 1930s onward under the auspices of the housing division of the Public Works Administration and, after 1937, the United States Housing Authority created by the Wagner-Steagall Housing Act. Most of the initial public housing could be considered slum clearance; there wasn't a national initiative in place to build housing for the poor and so the number of units didn't increase. This helped ease the concerns of a health-conscious public by eliminating or altering neighborhoods commonly considered dangerous, and reflected progressive-era sanitation initiatives. However, the advent of make-shift tent communities during the Great Depression caused concern in the Administration. Franklin Delano Roosevelt wrote in 1938, "Today, we are launching an attack on the slums of this country."

A housing project in Asheville, North Carolina
A housing project in Asheville, North Carolina

Public housing in its earliest decades was usually much more working-class and middle-class and white than it was by the 1960s and after. Many Americans associate large, multi-story towers with public housing, but early projects, like the Ida B. Wells projects in Chicago, were actually low-rise, though Le Corbusier superblocks caught on before World War II, as seen in the (union built) Penn South houses in New York.

What Kenneth T. Jackson and other historians have called the "ghettofication" of public housing occurred for several reasons. One reason was the general weakening of the urban working classes. By the late 1950s the reservoir of needy working class urban dwellers was simply smaller than it had been previously.

Other reasons for the ghettofication of public housing can be attributed to broad public policy decisions. Federal law required that no person could pay more than a quarter of his or her income for rent in public housing. Since middle class people would pay as much, or more, for rent in public housing as they would in superior private housing, middle class people had no incentive to live in public housing at all. Another public policy factor that led to the decline in public housing was that, in general, city housing agencies ceased to screen tenants (New York City was an exception). In the 1940s, some public housing agencies, such as Chicago's under Elizabeth Wood, would only accept married tenants and gave special benefits to war veterans.

Public housing was only built with the blessing of the local government. Hence, unlike France, projects were almost never built on suburban greenfields. Usually projects were built in older neighborhoods, whose old housing was demolished to make way for them. The destruction of tenements and eviction of their low-income residents consistently created problems in nearby neighborhoods with "soft" real estate markets.

The destruction of deteriorating buildings to make room for public housing often created problems in adjacent neighborhoods. An excellent example of this phenomenon can be found in Brooklyn. When blocks of slums in the Brownsville district were cleared to make room for public housing in the 1950s, thousands of displaced families moved into the neighboring district of East New York, which at that time was a predominantly white, middle-class area with a stable economy. The sudden influx of large, lower-income black and Hispanic families from Brownsville strained the physical and social services of the community. A mass exodus of the white population began (see white flight). Within six years a healthy community became one of the most decayed and dangerous neighborhoods in the United States. A similar situation occurred when Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania attempted to tear down public housing in the Polish Hill area to make way for a Civic Arena. (Crabgrass Frontier, 229)

Houses, apartments or other residential units are usually subsidized on a rent-geared-to-income (RGI) basis. Some communities have now embraced a mixed income, with both assisted and market rents, when allocating homes as they become available. The use of Low Income Housing Tax Credits have been used to create mixed income units.

In recent years, many such projects have been torn down, renovated or replaced after criticism that the concentration of poverty in economically depressed areas, inadequate management of the buildings, and government indifference have contributed to increased crime. U.S. public housing continues to have a reputation for violence, drug use, and prostitution, leading to the passage, in 1996, of a federal "one strike you're out" law, calling for the eviction of project tenants whose housing units are the scene of certain types of criminal activity, especially that which is drug-related.

According to the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, the largest providers of North American public housing are the housing authorities of:

  • New York City, 181,581 units
  • Toronto, 58,000 units
  • Puerto Rico, 56,000 units
  • Chicago, 34,000 units
  • Philadelphia, 16,000 units
  • Dallas,15,690 units
  • Baltimore, 14,000 units

In reaction to the problems surrounding public housing, the US Congress passed legislation enacting the Section 8 Housing Program in 1974, which Richard Nixon signed into law, to encourage the private sector to construct affordable homes. This kind of housing assistance assists poor tenants by giving a monthly subsidy to their landlords. This assistance can be 'project based,' which applies to specific properties, or 'tenant based,' which provides tenants with a voucher they can use anywhere vouchers are accepted. Virtually no new project based Section 8 housing has been produced since 1983. Effective October 1, 1999, existing tenant based voucher programs were merged into the Housing Choice Voucher Program, which is today the primary means of providing subsidies to low income renters. The George W. Bush Administration has recently proposed controversial changes to the Housing Choice Voucher Program.

Contents

[edit] Some United States public housing developments

[edit] Alabama

  • Birmingham
    • Smithfield Courts
    • Cooper-Green
    • Marks Village
    • Tuxedo Courts (Ensley)
    • Collegeville Homes
    • Morton Simpson Homes
    • Tom Brown Village
    • Kimbrough Homes
    • North Birmingham Homes
    • Metropolitan Gardens
    • Freedom Homes
    • Harris Homes
    • Loveman Village
    • Elyton Village

[edit] California

Oakland

Acorn Housing Project
Echo Creek

San Francisco

Hunters Point
Sunndayle 
Double Rock
Potrero Hill
Uptown Projects 
Valencia Gardens

[edit] Connecticut

  • Bridgeport
    • Charles F. Greene Homes
    • Fireside Apartments
    • Harborview Towers
    • Marina Village
    • PT Barnum
    • Trumbull Gardens
  • New Haven
    • Brookside-Rockview
    • Eastview
    • Essex
    • Farnam Courts
    • McConaughy Terrace
    • Monterey Place
    • Valley Townhouses
    • Waverly Townhouses
    • Westville Manor
  • Hartford
    • Betty Knox Apartments
    • Charter Oak Terrace
    • Chester Bowles Park
    • Kent Apartments
    • Mary Mahoney Village
    • Mary Shepard Place
    • Nelton Court
    • Smith Tower
    • Stowe Village
    • Westbrook Village

[edit] Florida

[edit] Georgia

  • Atlanta
    • Techwood Homes One of the first projects in the nation. Located in downtown Atlanta south of the campus of Georgia Tech. Torn down for Olympics and turned into Centennial Place (a HOPE VI project)
    • Bankhead Courts
    • Bowen Homes
    • University Homes
    • Hollywood Courts
    • Thomasville Heights
    • Herndon Homes
    • Jonesboro South
    • Jonesboro North(Demolished)
    • Grady Homes(Demolished)
    • Harris Homes(Now redeveloped into College Town)
    • Capital Homes(Now being redeveloped into Capital Gateway)
    • John Hope Homes(Now redeveloped into Villages at Castleberry Hill)
    • Caver Homes(Now redeveloped into Villages at Carver)
    • Kimberly Courts(Now redeveloped into Ashley Courts)
    • Herman E. Perry Homes(Now redeveloped into West Highlands)

[edit] Illinois

  • Chicago (Chicago Housing Authority)
    • Robert Taylor Homes once the largest public housing development in the world - 28 buildings of 16 stories each, housed about 20,000 people. The Robert Taylor Homes have virtually all been closed and a large majority torn down, due to the implementation of the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation.
    • Cabrini-Green
    • Ida B. Wells Housing Project - named after Ida B. Wells
    • ABLA
    • Atlgeld Gardens of Riverdale
    • Stateway Gardens (demolished)

[edit] Indiana

[edit] Kentucky

    • Beecher Terrace
    • Cotter Homes
    • Iroquois Homes
    • Lang Homes
    • Liberty Green
    • Park Duvalle
    • Parkway Place
    • Sheppard Square

[edit] Louisiana

[edit] Maryland

[edit] Massachusetts

  • Boston
    • Old Colony South Boston
    • Orchard Gardens (formerly Orchard Park) Roxbury
    • Heath Street Roxbury
    • Mission Hill, Roxbury
    • Academy Roxbury
    • Lenox Street Roxbury
    • Whittier Street Roxbury
    • Franklin Hill Dorchester
    • Franklin Field Dorchester
    • Archdale Roslindale
    • Cathedral South End
  • Somerville, Massachusetts
    • Mystic Projects
    • Clarendon Hill Projects
    • Clarendon Hill Towers
    • North Street Projects

[edit] Michigan

[edit] Missouri

[edit] New Jersey

  • Newark
    • Christopher Columbus Homes
    • Hayes Homes
    • Kretchmer Homes
    • Mechanic Street
    • Brick Towers
  • Trenton, New Jersey
    • Samuel Haverstick Homes
    • Donnelly-Page Homes
    • Charles Miller Homes
    • Prospect Village
    • Lincoln Homes
    • Woodrow Wilson Homes
    • Roger Garden Homes

[edit] New York

  • Buffalo
  • New York City
    • Bland Houses Queens
    • Borinquen Houses Brooklyn
    • Boulevard Houses Brooklyn
    • Breukelen Houses Brooklyn
    • Bushwick Houses Brooklyn
    • Butler Houses Bronx
    • Coney Island Houses Brooklyn
    • Cypress Hills Houses Brooklyn
    • Edgemere Houses Queens
    • Gowanus Houses Brooklyn
    • Harlem River Houses Manhattan
    • High Bridge Houses Bronx
    • Hylan Houses Brooklyn
    • Ingersoll-Whitman Houses Brooklyn
    • Lillian Wald Houses Manhattan
    • Linden Houses Brooklyn
    • Marcy Houses Brooklyn
    • Marlboro Houses Brooklyn
    • Melrose Houses Bronx
    • Millbrook Houses Bronx
    • Nostrand Houses Brooklyn
    • Patterson Houses Bronx
    • Pink Houses Brooklyn
    • Queensbridge Houses Queens - largest public housing unit in New York
    • Ravenswood Houses Queens
    • Red Hook Houses Brooklyn
    • Redfern Houses Queens
    • Sheepshead Bay Houses Brooklyn
    • Soundview Houses Bronx
    • St. Nicholas Houses Manhattan
    • Stapleton Houses Staten Island
    • Taft Houses Manhattan
    • Van Dyke Houses Brooklyn
    • Wagner Houses Manhattan
    • Wyckoff Gardens Brooklyn
    • John Haynes Holmes Towers Manhattan

[edit] Ohio

  • Akron
    • Elizibeth Park
    • Joy Park
  • Cincinnati
    • Laurel Homes
  • Columbus
    • Bollinger Tower
    • Canonby Court
    • Eastmoor Square
    • City View Homes
    • Glenview Estates
    • Greenbriar(Uzi Alley)
    • Indian Meadows
    • Jenkins Terrace
    • Kenmore Square
    • Lincoln Park
    • Maple Glenn
    • Nazareth Towers
    • Poindexter Village
    • Post Oak Station
    • Reeb Hosack
    • Riverside-Bradley Homes
    • Rosewind
    • Sawyer Manor
    • Sawyer Towers
    • Sunshine Annex
    • Sunshine Terrace
    • Thornwood Commons
    • Trevitt Heights
    • Windsor Terrace
    • Worley Terrace

[edit] Pennsylvania

  • Johnstown
    • Oakhurst Homes
  • Pittsburgh
    • Northview Heights Northview
    • St. Clair Village Beltzhoover
    • Allegheny Dwellings North Side
    • Garfield Heights Garfield
    • Addison Terrace Hill District
    • Hamilton-Larimer East Liberty
    • Glen Hazel Hazelwood
    • Homewood North Homewood
    • Bedford Dwellings Hill District
    • Broadhead Manor Hill District (demolished)
    • Arlington Heights Arlington

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh built some of the first public housing in the United States. It is being transformed by the HOPE VI program throughout the City. A report released on September 13, 2005 by the Brookings Institution (www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/PittsburghCaseStudy.pdf)has deemed the HOPE VI program in the Manchester neighborhood of Pittsburgh a success in transforming the public housing there as well as being a catalyst for revitalizing the entire neighborhood.

  • Philadelphia
    • Passyunk Homes South Philadelphia (vacant)
    • Tasker Homes South Philadelphia
    • Richard Allen Homes North Philadelphia (demolished)
    • Blumberg Homes North Philadelphia
    • James W. Johnson Homes North Philadelphia
    • Riverview Courts South Philadelphia
    • Bartram Village Homes Southwest Philadelphia
    • Norris Homes North Philadelphia
    • Martin Luther King Homes South Philadelphia (demolished)
    • Hill Creek Homes Northeast Philadelphia
    • 8 Diamonds (AME) North Philadelphia
    • Abbottsford Homes North Philadelphia
    • Cambridge Homes North Philadelphia
    • Richard Allen II North Philadelphia
    • Cecil B. Moore Homes North Philadelphia
    • Champlost Homes Germantown
    • Haverford Homes West Philadelphia
    • Lucien E. Blackwell Homes West Philadelphia
    • Oxford Village Homes Northeast Philadelphia
    • Sen. Herbert Arlene Homes North Philadelphia
    • Spring Garden Homes North Philadelphia
    • Westpark Homes West Philadelphia
    • Harrison Homes North Philadelphia
    • Fairhill Homes North Philadelphia
    • Arch Homes West Philadelphia
    • Queen Lane Homes Germantown
    • Raymond Rosen Homes North Philadelphia (demolished)
    • Mantua Hall Homes West Philadelphia
    • Haddington Homes West Philadelphia
    • Falls Ridge Homes East Falls
    • Wilson Park Homes South Philadelphia
    • Paschall Homes Southwest Philadelphia
    • Liddonfield Homes Northeast Philadelphia

[edit] Puerto Rico

See Public housing in Puerto Rico

Valle Verde Housing


Aponte

Augustin Stahl(Sanford)

Cuesta Vieja

Ducos

Las Munecas

Montana

Munkeai Apartments I

Muneaki Apartments II

Puerta del Sol

Villa Nueva

  • Bayamon and Guaynabo Areas

Alhambra

Bella Vista Heights

Brisas de Bayamón

Jardines de Caparra

Jardines de Guaynabo

José C. Barbosa

La Alegría Norte Apartments

La Rosaleda

Las Gardenias

Los Álamos

Los Dominicos

Los Laureles

Magnolia Gardens

Rafael Martínez Nadal

Rafael Torrech

Sierra Linda

Villas de Mabó

Virgilio Dávila

Virgilia Dávila

Zenón Díaz Valcárcel

Casa Castañer

  • Las Marias

Las Guajanas Elderly Center

Moca Housing

Mariví Apartments

Égida del Policía (Police Officers Elderly Center)

Las Américas Housing

Llana-Laura Towers

Roberto Lopez Nussa

Aristidez Chavier

El Monte

Valle Alto

Independent Living Complex

  • San Juan Metro Area

Juan Cesar Cordero Dávila

Covadonga

Égida de Enfermeras (Nurses Elderly Center)

Égida del Policía (Police Officers Elderly Center)

El Trébol

El Prado

Ernesto Ramos Antonini

Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas

Jardines de Berwind

Jardines de Campo Rico

Jardines de Country Club

Jardines de Guayama

Jardines de Monte Hatillo

Jardines de la Nueva Puerta de San Juan

Jardines de Sellés

La Orquídea

La Rosa

Las Dalias

Las Margaritas

Leopoldo Figueroa

Lopez Sicardo

Los Peña

Luis Lloréns Torres (largest single housing project in Puerto Rico)

Manuel A. Pérez (3 projects, largest public housing complex in Puerto Rico)

Monte Park

Quintana

San Antonio

San Jose

San Martín

Valles de Berwind

Villa Olímpica

Villa Soigal Apartments


[edit] Texas

  • Austin
    • Santa Rita Courts (the nation's first public housing built under the 1937 U.S. Housing Act
    • Rosewood Courts (built for African-Americans)
    • Chalmers Courts (built for Whites)
  • Dallas
    • Audelia Manor
    • Brooks Manor
    • Barbara Jordan Square
    • Carroll Homes
    • Brackins Village
    • Cedar Glen
    • Cedar Springs Place
    • Elmer Scott Place
    • Cliff Manor
    • Estell Village
    • Connor/Military
    • Forest Green Manor
    • Frankford Homes
    • Frazier Courts
    • The Hamptoms
    • Kingbridge Crossing
    • Lakeland Manor
    • Lakeview Homes
    • Lakeview Village
    • Larimore Lane
    • Little Mexico Village
    • Monarch Homes
    • Oakland Apartments
    • Park Manor
    • Pebbles Apartments
    • Roseland Gardens
    • Roseland Homes
    • Simpson Place
    • Town Park Apartments
    • Turner Courts
  • Houston [1]
    • Public housing
      • Clayton Homes
      • Cuney Homes
      • Ewing Apartments
      • Forest Green Townhomes
      • Irvington Place
      • Kelly Village
      • Lincoln Park
      • Long Drive Townhomes
      • Wilmington House
      • Scattered Sites
    • Tax Credit Mixed-income housing
      • Kennedy Place
      • Historic Rental Initiative
      • Oxford Place
      • Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway
      • Victory Apartments
      • Heatherbrook

[edit] Washington

[edit] Washington, DC

  • Arthur Capper Homes
  • Edgewood Terrace
  • Montana Terrace
  • Potomac Gardens
  • Sursum Corda

[edit] Canadian public housing projects

[edit] British Columbia

  • Vancouver
    • Stamps Place (Raymur Place)
    • MacLean Park
    • Skeena Terrace

[edit] Manitoba

[edit] Nova Scotia

In more recent decades MRHA, the metro housing authority, has built smaller developments integrated into existing neighbourhoods. These are, individually, not notable enough to be included in this list.

  • Halifax R.M.
    • Bayers Park (Romans/Federal Ave)
    • Creighton/Gerrish/Gottingen Streets (various)
    • Greystone Housing Complex (Spryfield)
    • Macdonald Bridge area (various, Dartmouth-side)
    • Mulgrave Park
    • North Dartmouth (various)
    • Sir John Thompson Manor
    • The Hydrostone (Originally administered by the Halifax Relief Commission. Now privately owned.)
    • Uniacke Square

[edit] Ontario

[edit] Quebec

  • Montreal
    • Habitations Jeanne Mance
    • Habitation Richmond

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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