Mixed-Income Public Housing and Neighborhood Change: An Analysis of the Department of Housing and Urban Development HOPE VI Program and Economic Spillover Effects

Abstract

Mixed-income public housing was heralded as a potential solution to the problems of previous housing approaches. Between 1992 and 2010, the United States federal government attempted to provide better living conditions and revitalize local communities through a mixed-income program known as HOPE VI. Much of the research on HOPE VI has focused on the outcomes of individual residents, but less is known about the relationship between the mixed-income housing program and the wider neighborhood. This study uses data from the 1990 and 2000 US Census to analyze changes in household income after the implementation of the HOPE VI program. Using a difference-in-differences approach, this study finds that the presence of a HOPE VI site is associated with a 22% increase in median household income for surrounding neighborhoods. Some critics have argued that mixed-income programs, and HOPE VI in particular, are a form of government-subsidized gentrification that may disadvantage existing residents. While certain neighborhood characteristics related to income and education improved over the decade, this study finds that underlying racial characteristics remained relatively consistent. Overall, this study provides a new nationwide analysis of the HOPE VI program and its early implementation, and the results indicate that the HOPE VI program was able to achieve some of its goals related to wider neighborhood change. Combined with prior studies on the impact of individual projects on existing residents, this study can assist policymakers as they design future housing programs and evaluate the best way to balance individual and community interests.