Welfare Reform on the Web (December 2003): Social Housing - Overseas

THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS ON NEIGHBOURHOOD HOUSING MARKETS: MODELLING APPRECIATION

B.C. Smith

Urban Affairs Review, Vol. 39, 2003, p. 181-204

The article examines whether community development corporations (CDCs) have a positive impact on residential property values in deprived areas, using Centre Township, in the city of Indianapolis, Indiana, as a case study. Although the results of the study are positive, the author calls for further research so that the impact of CDC investment can be assessed on a larger scale.

USING HOUSING VOUCHERS TO MOVE TO THE SUBURBS: THE ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, EXPERIENCE

D. P. Varady and C. C. Walker

Urban Affairs Review, Vol. 39, 2003, p. 143-180

The article reviews the experiences of Section 8 housing voucher families in their moves from inner city communities to the suburbs and, more specifically, questions whether these families have more difficulty in finding suitable accommodation and are more likely to be dissatisfied with their search than families remaining in the city. The article covers all aspects of the housing search, from reasons for the move, the time spent searching and the preferred neighbourhood characteristics to problems with discrimination and access. It concludes that the housing mobility programmes have successfully increased locational choice and promoted economic self-sufficiency and that the vast majority of those moving to the suburbs were satisfied with the results of their housing search.