Vouchering out distressed subsidized developments: Does moving lead to improvements in housing and neighborhood conditions?

Abstract

When households receive Section 8 vouchers or rent certificates and moderate amounts of counseling, and have no program requirements dictating where they should move, how far will they go and how successful will the moves be? This article offers some answers to these questions by analyzing the experiences of households relocated from four distressed, privately owned subsidized developments in Baltimore; Newport News, VA; Kansas City, MO; and San Francisco.Although many of the residents chose to remain in the same area, most of them improved their situation by moving. However, the majority continued to live in racially segregated areas. The moderate relocation counseling that residents received had little impact on their housing search and on satisfaction with their new home. It may be unreasonable to expect households that are given certificates or vouchers to relocate to new or unfamiliar neighborhoods without support or without intensive counseling encouraging them to do so.

Struggling to stay out of high-poverty neighborhoods: housing choice and locations in moving to opportunity's first decade

“…Varady and Walker 2000). But our qualitative data point to a range of types: parents who prioritize proximity to loved ones or cherished institutions, such as a church; those who factor in such proximity but do not make it a priority when deciding where to live; and those who use vouchers to distance themselves from needy or risk-bearing relatives and friends.…”

Urban Restructuring, Displaced Households and Neighbourhood Change: Results from Three Dutch Cities

“…Second, neighbourhoods to which many displaced residents move are characterized by a large inexpensive housing stock (Bolt and Van Kempen 2010 ;Pendall 2000 ;Varady and Walker 2000 ;Hartung and Henig 1997 ) . The relatively unpopular dwellings that are listed for restructuring tend to be occupied by residents with a low income ) .…”

Rooms for Improvement: A Qualitative Metasynthesis of the Housing Choice Voucher Program

“…Some participants came voluntarily, having signed up for a mobility program (i.e., briggs, Popkin, & Goering, 2010;Pashup et al, 2005), and others were subjected to forced relocation (i.e., Popkin, 2000;Varady & Walker, 2000). Still others were randomly assigned to an experiment (Wood et al, 2008).…”

“…Studies provide less documentation of direct racial discrimination against voucher holders who are members of minority groups, relative to details about source of income discrimination. Some authors surmise that this is because prospective tenants do not conduct their housing searches in nonminority neighborhoods (Varady & Walker, 2000). Others suggest that discrimination against voucher holders may merely mask racial discrimination (Popkin & Cunningham, 2000).…”

“…Moreover, black and Hispanic participant families are significantly less likely than whites to move to lower poverty neighborhoods (basolo & nguyen, 2005;Clark, 2008;DeLuca, Garboden, & Rosenblatt, 2013;Galvez, 2010a;McClure, 2008;Varady & Walker, 2000). Research further suggests that supply issues are not driving where voucher recipients locate.…”