The Atlanta and Chicago housing authorities used federal HOPE VI grants to undertake ambitious plans to demolish their worst public housing developments and replace them with mixed-income communities. In the process, they relocated thousands of households to new neighborhoods.
The relocation has generated a variety of concerns, with affordable-housing advocates focused on how former public housing residents have fared and some local politicians and press accounts questioning whether relocated families have brought crime and disorder to their new communities. The Urban Institute and Emory University are releasing a study exploring the relationship between public housing transformation and crime. Panelists will discuss the findings, relocation strategies, and public safety.
Agenda
Welcoming remarks: Sarah Rosen Wartell, Urban Institute president
Panelists:
- Renee Glover, CEO, Atlanta Housing Authority
- Sandra Henriquez, assistant secretary for public and Indian housing, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Susan Popkin, senior fellow and director, Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development, Urban Institute
- Michael Rich, associate professor of political science and director of the Office of University–Community Partnerships, Emory University
- Margery Turner, vice president for research, Urban Institute (moderator)
- Charles Woodyard, CEO, Chicago Housing Authority