An Improved Living Environment? Housing Quality Outcomes for HOPE VI Relocatees

Brief #2 from the series "Metropolitan Housing and Communities: A Roof Over Their Heads"

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A principal objective of the HOPE VI program is to improve the living environment for residents of the most severely distressed public housing (see page 7). Substandard conditions in public housing significantly affect residents' daily lives, exposing them to such hazards as lead paint, mold, inadequate heat, and infestations of cockroaches and other vermin. Living in substandard housing can have serious repercussions for residents' health (especially children), such as an increased incidence of asthma.¹

Because housing quality is important for residents' well-being, we asked HOPE VI Panel Study respondents in our 2001 baseline survey a series of detailed questions about various housing problems, similar to questions in the national American Housing Survey.² Our findings clearly indicated these developments were in extremely poor condition. Respondents at all five sites reported numerous pressing problems with their housing—more than those reported by other poor renters nationwide. About one-third of the respondents at the baseline survey reported having three or more housing problems such as water leaks, peeling paint or plaster, or a unit that was uncomfortably cold for more than 24 hours because of a broken heater.

Notes from this section

1. For more information, see Susan J. Popkin et al., HOPE VI Panel Study: Baseline Report (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2002).

2. We asked respondents if they experienced the following eight housing problems: whether their unit had been uncomfortably cold for more than 24 hours during the past winter because of a broken heating system; if there was any area of peeling paint or broken plaster bigger than 8 inches by 11 inches in the house/apartment; if their toilet had not worked in the past three months; if they had water leaks in the past three months; if the house/apartment was infested with rats or mice; if they had an exposed radiator without a cover; if the house/apartment was infested with cockroaches; and if the house/apartment had significant problems with mold on walls or ceilings. The first two problems are worded exactly the same as the AHS survey and the following two problems (water leaks and toilets) are similarly worded to the AHS survey. The degree of severity concerning the rat and mice problem differs from the AHS survey, and the remaining three questions are not found in the AHS 2001 survey.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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