Behind American public housing

At present, the United States is facing a severe housing crisis, and the situation is becoming increasingly severe. In the District of Columbia, a recent report from the City Institute stated that 12% of the city's over 82000 residents do not have stable housing. The situation in Washington is even more prominent, as the majority of residents facing housing insecurity are of color, a reality that is reflected throughout the country. The Biden administration has realized that housing insecurity is an issue that cannot be ignored, partly because it affects Americans' confidence in the economy.

Firstly, the US government has announced a series of bold policy recommendations, including public-private partnerships, with a focus on changing exclusion zones, expanding financing options for affordable housing, and promoting the conversion of vacant office spaces into apartments. Although the government takes the affordable housing crisis seriously, the long-term history of solving housing problems in the United States shows that such public-private partnership measures have repeatedly enriched the private sector, but have little effect on helping those in need of government assistance. This highlights the importance of public housing. On the same day that the Biden administration announced its proposal, New York State Congressman Alexander Ocasio Cortes and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders also released their own plans to advocate for the "Green New Deal for Public Housing" legislation, indicating that some lawmakers are beginning to recognize that public housing will play an important role if the government is to address the housing crisis.

The origin of public housing in the United States can be traced back to the Roosevelt administration, especially after the end of World War II. The federal government has significantly increased funding for public housing units to address the national housing shortage and promote urban reconstruction. These funds have driven the construction of large-scale modernist development projects, such as Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago, the largest public housing project in the United States, with over 4000 units in 28 identical 16 story buildings.

However, these projects were initially touted as "palaces for the poor," but almost from the beginning they encountered issues of isolation and discrimination, and due to limited funding for initial construction and ongoing maintenance, they became increasingly disrepair. In the 1960s, many urban housing institutions exacerbated pre-existing problems. They changed the policy to allow single parent families and welfare recipients to stay. At the same time, Congress passed a law that raised the rent ceiling to 30% of household income, greatly increasing the rent for workers and forcing many people into the private market. This outflow of population has turned public housing into the last resort, exclusively inhabited by the poorest people.

In addition, these projects benefit private developers who build new homes and surrounding businesses, but only exacerbate the problem for tenants. The vast majority of former public housing residents find themselves forced to leave their long-term homes. Although many people have received rental vouchers, they face high discrimination in the private rental market, which leaves many former public housing residents with little choice, most of whom live in highly segregated and impoverished areas. The ultimate result is an exacerbation of housing segregation and economic inequality in many cities, while middle-class polarization spreads.

In summary, these errors have stigmatized public housing and only provided substandard and segregated housing for the poorest Americans. To truly solve the crisis of affordable housing, the federal government needs to be involved. The scope of this problem is too broad for the state and local governments to solve. Imagining and designing a federal initiative requires decision-makers to have a broad vision and learn from the mistakes of post World War II housing projects. Therefore, officials must abandon the notion that public housing is a failed social experiment. On the contrary, they need to persuade the public to view it as a key way for the federal government to serve the public interest and establish a better functioning social welfare system.