... AND A SUITABLE LIVING ENVIRONMENT - THE FAILURE OF HOUSING PROGRAMS TO DELIVER ON NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY

This article evaluates the relative performance of housing programs in terms of neighborhood quality. We profile neighborhood characteristic s surrounding assisted housing units and assess the direction of assis ted housing policy in light of this information. The analysis relies o n a housing census database we developed that identifies the type and census tract location of assisted housing units-that is, public housin g, developments assisted under the Department of Housing and Urban Dev elopment, the Section 515 Rural Rental Housing Direct Loan Program, th e low-income housing tax credit, certificates and vouchers, and state rental assistance programs. We conclude that project-based assistance programs do little to improve the quality of recipients' neighborhoods relative to those of welfare households and, in the case of public ho using, appear to make things significantly worse. The certificate and voucher programs, however, appear to reduce the probability that famil ies will live in the most economically and socially distressed areas.