When Affordable Housing Bypasses the Poor

When Affordable Housing Bypasses the Poor, Rachel M. Cohen, The American Prospect, May 19, 2016, available here

Amidst this housing policy landscape comes a provocative new report from the Institute of Metropolitan Opportunity (IMO), a research and advocacy organization associated with the University of Minnesota, which looks at what they call a new category of subsidized housing—one catering to whiter and comparatively more affluent people than the typical residents of affordable developments. IMO says that while many of these projects, which rely on federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), may advance public policy goals like historic preservation and economic development, they also worsen racial and economic segregation and likely violate fair housing laws. Coining these developments Politically Opportune Subsidized Housing—or “POSH”—IMO suggests that affordable housing development can create segregation not only within and between communities, but also within the subsidized housing system itself.

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