Essay on Housing and Urban Development (Hud)

Political forces, which are controlled by the government, can majorly influence and change the way people live their life. From the Federal Housing Administration, which enabled citizens to become homeowners by underwriting mortgages, to the Interstate Highway Act, that change the route of expressways, political forces can dramatically change the way a city runs and functions. Wilson (2011) states, “In short, public housing became a federally funded institution that isolated families by race and class, resulting in high concentrations of poor black families in inner-city ghettos” (pg. 14). Wilson describes political forces as

One of the most prevalent forms of discrimination is through housing. While modern discrimination is typically difficult to figure out the exact intentions of the person accused of discrimination, such as a boss not choosing a minority to fill a management role, discrimination in housing has continued to be more obvious. The reason why housing is so important is because where a person lives dictates the school the resident’s children go to, the infrastructure such as hospitals, parks and libraries, and also availability of employment. Many of the housing inequalities have been caused by the Federal government such as the national appraisal system and subsidizing suburban areas, and not enforcing abolishing restricted covenants.

For the past fifty years the shift from meeting the housing needs of the poor through government projects-based housing to a more individual approach, has been slowly implemented. Housing vouchers now enable underprivileged populations to move from high-poverty, segregated neighborhoods to more un-segregated, low-poverty neighborhoods. Low-poverty neighborhoods have less crime, better opportunities for employment, and more diverse schooling options. Some housing advocates however, contend that housing assistance is unnecessary and is an income subsidy that should be combined with other social safety nets (Clark, W. 2008).

The U.S. government provides housing assistance to low-income families and individuals through different programs, two of them are: Section 8 tenant-based subsidies (also called Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program); and Section 8 project-based assistance, under which property owners receive government subsidies to decrease rents (Carlson). The

In 1934, Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to assist citizens with their housing needs. According to “Department of Housing and Urban Development” on Allgov.com, “In July 1947, the Housing and Home Finance Agency was established to help people buy homes following World War II. Two years later, the Housing Act of 1949 was enacted to help eradicate slums and promote redevelopment in urban areas.” The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act began with the Housing Act of 1949. According to The Department of Housing and Urban Development written by John B. Willmann, “The Act of 1949 added new prestige to the Housing and Home Finance Agency by authorizing broader public housing activity.” The Housing Act of 1949 also promoted urban redevelopment and research on housing and development problems.

Public housing is another program that helps to provide a roof over a family’s heads for reduced costs. Rent in some places can be quite high and a family of four may find it hard even to afford a small 3 bedroom house without breaking their pockets.

The Public Policy Institute states that Section 8 project-based rental assistance contracts involving HUD and for-profit owners contracting private multifamily housing, which is made available by HUD to low-income households who qualify for housing assistance. The subsidy is such that pays the difference "between 30 percent of the household's income and the contract rent; the subsidy is paid by HUD to the landlord." (AARP Public Policy Institute, 2002) In addition, HUD has Dispersal programs for renters of Section 8 housing due to the desire of the public to avoid to concentration of poverty-level residents in urban areas. This is because there is a general consensus that Section 8 subsidized housing tends to drive down the market prices of property in the same area. There are various challenges that are faced by the Section 8 subsidized housing program as it assists low-income households obtain appropriate housing through the provision of rental assistance.

The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is the “largest public housing authority in the nation” (Developments, 2015). In existence since 1934 (About NYCHA: NYCHA at 70, 2015), NYCHA is a low to moderate income public housing initiative consisting of 328 developments throughout all five boroughs of New York City. More than 400,000 residents benefit from these developments through the receipt of not only apartments but additional services provided by each development and New York City overall. Over recent years the NYCHA developments have been experiencing a reduction in government funding, forcing the organization to re-evaluate strategies addressing maintenance of old buildings (About NYCHA, 2015).

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a United States federal department that administers programs dealing with better housing and urban renewal since 1965. HUD issued a draft to change the

The chapter of this book takes us on a tour of our government and housing policies through the twentieth century and how they affected our lives. The first time the American government started intervening with housing was in 1918 when Congress gave 110 million for two programs for housing war workers. Some people, like Senator William Calder of New York, felt that the government was not made to build houses and saw early housing acts like these as opposite to what the government should be doing with it 's power. Despite these feelings

At one time, public housing had been thought of as a solution for inner city poverty, isolation, and as a basic human necessity for less well-off people (Riis 1890; Marcuse 1986b (1978); Stegman 1990). It was believed by most advocates, that good housing was humane and necessary to the well-being of all people and would greatly improve the quality of life of the people who lived in slums. They envisioned public housing as a way of fulfilling part of the states responsibility to ensure that decent, affordable housing was available for all residents of the U.S. The first national

Continually ever changing and pushing forward to help millions of people who cannot afford basic essential needs without it. For example, Welfare provides food stamps to people who are struggling with ways to supply and place food on the table every day for themselves along with their families. During hard times, food stamps, become a very much needed basic staple that allows access to nutritious food and everyday living must haves. With food stamps, one can provide food for their family while using other income to help pay for things such as rent, other common living expenses, and bills. Welfare allows a section of society the opportunity to provide for their families and maintain a basic lifestyle and a decent opportunity to succeed in the standardized sub culture today. Another branch or aid that Welfare has in place is Section 8 or subsidized housing. Section 8 is an affordable housing act that has helped house roughly 4.8 million people individuals who have a low income and may struggle financially. Section 8 provides families with the most basic fundament living aspects, this being a safe and affordable housing structure to protect and provide shelter for the family unit. Those who are on Welfare are required to apply for jobs and show proof of doing so if they are currently unemployed. Programs are set in place to assist an individual in their

Affordable housing in the United States describes sheltering units with well-adjusted housing costs for those living on an average, median income. The phrase usually implies to applied rental or purchaser housing within the financial means of lower-income ranges specific to the demographics of any given area. However, affordable housing does not include those living in social housing owned by government and non-profit organizations. More specifically, the targeted range for housing affordability sets below 30 percent of a household's annual income, including all applicable taxes, utility costs and home owners insurance rates. If the mean income per household breaches the 30 percent mark, then the agreed status becomes labeled as

New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) was created in 1934 to plan slum rehab. NYCHA was jointly working with national government to designate areas for public housing development. The theme for public housing was to have less land coverage, certain park and outdoor space, and to break the grid. There were some problems with NYCHA’s plan. The locations of the developments were not ideal. A physical concentration of poverty existed in most of NYCHA’s development areas. Racial segregation and discrimination permeated throughout the area. Furthermore, absence of retail activities made these properties inconvenient for the residents, also resulting in a lack of community atmosphere. (Lecture,

Those who rent from private landlords do not only tend to, on average, pay almost double the rent of a person living within social housing but also are twice as likely to live in a residence the Government would class as a “non-decent home”, a residence in disrepair and one that does not meet health and safety standards (Jonathan Owen, 2014). The undisputable growth of private renting sector is not limited to England but is also noticeable in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In wales the private rental sector represents 14% of total housing, the private rental sector in Scotland has doubled over the last ten years as more than three hundred thousand properties have been sold and in Northern Ireland private landlords own more properties than councils and housing associations combined according to national figures provided in 214 (Jonathan Owen, 2014).