Public Housing in The United States - Legacy

Legacy

In its earliest decades, public housing residents tended to be more working class and middle class in keeping with the view of many 'housers' that public housing should cover the majority of Americans and with more selective screening processes. As time passed, however, public housing became the option of last resort. Gradually, the construction quality of public housing decreased in order to reduce costs, diminishing the interest middle-income families had in living in such units. Additionally, with more limited funds available for housing, income ceilings were lowered to insure that finite resources went first to those who needed it most. The result were poorer and poorer households living in lower quality units.

Other broader social trends played into a general deterioration of public housing. With the growth of the automobile and easy access to greenfield development outside the urban core, new, affordable suburbs attracted working and middle class residents, in a process called urban sprawl.