Low-Income Housing Policy in the United States

Synonyms

Affordable housing; Public housing; Social housing

Definition

Low-income housing policies are those that focus on providing decent housing or housing assistance, regardless of renter- or owner-occupied housing, to low-income individuals or families who are not able to afford market-rate housing. Low-income housing policies vary in different countries and remain as one of the most challenging public policies.

Introduction

Modern housing policies in the United States date back to the birth of contemporary urban planning, roughly around the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. There were earlier attempts to reform the living conditions of the poor; however, the 1901 New York State Tenement House Act formally and officially improved the design of tenement buildings to make them more sanitary and environmentally healthier (e.g., by adding natural sun light to apartments and improving the sewage systems). In the late 1920s and early 1930s, during...