Patterns of Section 8 Relocation in the Hope vi Program

ABSTRACT:

In HUD’s HOPE VI program, deteriorated structures housing some of the poorest families in our society are being demolished and replaced by low-rise, mixed-income developments. Some of the most serious concerns about the program relate to how it is handling the relocation of original residents. This article is the first to look at the outcomes nationally. It uses data from a HUD information system, showing the spatial pattern of Section 8 recipients relocated from 73 HOPE VI developments in 48 cities through May 2000. The research finds that the majority of relocatees do move to neighborhoods that have lower poverty rates than those they left behind, although the impacts in reducing racial concentration have not been dramatic. Most relocatees tend to be spread across many different neighborhoods rather than being clustered in just a few, but significant clustering was found in a few neighborhoods in most cities.