The Spatial Concentration of Subsidized Housing - Poverty & Race ...

primarily white while family projects were predominantly minority. “Patterns forspecific SMSA’s suggest that black-white segregation is very high and is determinedprimarily by the rate of black population growth (p. 1011).Studies of Public Housing Authorities (PHA’s) by Goering, Kamely and Richardson(1997) and Coulibaly, Green and James (1998) support this conclusion by identifyingPHA-level practices that segregated races at the building level within larger publichousing projects. Black projects were located in the lowest-income areas and whenprojects consisted of more than one race, they were segregated by building. Coulibalyet al (1998) in a study of public housing from 1932 to 1992 found consistent sitingpolicies and funding cutbacks in every era, with the net result that public housing by1992 was primarily located in central city neighborhoods that were highly segregatedby both race and income. The authors note that the earliest public housing (1932-41)was built in low-income areas where the land was cheap. Funding was provided fordemolition of existing units in low-income areas (slum clearance) and there was noeffort to deconcentrate by race or income. Segregation index scores were at theirmaximum. Individual buildings (within projects) were completely segregated.Temporary housing during the war was constructed in locations near war industriesand transportation but units were demolished after the war if they were located in nonlow-incomeareas. Over 80 percent of urban renewal units (1953-60) were located inlow-income areas. The index score was lower because some public housing wasconstructed for white elderly in suburban areas. Data limitations in 1977 and 199212