Reforms in law and policy to provide affordable housing solutions
Presentation Type
Abstract
Faculty Advisor
Thomas Loikith
Access Type
Event
Start Date
25-4-2025 1:30 PM
End Date
25-4-2025 2:29 PM
Description
America has a public housing crisis. Since the 1990s, no federal funds have been allocated to build new public housing, and the number of existing units has fallen. Federal housing programs administered by states are often inadequately funded, managed, and enforced. The lack of national public housing policy with meaningful enforcement mechanisms has resulted in a patchwork of programs and results. Further, economic policy exacerbates the housing crisis by making private home ownership unaffordable, thus increasing the need for public housing units. What should be done to address the lack of affordable public housing? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. From September 2024 through March 2025, I used qualitative research methodology (textual analysis) to analyze relevant sources from the disciplines of law, economics and governance. The sources included court opinions, articles from scholarly journals, and non-scholarly sources. I identified conflicting insights from each discipline, found common ground between insights and integrated them to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. That allows me to suggest solutions to the problem. I conclude that there needs to be a coordinated effort among the federal, state, and local governments to provide an adequate and reliable source of funding committed to restoring existing public housing and building new projects. Legislation must include provisions for stronger management and enforcement of public housing programs. All levels of government must consider the impact of economic policy on the need for existing and new public housing projects.
Reforms in law and policy to provide affordable housing solutions
America has a public housing crisis. Since the 1990s, no federal funds have been allocated to build new public housing, and the number of existing units has fallen. Federal housing programs administered by states are often inadequately funded, managed, and enforced. The lack of national public housing policy with meaningful enforcement mechanisms has resulted in a patchwork of programs and results. Further, economic policy exacerbates the housing crisis by making private home ownership unaffordable, thus increasing the need for public housing units. What should be done to address the lack of affordable public housing? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. From September 2024 through March 2025, I used qualitative research methodology (textual analysis) to analyze relevant sources from the disciplines of law, economics and governance. The sources included court opinions, articles from scholarly journals, and non-scholarly sources. I identified conflicting insights from each discipline, found common ground between insights and integrated them to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the problem. That allows me to suggest solutions to the problem. I conclude that there needs to be a coordinated effort among the federal, state, and local governments to provide an adequate and reliable source of funding committed to restoring existing public housing and building new projects. Legislation must include provisions for stronger management and enforcement of public housing programs. All levels of government must consider the impact of economic policy on the need for existing and new public housing projects.
Comments
Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.