HUD recently announced Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle as the cities to receive the first grants under the new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative which aims to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable mixed-income communities. These grants are meant to build upon the successes of HOPE VI which provided support for the rehabilitation and preservation of public and HUD-assisted housing in order to better approach concentrated poverty. The new program tackles impoverished neighborhoods from several angles such as creating sustainable affordable housing, promoting safe streets, ensuring access to quality public education, improving access to transportation, and creating well-paying jobs. In addition, the Choice Neighborhood program involves local governments, non-profits, and for-profit developers in order to ensure a comprehensive approach to local planning and project implementation.
To read more about the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, click here.
To read more about the history of the program in the Winter 2011 edition of Evidence Matters, click here.
