A new report entitled “Public Housing Transformation and Crime: Making the Case for Responsible Relocation,” published by the Urban Institute examines the relationship between public housing transformation and the instances of crime in neighborhoods where displaced residents move. Over the years, public housing transformation programs, particularly HOPE VI, have received unwarranted blame for previously safe neighborhoods being exposed to crime due to the movement of voucher recipients. The Urban Institute report used econometric techniques to probe the relationship between large-scale public housing relocation and changes in crime trends in two neighborhoods in Chicago and Atlanta that have benefited from public housing transformations. The analysis examined the total effect of public housing transformation on crime, including census tracts where public housing was demolished as well as destination neighborhoods where relocated households moved; whether the presence of relocated voucher households significantly influenced crime rates in their new neighborhoods; and, if so, whether this effect varied by the concentration of relocated households.
The study found that crime in Atlanta and Chicago decreased overall during the study period and there was a modest statistically significant decrease in violent crime as well. In terms of neighborhoods, crime decreased at a more rapid rate in neighborhoods where public housing was demolished than in neighborhoods where former public housing residents moved. The report also examined the crime rates several neighborhoods would have had if not for the relocation of voucher recipients and looked at the effect of traditional voucher holders, or those that were not relocated from public housing, on crime. Overall, the report finds that a substantial majority of neighborhoods in both cities were able to absorb public housing relocation voucher households without any adverse effect on neighborhood conditions. However, the report also suggests that large-scale comprehensive relocation strategies are needed when undergoing public housing transformation. These policies could potentially help other housing authorities looking to undergo major redevelopment support former residents in moving to a wider range of communities which would subsequently place less strain on other vulnerable communities.
