Section 8

  • Building Better Housing Vouchers Without Breaking the Bank

    Building Better Housing Vouchers Without Breaking the Bank

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) is designed to help low-income families, as well as the elderly and disabled, cover the cost of “decent, safe, and sanitary housing.” Participants pay a fraction of their net household income for rent, with a…

  • Demolition, Displacement, and the Effect on Children in Chicago Public Housing

    Demolition, Displacement, and the Effect on Children in Chicago Public Housing

    Housing is the foundation of a family’s life. This basic need determines the surrounding environment, the schools children attend, access to amenities, and even economic opportunities. Due to the essential service that housing provides, the US federal government spends about $50 billion annually on housing assistance for low-income families. However,…

  • Who Can Afford Affordable Housing?

    Who Can Afford Affordable Housing?

    The Low Income Housing Tax Credit, along with the Housing Choice Voucher program, haven’t relieved the housing cost burden.

  • Disparities in Home Are Disparities in Health

    A family’s housing reality is often viewed as an index of its economic situation. However, Brian Jacob, Jens Ludwig, and Douglas Miller’s new NBER working paper joins a groundswell of research that demonstrates that housing situations are in fact proxies for much more than one’s socioeconomic status.