Interim Evaluation of Homeownership Zone Initiatives

From: HUD USER News
 
HUD's Homeownership Zone (HOZ) initiative was launched
in 1996 as part of a national strategy to expand
homeownership. The objective of this demonstration
program was to test the idea that a well-designed,
large-scale, mixed-income homeownership housing
development could drive the economic revitalization of
severely distressed urban areas by creating stable,
vibrant new communities where families would want to
live. HUD awarded seed money grants to eleven
demonstration cities in 1996 and 1997. Since that time,
we have been tracking the progress of each HOZ city.
 
The Office of Policy Development & Research's recent
report, Interim Evaluation of HUD's Homeownership Zone
Initiative, is part of an ongoing assessment of lessons
learned from the HOZ demonstration cities. The study
collected baseline data for a future HOZ evaluation at
the end of the demonstration program, assessed how well
each city has implemented its plan so far, and
identified best practices that other communities can use
to transform deteriorated neighborhoods using mixed-
income homeownership development.
 
The study found strong evidence that the HOZ approach
has improved the quality of life in several of the HOZ
target areas. The study suggests that geographically-
concentrated intervention has considerable potential for
stimulating the revitalization of blighted urban areas.
Today, many of the HOZ demonstration sites have become,
or are becoming, viable homeownership communities.
 
This report contains maps, pictures, interim statistics,
and contact information for the 11 active HOZ sites, and
is available as a free download
at www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/homeown/InterimEval.html or
in print from HUD USER for a nominal fee by calling
1-800-245-2691, option 1.
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