Confirmations, New Insights, and Future Implications for HOPE VI Mixed-Income Redevelopment

Taryn H. Gress
Mark L. Joseph
Seungjong Cho
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences
Case Western Reserve University

As HUD advances its mission to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and high-quality, affordable homes for all, the promotion of mixed-income communities has become a core strategy. Across the United States, local governments and private developers are increasingly turning to mixed-income development as an approach to deconcentrate poverty and revitalize urban neighborhoods. With the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, launched in 2010, the federal government extended its commitment to supporting the mixed-income approach to public housing transformation first implemented through the HOPE VI initiative in the mid-1990s. A comprehensive analysis of mixed-income units produced through the $6 billion HOPE VI program has not yet been undertaken, however. Using HOPE VI grantee quarterly report data from 1993–2014, we analyze the income and tenure mix of housing units that have been produced through the HOPE VI program as follows:

• Examine variations by factors such as age and size of development, region, and developer and describe the evolution of the program over time.
• Examine the factors associated with higher or lower reoccupancy of original residents.
• Examine funding leveraged through the HOPE VI and other grants.
• Review resident participation in community and supportive services.
• Undertake an analysis of the duration of various phases of the initiative, including relocation, demolition, construction, and occupancy.

Based on this descriptive analysis, we propose implications for future implementation and an evaluation of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.