Abstract

Housing policy for low-income renters seeks to deconcentrate poverty by moving the poor to neighborhoods offering opportunities for safety, good education, and gainful employment. Federal law compels communities to take affirmative steps to promote racial and ethnic integration. We argue that it is not possible for a community to effectively deconcentrate poverty unless it actively engages in racial and ethnic integration. This research evaluates the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in terms of both poverty deconcentration and racial integration. It asks if the LIHTC program is helping move low-income families to neighbourhoods offering high levels of opportunity categorized by the dominant racial and ethnic group. Given the lack of high-opportunity tracts among minority concentrated tracts, there is effectively no mechanism through which the LIHTC program can locate developments in minority dominated high-opportunity tracts and achieve movement to opportunity. If the LIHTC program is to further poverty deconcentration through movement to high-opportunity areas, it must also affirmatively further fair housing.

摘要

针对低收入租房者的住房政策旨在通过将穷人转移到提供安全、良好教育和有酬就业机会的社区来分散贫困。联邦法律强制社区采取积极措施促进种族和民族融合。我们认为，一个社区除非积极参与种族和民族融合，否则不可能有效地分散贫困。本研究从贫困分散和种族融合方面评估了低收入住房税收抵免 (LIHTC)。它询问 LIHTC 计划是否正在帮助低收入家庭迁移到提供按主要种族和族裔群体分类的高水平机会的社区。由于少数民族集中地区缺乏高机会地区，事实上，没有任何机制可以让 LIHTC 计划能够在少数族裔主导的高机会地区找到发展并实现机会转移。如果 LIHTC 计划要通过向高机会地区迁移来进一步分散贫困，那么它也必须积极推动公平住房。