Housing for Low-income Urban Families

Housing for Low-income Urban Families
Author: Orville F. Grimes
Publisher: Baltimore : Published for the World Bank [by] Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1976
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

The considerable importance of housing to the urban and national economy contrasts sharply with housing conditions and official policies that exist in many developing countries. For all but the middle- and upper-income groups, housing is usually costly in relation to income and the quality of dwellings available. Cramped, crowded, and unsanitary settlements are the lot of low-income families, conditions that debilitate their energy and reduce national productivity. Families in illegal dwellings constantly face the threat of eviction as well as scarcities of water, sewerage, and transport. Often, under the banner of slum clearance, low-income groups are removed to higher-quality dwellings located far from income-earning opportunities and asked to pay rents they cannot afford. This study is intended to contribute to the discussions of housing policy options among urban planners and policymakers in developing countries. It does not attempt to analyze the optimal allocation of investment in urban areas or to suggest what place housing should have in such investment. There is no argument for a shift of capital and other resources from other sectors into housing. Instead, the principal intention is to achieve a better understanding of the workings of the urban housing market, especially as it affects low-income families, so as to bring about an improved use of the resources already used for housing and to allow new resources to be used effectively.

Income Averaging

Income Averaging
Author: United States. Internal Revenue Service
Publisher:
Total Pages: 8
Release: 1985
Genre: Income averaging
ISBN:

Housing for Low-income Urban Families

Housing for Low-income Urban Families
Author: Orville F. Grimes
Publisher: Baltimore : Published for the World Bank [by] Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1976
Genre: Developing countries
ISBN:

The considerable importance of housing to the urban and national economy contrasts sharply with housing conditions and official policies that exist in many developing countries. For all but the middle- and upper-income groups, housing is usually costly in relation to income and the quality of dwellings available. Cramped, crowded, and unsanitary settlements are the lot of low-income families, conditions that debilitate their energy and reduce national productivity. Families in illegal dwellings constantly face the threat of eviction as well as scarcities of water, sewerage, and transport. Often, under the banner of slum clearance, low-income groups are removed to higher-quality dwellings located far from income-earning opportunities and asked to pay rents they cannot afford. This study is intended to contribute to the discussions of housing policy options among urban planners and policymakers in developing countries. It does not attempt to analyze the optimal allocation of investment in urban areas or to suggest what place housing should have in such investment. There is no argument for a shift of capital and other resources from other sectors into housing. Instead, the principal intention is to achieve a better understanding of the workings of the urban housing market, especially as it affects low-income families, so as to bring about an improved use of the resources already used for housing and to allow new resources to be used effectively.

Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States

Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States
Author: National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2003-10-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780226533568

Few United States government programs are as controversial as those designed to aid the poor. From tax credits to medical assistance, aid to needy families is surrounded by debate—on what benefits should be offered, what forms they should take, and how they should be administered. The past few decades, in fact, have seen this debate lead to broad transformations of aid programs themselves, with Aid to Families with Dependent Children replaced by Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, the Earned Income Tax Credit growing from a minor program to one of the most important for low-income families, and Medicaid greatly expanding its eligibility. This volume provides a remarkable overview of how such programs actually work, offering an impressive wealth of information on the nation's nine largest "means-tested" programs—that is, those in which some test of income forms the basis for participation. For each program, contributors describe origins and goals, summarize policy histories and current rules, and discuss the recipient's characteristics as well as the different types of benefits they receive. Each chapter then provides an overview of scholarly research on each program, bringing together the results of the field's most rigorous statistical examinations. The result is a fascinating portrayal of the evolution and current state of means-tested programs, one that charts a number of shifts in emphasis—the decline of cash assistance, for instance, and the increasing emphasis on work. This exemplary portrait of the nation's safety net will be an invaluable reference for anyone interested in American social policy.

Public Housing and the Legacy of Segregation

Public Housing and the Legacy of Segregation
Author: Margery Austin Turner
Publisher: The Urban Insitute
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2009
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780877667551

For the past two decades the United States has been transforming distressed public housing communities, with three ambitious goals: replace distressed developments with healthy mixed-income communities; help residents relocate to affordable housing, often in the private market; and empower former public housing families toward economic self-sufficiency. The transformation has focused on deconcentrating poverty, but not on the underlying role of racial segregation in creating these distressed communities. In Public Housing and the Legacy of Segregation, scholars and public housing officials assess whether--and how--public housing policies can simultaneously address the problems of poverty and race.

Affordable Housing in the Urban Global South

Affordable Housing in the Urban Global South
Author: Jan Bredenoord
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 439
Release: 2014-06-05
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1317910168

The global increase in the number of slums calls for policies which improve the conditions of the urban poor, sustainably. This volume provides an extensive overview of current housing policies in Asia, Africa and Latin America and presents the facts and trends of recent housing policies. The chapters provide ideas and tools for pro-poor interventions with respect to the provision of land for housing, building materials, labour, participation and finance. The book looks at the role of the various stakeholders involved in such interventions, including national and local governments, private sector organisations, NGOs and Community-based Organisations.

Housing Policy in the United States

Housing Policy in the United States
Author: Alex F. Schwartz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2013-05-13
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1135280096

The most widely used and most widely referenced "basic book" on Housing Policy in the United States has now been substantially revised to examine the turmoil resulting from the collapse of the housing market in 2007 and the related financial crisis. The text covers the impact of the crisis in depth, including policy changes put in place and proposed by the Obama administration. This new edition also includes the latest data on housing trends and program budgets, and an expanded discussion of homelessnessof homelessness.

$2.00 a Day

$2.00 a Day
Author: Kathryn Edin
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 239
Release: 2015
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0544303180

The story of a kind of poverty in America so deep that we, as a country, don't even think exists--from a leading national poverty expert who "defies convention" (New York Times)

Asset Building and Low-income Families

Asset Building and Low-income Families
Author: Signe-Mary McKernan
Publisher: The Urban Insitute
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780877667544

Low-income families have scant savings to cushion a job loss or illness, and can find economic mobility impossible without funds to invest in education, homes, or businesses. And though a lack of resources leaves such families vulnerable, income-support programs are often closed to those with a bit of savings or even a car. Considering welfare-to-work reforms, the increasingly advanced skill demands of the American workforce, and our stretched Social Security system, such an approach is inadequate to lift families out of poverty. Asset-based policies--allowing or even helping low-income families build wealth--are an increasingly popular strategy to facilitate financial stability.

Strong Towns

Strong Towns
Author: Charles L. Marohn, Jr.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119564816

A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.