The problem with which this pilot study is concerned is to examine selected characteristics of tenants living in government-subsidized housing in an attempt to determine whether or not they differ significantly from tenants who qualify, but do not live in government subsidized housing and to determine if a relationship exists between these differences and the move to subsidized housing.

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) took over the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) on grounds of mismanagement and failure to revitalize a failing housing stock. When the CHA regained independence five years later, in 2000, the agency launched the most extensive redevelopment effort of public housing in the nation’s history. This paper assesses the extent to which the CHA has succeeded in meeting the directive outlined by the Plan for Transformation. It concludes that, despite setbacks in meeting specific goals, the CHA has demonstrated itself to be an effective and accountable housing agency. Nonetheless, the CHA needs to addresses shortcomings in the transparency of management, efficiency of operations, and accessibility of services.

In the Spring of 2011, I conducted 12 interviews with public housing tenants in Victoria, British Columbia. This research became the focus of my MA thesis research in anthropology. Both BC Housing's directly managed buildings and non-profit housing were included. My thesis aims to understand the motivations of tenants who desire to leave public housing and to situate these motivations within the framework of "push" and "pull" factors. In other words, to understand whether the desire to leave public housing stemmed from within in the housing system (push) or outside of it (pull). All participants reported push factors, though a few had been pushed from unsatisfactory public housing into satisfactory public housing. However, most participants felt stuck as they did not have the resources to pay for unaffordable market housing. The dissatisfaction they faced in public housing stemmed from problems with management/staff, problems with neighbours, and problems with the physical condition of housing. Many participants expressed fear that they would lose their housing if they expressed their rights as tenants or made complaints about the issues they faced. Complaints that were brought forward were seen as being ignored. In order to understand the frustration and fear participants experienced, I explore the idea of social assistance as "charity", which has its beginnings in the English Poor Laws, and what effect this has on the recipients. Social assistance as charity, including public housing, is given as a sort of "gift". I argue that in this framework, a gift should be accepted willingly and not questioned. This acts to silence complaints and plays off of common notions about who are the deserving poor and undeserving poor. / Graduate / 0326 / medavies@uvic.ca

Cette thèse analyse les principaux mécanismes du marché du logement en s’intéressant au rôle des contraintes foncières naturelles et réglementaires et à l’impact des politiques publiques. Le premier chapitre met en perspective le rôle de la terre au cours des derniers siècles en montrant que si l’importance de la terre a progressivement reculé jusqu’au milieu du XXe siècle, elle a été remplacée par l’importance croissante du foncier résidentiel. Le second chapitre tente d’estimer l’un des paramètres clé du marché du logement : l’élasticité prix. Il montre que ce concept recouvre deux notions différentes, l’une décrit la réaction des promoteurs suite à une augmentation des prix alors que la seconde décrit la croissance des prix de l’immobilier accompagnant le développement urbain. Il montre que les marchés de l’immobilier des aires urbaines françaises sont inélastiques. Le troisième chapitre analyse l’impact du dispositif Scellier sur les marchés locaux et montre que son impact quantitatif a été limité. Enfin le quatrième chapitre étudie l’effet d’éviction du logement privé par le logement social. / This dissertation analyzes the mechanisms of the French housing market documenting its constraints and the impact of several housing policies. It aims to increase our understanding of the mechanisms at work on this very particular market where land has a key role. The first chapter tries to document the place of land through the past decades. Some economists have been documenting a steady decline of its importance during the XIX and XX centuries. However, such decline was progressively balanced by the sharp appreciation of housing wealth and more particularly its land component. The second chapter tries to understand the origin of this rise in residential land value documenting one of the key parameter of the housing market: the supply elasticity of the French urban areas. This chapter starts defining two different concepts related with the supply elasticity. The first one is the intensive margin supply elasticity and designates the reaction of developers following a short run increase in housing prices. The second one describes how real estate price vary when a city is growing. It shows that French urban areas are less elastic than their US counterparts. The third chapter uses a natural experiment, the Scellier Housing Tax Credit (STC) and shows that it had a limited quantitative impact on the housing production. The fourth chapter documents the crowding out effect of private construction by social housing.

<p>The social determinants of health are the social and economic conditions in which people live that determine their health and housing is a determinant of health. The home holds important significance to individuals as it offers protection and privacy from the surrounding physical and social conditions, aids in the development of relationships, and is the centre of family life. However, many individuals are not able to experience the benefits stemming from an acceptable home.</p> <p>This thesis explores the socio-economic aspects of housing through the transitional experiences of individuals moving from the private market level housing into rent-geared-to-income housing. The aim was to offer a descriptive account of individuals who have moved into social housing from private market housing and to find which of the dimensions of housing (physical conditions, psychological benefits, social environment and financial dimensions) most definitely contribute to individuals' everyday lives, health and well-being.</p> <p>Through the use of in-depth interviews, this cross-sectional research study involves 12 individuals paying rent-geared-to-income and living in social housing in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville, Canada.</p> <p>Individuals reported several improvements to the different dimensions of housing that can influence health. Better housing conditions did improve their general and mental health. Individuals reported a greater sense of security, autonomy and self-identity. Social interactions and support were more commonly experienced and individuals did feel a decrease in the burden of rent. The most substantial changes were living in a less stressful environment and the financial security of social housing.</p> <p>This thesis shows that securing social housing had an influence on participants' everyday lives, health and well-being. The findings may contribute to literature on the impacts of affordable housing on lower-income individuals’ health and well-being. Additionally, the findings have important housing policy implications for addressing affordable housing.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Many business executives lack strategies to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore strategies some business executives used to detect and eliminate tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing. The conceptual framework used to guide this study was the theory of planned behavior. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews with 6 purposively selected business executives of public housing authorities, supplemented with a review of policies and procedures that business executives used. Yin's 5-step analysis, which entails examining, categorizing, tabulating, creating a data display, and testing the data, guided the process of coding participants' responses. Member checking validated that emerging themes were in alignment with participant experiences. The 4 major themes of the study were: perception of tenant fraud, detection and minimization of fraud, the effect of fraudulent behavior on tenant attitudes and belief systems, and verification procedures. The results of the study might support positive social change by providing leaders with insights related to fraud-reducing fragmentation, duplication, and overlapping of programs, which may result in federal funds being available for federal government public services. The findings of this study might add to the body of knowledge and further contribute to social change through a coalition of housing agencies working together to share their knowledge of combating tenant fraud in subsidized rental housing and restoring the integrity of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.