Volume 17, Issue 3

2006

 

 

The news that the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program has
gone mainstream and moved to the suburbs is to be welcomed, but we should
not have unrealistic expectations. The program is likely to lead to only a
limited amount of income mixing in the surrounding area. These developments
work against social mixing since so many of the residents have low incomes.
Also, it would be a mistake to view the program as a substitute for the Housing
Choice Voucher Program because it outperforms the latter as a device for
deconcentrating poverty in the nation as a whole.

In places like Alameda County, CA, voucher recipients have been suburbanizing
in large numbers, and this model needs to be replicated. Finally,
suburban LIHTC developments will achieve their full potential only if community
groups are involved early in the application process and if tenants are carefully
screened and rules are strictly enforced.