Volume 16, Issues 3 & 4

2005

 

 

Basolo and Nguyen discuss the role that housing vouchers play in enabling low-income households to pay affordable prices for housing and raise questions about the extent to which vouchers promote opportunities for recipients to improve their neighborhoods. This comment suggests that researchers explore the broader implications of the study.

 

Specifically, I discuss the use of language in naming public policies, the importance of providing counseling assistance to voucher holders, the necessity of a robust stock of housing, and the extent to which vouchers may be undermining the revitalization of low-income neighborhoods for long-time residents. I conclude by arguing that it is time to stop viewing housing policies as oriented to either “people” or “place.”