Planning Implications to High Vacancy Rates in Public Housing

Today there is a great demand for low-rent public housing in Providence, Rhode Island, yet many families that can avail themselves of public housing are unwilling to do so. The causes of this situation are investigated. A summary of the background and framework of public housing from the beginning is studied. Important features of the Wagner-Steagll Act and other legislation which followed were investigated because of the effect which they had on the character of the housing program. Several questions were established and tested to find out the level of dissatisfaction with the social and physical aspects of life in public housing. The questions were tested by a survey of residents in several public housing projects . In general, the results of all avenues of investigation showed a deep-rooted disfunctional nature of several policies and programs. An overview of the aspects of life pointed to many irritating aspects which to some degree affected project living. The study assisted in providing solutions ·to areas of both social and design problems. These should aid planners in their endeavors in the future. Acknowledgment The author wishes to express his graditude to: his major professor Charles Downe for his guidance, advice, and criticism during development of this thesis; Pat Smith and Penny Lopez for their assistance in interviewing residents; the managers and administrators of the Providence Housing Authority; and members of the Tenant Association for their input into problem areas of public housing.


A. Objective
The objective is to study the causes of high vacancy rates in three public housing projects in Providence, Rhode Island. With the outlay of large sums of Federal money for construction and rehabilitation of public housing units, the high vacancy rates in public housing projects and the demand for low-cost housing being what it is, efforts must be made to uncover the causes of this paradoxical situation .
After interviews of tenants, security personnel, and public housing administrators a collection of causes will be made to focus on those factors that would aid in combating these problems of high vacancy rates.
Justification A situation exists in the United States where a Federal Housing program that was started some years ago does not now fulfill the needs for which it was intended. If we are to continue following the guidelines of that program, new policies must be enacted for the areas in which the program is failing. Today, if the decision was reached that public housing programs were to be abandoned, there would still exist a major resource consisting of hundreds of thousands of housing units whose ultimate fate will still have to be decided. Also at this time the reasons why the program is now failing can serve as one of the guidelines for programs which will succeed the present.
If for no other reason vacancy rates are visible symbols of the lack of acceptance of the public housing program in its present form.
Through the collection of statistics and interviews of people related to public housing I hope to expose the magnitude of the problem. My objective is to present facts and opinions concerning the causes of the disfunctional nature of the program which leads to high vacancy rates.

B.
I.

Questions That Were Investigated by Study
Are families living in public housing more sensitive to the stigma of project life and do they consider themselves socially inferior?
Are they identified as being in the lowest income groups and social status?
JI. Are certain elements of life irritating to those who live in public housing? Do the dangers associated with many projects create an atmosphere incompatible to a suitable living environment?
III. In areas of high child density do special problems arise especially gang behavior and vandalism?
JV. Have racial tensions increased in public housing over the last decade due to the large numbers of Blacks presently moving in? v. Has management policies of the housing authority created stressful environments in public housing? VI. Has the dense nature of the physical environment along with unpleasant aspects of the housing design itself created insufficient landscaping, and outdoor recreational areas? 1,,r1ctµ 1-t~r·  A.
Overview of the Background of Public Housing Back in the 1930 1 s liberal congressmen pushed through legislation setting up programs to federally fund public housing. Since those years our federal government has played an expanding role in meeting the needs of the low income family. The first public housing law was written by Ernest Bohn in 1937. In the same year congress passed the Housing Act of 1937-the initial step to bring a decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling to every American family.
Public housing was plagued with difficulties from its inception.
It came a reality more or less as a compromise between social reformers who saw it as a tool to wipe out slums, and those who saw it as a vehicle for no more than a much-needed infusion of capital into the economy.
From the beginning public housing was a joint effort of the three levels of government-local, state, and federal. Farseeing the need for a strong central control resulted in the setting up of a Federal housing authority whose only function was to assist municipal governments to develop and operate low rent public housing by giving long-term, lowinterest loans. The federal government also provided cash contributions to keep rentals at a level that ]ow-income families could afford. At this point the concept of graded rents by family income and size was adopted. The design at the inception of public housing was to give living I quarters to those caught in temporary financial straits not as subsidized housing for those without income, the unemployed, or the poor who depended on charity.
The 1937 Act also put emphasis on urban non-poor families and resulted in projects which were designed with one or two bedroom units.
As a result every provision had far reaching effects.
In the 1950's the concept of housing changed drastictly. Instead of an emphasis on the social aspects of families, the concept developed of just housing people, just providing rooms. so started a process in which projects began housing people with the most problems but who got the least help in solving them. The projects became whorehouses for welfare recipients, the children were stigmatized with the identity of "project kids"-a image of nothing but young hoodlums. There were more and more vacancies as non-welfare families moved out; in order to fill the vacancies, more and more welfare families were brought in. As a result project managers became less and less able to handle their new clientele and responded by becoming more paternalistic and restrictive . Federal public housing policy, as we know it today, was enacted when 1 the Wagner-Steagll Act 2 was signed into law by President Franklin D. 3 Roosevelt in 1937.
The purpose of this Act included seven basic They were to establish: principles. 4 the first permanent federal agency in behalf of low rent subsidized housing; 2. the principle of federal loans to local housing authorities to finance projects by issusing bonds in order to lend the authorities 90 percent of the cost of approved projects.
3. the principle of removing one slum dwelling for every new public For a brief description of the forerunners of this Act, see Fisher, Robert Moore, 20 Years of Public Housing, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1959 . When used in this Act--"low-rent housing" means decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings within the financial reach of families of low income, and developed and administered to promote seviceability, efficiency, economy, and stability, and embraces all necessary appurtenances thereto .
T~e l~agner-Steagall Act was careful to avoid oversupply of housing by ~datin9 that no housing units were to be built without destroying cowell1ngs ... subs~antially_equal in number to the number of newly nstructed dwellings provided by the project." 50 stat. 891 (1937) as amended, 42 U.S.C. 1410(a). Fisher, Robert Moore, Twenty Years of Public Housing, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1959. ho using was not without its opponents who consisted mainly of public 1 e state and business groups, builders, suppliers and mortgage lenders. rea The National Association of Real Estate Boards, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, the National Association of Home Builders, the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, the United States Savings and Loan League, and the National Apartment Owners Association were lkltU:>yilngagainst the low-cost public housing bill. This was a group primarily concerned that there would be an oversupply of housing. From a philosophical point of view, there was opposition to "socialized" housing and the government being in the real estate business . A factor favorable for the passage of the Act was its potential for creating jobs and housing for a relatively new type of "poor people." In 1937 the country had already suffered through seven years of a severe depression .
The pool of poor people had grown in numbers by the unemployment of those who were formerly middle class or better. These problem poor were members of a temporarily submerged middle class. Public housing for these people was politically attractive because of their large number and their potenial at the polls. It was also able to prime the pump by supplying jobs 8,9 for construction workers and others.
The passage of the Wagner-Steagall Act was quickly followed by a flurry of attempts to attach amendments to it. 8 "'('TTh'e--::;1~9~3=7-A~c-t~w-a-s~p-r_o_p_o_se-d~b-y~i-t-s~s-p-0-ns_o_r_s_,~Senator Robert F. Wagner, Sr . New York) and Congressman Harry B. Steagall (Alabama) as a means of relieving unemployment and helping state and local agencies eliminate substandard housing." Fisher, Robert Moore, Twenty Years of Public Housing, Harper and Brothers, New York, 1959. 9 Section 1412 (b) of the Act states, "As soon as practicable the Authority shall sell its federal projects or divest itself of their management thr~ugh leased. 11 Section 1412 (c), "The Authority may sell a Federal proJect only to a public housing agency (or* to a nonprofit body for use as low-rent housing).
Two years after the Act was passed, World War II broke out and s in public housing was interrupted . Private building was halted progres and housing efforts were revised to provide shelter for the defense workers. A tremendous housing shortage developed and employment escalated.
The end of World War II brought concern about a possible depression.
One way to avoid a depression was to inaugurate a high level of construction.
The government responded by doing whatever was necessary to bolster the construction industry with new private housing programs. The major beneficiaries of the new housing programs were the veterans and the middle class generally. Aided by special mortgage arrangements and tax breaks, they were able to own individual homes in the suburbs. It became possible for them to get away from the cities' problems and undesirablec neighbors.
Public housing was left boxed in the cities while the inexpensive land on the fringes of the metropolitan areas was de facto taken up by developments for the middle class. The formerly "submerged middle class" with their full employment and better wages could no longer remain as tenants in public housing because their earnings were above the maximum allowable.
When the public housing units were vacated, they were inherited mainly 10 by a new type of tenant--the permanent poor and the new urban immigrants .
This change in the type of public housing tenant has continued until the present time. It is not unusual in many cities to have approximately one-half of the tenants on public assistance. With so many of the clientele deriving their income from welfare checks, the projects changed from their original conception.
This feeling and the shortages of building material s during 1946 _ 1 g48 resulted in fewer than 2000 units being built in 1947-1948. There were approximately 170,000 units of public housing built and occupied 11 prior to 1949.
Public opinion reversed itself in the election of 1948 and, as a result, the 81st Congress in 1949 passed a major housing act whose objective was " the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family . " One of the programs in this act was to provide low-rent public hous i ng for the poor. President Truman signed the Act and authorization was given to build over 800,000 public housing units by 1955 . To this date that goal has not quite been reached, although the population and the number needing low-cost housing has increased . The act included five 12 new elements : 1. the authorization for the construction of 810,000 units of public housing over a six year period; 2. the establishment of a new form of subsidy for the clearance of slums , with the 1 and to be used for "redeve 1 opment" by either pub 1 i c or private housing; 3. the changed method of limiting costs on public housing construction from the former per unit cost limitation to a per room cost limitation; 11 S 7 ee=--,-g_e_n_e-ra-l~l~y-,---=B~u~i~l~d~i-n_g_t~h-e__, ~.t~y,91st Congress,First Session. 12 National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials Journal of Housing, October 1962 ;25th Anniversary Issue: United States Housing Act of 1937 . .

5.
the removal of restrictions on the disposition of remaining war veterans housing; the authorization for local authority bonds and notes as a replacement for federal loans to underwrite public housing costs.
The Act of 1949 also made at least three amendments to the basic 13 law of 1937.
1. It deleted the requirement that projects receiving Federal annual contributions must also be given a local cash or tax subsidy of at least 20 percent of ~he Federal contributions. Inserted in its place was a provision that the local projects were to be tax exempt, but that a payment in lieu of taxes of not more than 10 percent of annual shelter rents could be made for each project; 2. It required, as a condition of Federal loans or annual contributions," ... that a gap of at least 20 percent has been left between the upper limits of admission to the proposed low-rent housing and the lowest rents at which private enterprise unaided by public subsidy is providing (through new construction and available existing structures) a substantial supply of decent, safe and sanitary housing ... ," 3. First priority would be given to those low-income families eligible for public housing who were" ... displaced by any low-rent housing project or by any public slum clearance or redevelopment project ... " ~the end of the first year, only 10,000 units were in construction and of these 3,000 were more than two or three months past ground breaking . Cities that failed to enact satisfactory codes by 1976 coul d not qua 1 if y for federal funds. The law provided low interest, twentyto finance the repairs or modernization required to meet year loans the health codes. This was intended to produce less destruction of the social fabric of the urban area by calling for more attention to the human problems of slum clearance and housing. For those who fought the Act, there was the provision that no demolition project could be approved until it was determined by the Housing Administration On $6 75 000,000 for urban renewal in 1966 and $750,000,000 cities w ' 19 67 and 1968. Money for code enforcement in deteriorating areas for and for demolishing dilapidated housing was provided by the Act.
Among other provisions were the programs for direct loans for nonf ·t housing for the elderly and for leasing 10,000 units annually pro 1 from private owners and used for low-income families.
In this message to Congress on January 26, 1966, President The "mode 1 cities 11 program is the term the president preferred to use for the provisions for restoring quality to run-down neighborhoods. "Redevelopment 11 had a poor connotation for many people.  program of home ownership for families with an annual income between $ 3 , 000 and $7,000. The program was futher broadened to include job training. concerns situated in the immediate area were to be given in any contracts awarded by the government. It was no preference longer a question of just providing shelter but it was social action aimed at moving the underprivileged up the economic scale. The Act of 196 6 required developers to get their funds from private sources; the new Act authorized the developers to issue bonds which were guaranteed by the governmnet. Every planning agency receiving federal funds would be required to develop greater social commitments because housing needs and land use were tied to jobs, transportation, training, rent supplements and possible home ownership. The Act recognized that economic, social and environmental planning must be combined to tackle the problems of the underprivileged. There was an election coming up so liberals and conservatives alike voted for the bill.  Housing, January, 1971, p.20. mber 31, 1969 low-rent public housing ($942 million) U.S. News and World Report, "Low rent public housing has not followed the normal pattern for movements in modern countries . Every social experiment starts reform f S an abstract idea, frequently in an atmosphere of violent of a theoretical debate . But after it has been tried out for a while, one of two things usually happens . Either it di es out, an acknowledged failure, or it takes and is accepted as an integral part of the ordinary scheme of things . . .. But public housing . .. still drags along in a kind of limbo, continuously controversial, not dead but never more h ousing constitutes a resource that approximates 1.2 percent public of the total housing supply in the United States.
The framework of the public housing is based on the phrase "a decent home and a SUITABLE 1 i vi ng environment for every American." Public housing is a method of achieving a decent home through subsidized low-rent housing for people who would otherwise be unable to find suitable housing at a price which they could afford. This as long as the prescribed rules and regulations are followed. row housing f comP . atibility of the character of a project with its The lack o is not inherent in the rules of the Federal program. Opponeighbors P ublic housing by important conservative groups has influenced sition to the disposition of the program. Their fear of having public housing l to what the neighboring taxpayers have affects the projects. It equa is sometimes the fear of the local authorities "that it be criticized by influential sections of the public" and the congressional admon-"tion that public housing" ... shall not be of elaborate design of 1 32 material ... 11 that governs the final resultant.
Admission to and continued occupancy in low rent public housing were established for those families whose maximum incomes were below certain levels set by local housing authorities. The inhabitants of public housing are in the lowest segment of the financial scale.
Since 1956 , , p. 205. 1966 housing) in These statistics are merely of a quantitative and do not attempt to nature imply a qualitative judgment.
In many of the projects there are so many 'problem' families that the residents of a project and its contiguous areas are fearful of their property and lives. In Providence, Rhode Island, two examples of this type of situation occurred recently which illustrates the conditions existing in many cities throughout the country. The incident is not typical of all projects but it occurs often enough to be a factor associated with the vacancy phenomenon in public housing. the family ' s car . fire to A dangerous situation had grown in the neighborhood with a breakf law and order, letting the assailants escape without accounting down o for their actions. "The wrong family was forced out of Chad Brown." The families that should have been held accountable are the families of the youngsters involved in the assault on five terrorized tenants.
Those that cannot bring themselves to live in peace with their neighbors g ht to be forced to leave the project for the peace the neighbors OU 37 have a right to expect.
According to the housing authority's director in Providence, there is "no policy to evict persons found responsible for assaults 38 or other serious offenses against other residents." Racial incidents were prevalent at the project. Less than a month later, renewed problems occurred in the same project over different circumstances. A rampage began after police attempted to arrest a youth wanted on a family court order. Police said they spotted him and chased him into an apartment. When he was removed, a cursing crowd attempted to free the sixteen year old from custody. "It seems to be a chain reaction. As soon as somebody is apprehended all hell breaks 39 loose." One of the members of the group (identified later as a twenty-four year old man) told the others to scatter. The area quieted down, but soon after the police left reports were received of attacks on other tenants inside their homes. Four elderly white women, "three of the victims are over seventy-five years old and one an eighty-nine t her has been one of the characteristics making this an undeeach o sirable project. This is reflected in its high vacancy ratio.
"Police, four of whom were assaulted in attempting to quiet the t r bance said the assaults were definitely racial in character. dis u , 41 "The victims," they said, ''are all whites, the assailants black." llY lack professional housing or sociologica-1 training. A recent genera 49 showed that 67 percent of the respondents spent an average of survey h r s or less per week on housing authority business·; only 5 pertwo OU t ep orted that they put in an average of ten hours or more. The cen r rationale behind the appointment of part-time laymen representing the "best of the community" is to keep the program "out of politics." h l ·s a considerable amount of "power struggle" to gain However, t ere control of the programs, appoint managers, name architects and engineers 50 and to influence the selection of sites.
The authority members and their clientele are at opposite ends of the social and financial scale so that a lack of sympathy exists on the part of one and frustration on the other. In the past, tenants have been asking for participation in running their projects. The latest government directives make this mandatory, but in a recent survey of housing authorities, 56 percent said "no", 21 percent were not sure 51 and 23 percent voted"yes 11 to the idea of tenant parti ci pa ti on.
"It is suggested that the housing authority system currently acts as a 52 barrier to expanded and improved housing programs for the poor. 11 The appointment of the right manager to actually run a project is probably one of the most critical acts to influence the success or failure of the project. Management styles can vary greatly because ·ect managers have considerable leeway in administrative matters. prOJ . roJ·ects are relatively autonomous and differ from one another The1r P in tenant constituency. One can be a huge high-rise ghetto with a high percentage of "problem families", another could be row housing a m ixture of elderly and the "submerged" middle class. The with t o run each project should be selected according to a match manager between his talent and the project but too often the job goes to a political appointee. In Providence, for instance, "The housing authority, Most authorities agree that a certain amount of discipline is required to create an orderly environment, free of terror. Are authority tenants subject to more regulations than tenants in private housing?
Why does the authority have its own police force?
What community facilities does the authority provide?
Does the authority encourage tenant programs?
The New York City Housing Authority evidently is making an effort to sell its program. HUD has issued a number of guides for managers to help them follow the latest procedures for running a project. A typical guide would be a grievance procedure 55 directive issued by HUD.
It states the purpose, background, and requirements for hearing a tenant's complaints, gives instructions on the administrative expenses involved and also prints a model grievance procedure.
Through such a procedure tenant complaints over the years are finally resulting in the elimination of many injustices suffered by them.
Housing authorities finance their projects by borrowing money through tax-exempt bonds . . ~Ji th the proceeds they acquire sites, prepare them and then erect the low-cost housing. operation and maintenance costs. Tenants are required to pay not more than 25 percent of their income for rent and 10 percent of that is turned over to the local community in lieu of taxes .
A rent strike could be very disruptive to the management and maintenance of a project when it cuts off the source of funds for these functions because most authorities have small reserves.
The money which a community should be receiving in lieu of taxes and on which it depends for paying various municipal services is also curtailed by a strike.   A vacancy rate of this percentage is required to afford some maneuverability and choice to tenants.  then the next higher numbered unit was contacted. This pattern was continued until slightly over 5 percent of the units were complete.

The Interview
The technique used in the study is the survey method. A personal interview by a person skilled in interviewing procedures using a questionnatrewas the means of obtaining the informatio~. The interview required about 30 minutes to conduct. Interviewing was conducted during the early evening hours, weekends and also during the daytime hours. The head of household or one of the two parents of the household was the only acceptable respondents.

The Questionnaire
A copy of the questionnaire used for the survey is in the Appendix.
The questionnaire was composed of 48 questions.
The following is a list of questions taken from the survey that t to the six questions raised in the study. were re 1 evan  The male head of household comprises 24% of those surveyed. In this group 65% of the males are employed. Racially, 85% of this group was black, and 65% were over the age of 30 .
The Elderly and Those without Children: Those people 65 years of age or older and those persons having no children comprise 8% of the total sample. All of .those surveyed ranged in age from 40 years of age and older. The reason for grouping these two household type~ together is because they are few in number and they tend to have the same views in the survey.
In this group none of the people were employed. Two of the six surveyed are white. In this group the majority of the people were on social security or company pensions . that only a small percentage of the people eligible for occupancy actually apply for the low-rent dwellings. 11 And of those who do, most appear to be desperate for shelter of any kind : minority families about to be thrown on the street by clearance operations, problem families sent by welfare agencies, and so on. 11 Forced relocation by urban renewal activity afforded an opportunity to investigate housing preferences made by the displaced low-income 68 residents. Chester Hartman, in a study of 500 families relocated from Boston 1 s West End, revealed 11 that the overwhelming majority refused to consider the possibility of living in a housin~ project for reasons consistent with their preference for the residential patterns and life 69 styles preva 1 ent in their former neighborhood. 11 67 Bauer, Catherine, 11 The Dreary Deadlock of Public Housing," Architectural ~' May 1957. 68 Hartman, Chester 11 The Limitations of Public Housing 11 American Institute of Pla~ners Journal , November, 1963 .
An extremely negative attitude towards the image of public housing h eld by those families displaced. was About one-third of the families specifically mentioned the social undesirability of housing projects.
t tached importance to the social aspects of housing status as well TheY a as sociability features which were more important than the financial and physical advantages offered by public housing.
In private housing a mixture of low and modest income groups makes it practically impossible to focus attention on the poor and, in this way, most escape the stigma attached to the lowest income group. "In Providence, as well as nationally, the trend has been for public projects to house an increasing proportion of the extremely disadvantaged families with very low incomes, single parent families with many children, who are welfare recipients, and have chronic and multiple problems. 11 This kind of selectivity results in widespread behavior problems, as well as the stigma of projects · _as , places where only the "riff-raff 70 live. 11 Their presence in large numbers differentiates a housing project from an average residential neighborhood. The way public housing is structured, it fails to blend in with rest of the community.
Ms. Smith, an unwed mother of three and a part-time house worker, ha~ recently been displaced when the structure in which she was living was condemned and razed. Because of her low income, Aid to Dependent Children and the money she earned from housevmrk, she was encouraged ~her case worker to move into the Roger Williams Housing Project.
"I wouldn't let my sons go over there to play, never mind The place is full of pushers, hustlers and junkies . l l 1E! going. Nice don't live there." She found a flat over a paint shop and while people she had to contend with drafty rooms heated with a space living there ter traffic noises, no running .hot water and peeling paint. In hea , comparison the oroject was a fireproof building and had central heating and hot water. Her rent would have been the same because welfare would have paid the rent in either case.
Mr. and Mrs. Doe and their three children were project tenants for four years. He was incapacitated by a car accident a few years ago and could not work. He claimed that he tried to get out and into any half-way decent flat from the day he moved into the project. No one would rent to him because he was now a project tenant. "When they (the prospective landlord) found out where we lived our goose was cooked.
They wouldn't rent us the flat. He were lucky to get out because my cousin knew about a family moving out of a tenement in his block. He got it for us before they even moved out." They ta 1 ked about their loneliness while in the project~ Their former friends did not visit them and they had a feeling of being ostracized because they were "project people." "There was a bad smell about the neighbors . We couldn't take it." Mrs. Jones, a mother of five children, expressed delight with her apartment when she was interviewed. All the physical conveniences were fine and she was happy to be in the project, except for a few things.
She did not care for most of her neighbors. They were too noisy, although her own television I adding to it. Her main concern was her children, aged three to set was fourteen.
She did not care to have them associating with "all them ds in the yard. They don't respect anybody." If she could get out bas tar h P roject, she would like to go into the suburbs away from the noise of t e and where people have "respect" for each other.
When looking at the data from the question concerning household characteristics you find 71 % of the households are headed by females and 29 % are headed by males. When looking at the marital status of the tenants interviewed, you find 67% have unstable relationships (divorced or having children out of wedlock) and only 33 % of the tenants were married.
In the area of employment 70% of those surveyed were unemployed or on welfare and only 30% were currently working.
In response to questions on whether the parents of the tenants lived in public housing before them, more than half replied yes (59%). When asked about the character of the residents in public housing, the heads of the household stated that 67% had criminal inclinations and only 33% were 1 aw-a biding.
The response to the question as to how they perceive themselves ,ll' i 11 1 . g in public housing, it was found that 26% were depressed, 32% 1;v1n 27% were angry, and 15% were tense. were nervous, The questions that families living public housing are more sensitive to the stigma of project life, that they consider themselves socially inferior, and that they are identified as being in the lowest income group as well as social status received qualified support . It was supported by close to two-thirds of the tenants perceiving themselves troubled by different aspects of oroject life.

Question: II
According to the Housing Act, people were to be given "A decent d a suitable living environment." This has not been provided home an he n we observed the dangers associated with many housing projects for w and where the atmosphere is incompatible to a suitable living environment. people living in low-income housing are subjected to physical assaults in their home, i.e. rape, stonings from hostile gangs outside their apartments, and destruction of their property. Private property, such as bicycles or baby carriages, cannot be left unguarded for just a few minutes without having them stolen. The verbal abuse some of the tenants have to take from the managers and some of their neighbors is seldom matched in other neighborhoods. The teenagers in the project form gangs that fight with each other and terrorize the project.
Services to the tenants are nonexistent, except for the delivery of mail. Even the mailboxes are broken into and vandalized. Besides the above broken glass is scattered all over the grounds as well as other dangerous debris which makes the surrounding area a dangerous place for children to play. "Housing as an element of material culture has as its prime purpose the provision of shelter, which is protection from potentially damaging or unpleasant trauma. The most primitive level of evaluation of housing, therefore, has to do with the question of how adequately it shelters the 71 individuals who abide in it form threats in their environment."

71
Rainwater, Lee, "Fear and the House as Haven in the Lower Class," ~erican Institute of Planners Journal, January, 1966, p.23. a university student majoring in .sociology, spent a summer Joe, . the Roger Williams Housing Project in Providence. He stated living , n th e project tenants have a set of moral values that offended us, that , . ted them. The men do not want to work like "whitey" does for two but SU dollars or so an hour. Because there is a desire for a better standard of living a person becomes a hustler, or a drug pusher, or becomes involved in some other illegal activity to increase living standards. After Joe's radio was stolen from his apartment, he discovered that there was an underground network of thieves from who he could buy back his radio.
He went out of his way to befriend them so that he could get information and they returned his radio. They used the vacant apartments for "storing the stuff" and for other illicit purposes. An interesting racket described by Joe was the solicitation of "whitey" into the project with the promise of a girl. They would bring the victim to an apartment and shortly after they arrived an irate husband would appear on the scene. 11 l~hitey" would then be shaken down for all he had in money and valuables. The police would practically never go into the project for fear of being stoned and being charged with police brutality. If you wanted to hide out, the project was the pl ace to go.
It was shown that dangers existing in many housing projects affect their livable qualities to such an extent that they no longer afford safe shelter for tenants. The examples of violence, crime, and verbal abuse suffered by the tenants confirm this question.
A large percentage of residents (50%) when asked what they disliked about living in public housing said the numerous breaking and enterings in apartments, the second largest complaint (23%) was the uncleanliness ches followed by the constant assaults (12% ), and finally 15% and roa ' felt that problems with management was the most upsetting aspect of project 1 i vi ng.
When residents were asked to describe the people who live around t he majority of the answers placed residents in a category of being them. dirty (48% ), quarrelsome (77% ), heavy drinkers (82% ), but quite friendly (53% ).
A high percentage of residents (92%) regard crime as being a problem in their housing project. Being more specific the residents classified the largest crime problem as breaking and entering (46% ), followed by vandalism with (18% ), assaults (15%), handbag thefts (12% ), and drug use at (7% ) being the least problem. The heads of the household in the sample also pointed out that the majority of the crimes in public housing take place on the dragstrip (47% ), in the hallways of the buildings (32% ), and in the apartments themselves (21%).
Tenants regarded their neighbors as being criminal in nature (67% ), while a small percentage (33%), were law-abiding citizens.
Almost 83% of the sample residents thought the . housing authority was not doing enough to protect them in the area of project security.
When directly asked if it bothered them (tenant's questioned) to see so many vacant apartments, 70% said yes, 17% said no, and 13% did not care one way or the other.
Personal relationships were considered to be more negative in every aspect. A high percentage of the tenants complained about security, cMminal acts taking place, and the uncleanliness of their surroundings.
Although the tenants knew crime was a problem, they still were very concerned about the large number of vacant apartments.
The question that certain elements of life are irritating to e who live in public housing and the dangers associated many projects thOS an atmosphere incompatible with a suitable living environment creates . ed qualified support. receiv 1 1 II I

Question:
In areas where there is a high populace of children numerous problems arise especially gang behavior and vandalism.
In looking at the data collected on children residing in public , ·t showed that (79%) of the total number of tenants were children housing ( 224 ). There were 86 adults. This density of children causes numerous prob 1 ems ranging from friction with neighbors to vandalism and communitynoti ced crime. In a number of the interviews tenants placed much of the trouble caused in the projects on youths 10 to 15 years of age. The most numerous complaints were related to destruction of property and gang behavior.
In Leonard Freedmans' book "Public Housing" he reported that when large numbers of teenagers are brought together in a small area, the result is an intense concentration of gang behavior. He suggested that public housing actually increased crime and delinquency. The concentration of the poor in projects made more visible the social disorganization which had previously been dispersed through a number of slum neighborhoods. And the existing project ~akes a more viable target for the opposition .
In reviewing the information given by the tenants in the sample it was found that almost (77 %) of the families had between 3 and 9 members. Six (6) of the heads of household in the sample had no children.
Two-thirds of the tenants were living in unstable family units (not married With children) and the survey showed poor guidance in terms of raising children in a socially acceptable manner.
The survey pointed out that much of the felling of whether residents Were law abiding (33%) or criminal (67%) was cast toward the children.
Those interviewed placed much of the handbag thefts, vandalism b eaking and entering on juveniles. Many residents (92%) think and r a large percentage of the crime problems could be directly related to young offenders· The heads of the households regarded the dragstrip and hallways of the project as havens for youths to get into trouble.
The hypothesis that in high child density areas numerous problems arise specifically gang behavior and vandalism was supported. Although residents had troub 1 e giving d:i r-e-Ct percentages of how much crime and delinquency is accounted for byc~hHdren,they believe it was an ever increasing problem.
IV Question: Because of the large number of blacks now moving into public housing, l ·al tensions have increased over the last decade. rac In order to understand the racial problems in public housing, you t f irst know the background of public housing. First and foremost, mus public housing was setup for the working-class whites and post war veterans. From the start of public housing until the latter part of the fifties this held true. In the sixties large numbers of blacks were being relocated because of urban renewal. Blacks found themselves moving into housing which was primarily inhabited by large numbers of working-class whites. Because intergration was so sudden, combined with the new trend of black awareness and black power in the sixties interracial tensions surfaced.
One of the theories relating to the problem is the 11 Black Power 1 ' Theory. Today there are 21 million blacks in America with more than 2/3 of them classified as low income. Of the 24.5 million persons living in urban places classified as low income, blacks represent almost 60%. Therefore, it is reasonable to associate blacks wi.th the low income category .
For this reason we will examine and give consideration income category.
to the prevalent theory of black power. At one end of the spectrum are the black separatists whose visionary goals imply the foundation of a new, independent black nation carved out of North America. Realizing the incongruity of such a goal with the present United States political d' ..
1 v 1 s1ons has led to other models of separatism. One of the most promising is that of black control of one or more of the existing state governments acquired through the ballot box. Such statewide political takeover ~ I i r equire substantial immigration of the black population to central would areas as well as a tremendous amount of black unity and political involvet Separatists encourage blacks to remain where they have concentrated, men · ly thP inner city or more specifically in public housing. From these name community level bases, establishment of black power can begin.
The problem that did arise out of the large numbers of blacks living together was that they had no economic base to work from so there was no economic development.
Most problems in public housing are also created by white policemen going into a predominantly black housing development. Frictions can develop from a simple incident. Also racial problems that occur in school are brought back to the projects creating unhealthy situations.
The survey shows that there is presently a high percentage of blacks in the public housing study. The breakdown of racial composition showed 85% of those surveyed were black; 15% were white.
Of the heads of households questioned 77% felt racial tensions do exist. In response to what degree the tension bothered them, 69% responded that it bothered them a lot or at least a little. An interesting fact of the survey was that 88% of the residents feared the project would become all black and they would become racially isolated, but 12% did not think so did not care.
The question which assumed that the large numbers of blacks now moving into public housing increased racial tensions over the last decade received qualified support. A high percentage of affirmative responses were recorded in several questi'ons concerning this problem.
Question: V Management has created stressful situations.
When the Public Housing Act was first promulgated it was considered ny to be in that grouo of statutes called social legislation. It bY ma . , was a "breakthrough" to wipe out the slums as well as provide the proper housing for low-income people. Although the housing program has fulfilled some of its stated functions, the lack of success in other areas may be because of its indeterminate nature. A housing manager is specifically instructed to run his/her project financially solvent in a deficitoriented program. If he/she does this, the social aspects of the project may be jeopardized. to the project authorities who were 11 never in . 11 The complaint was finally heard by a neighborhood group which also i~cluded the project.
An interview with the corresponding . secreta ry disclosed how the lights were turned on again. She was enough of a troublemaker to reach the mayor's office and to get her point across.
The conflict between a social operation and a business operation is often difficult to settle in any given project. We are asking political appointees who have no business, social, or ho using training S olve the conflict. The tactics that make a project financially to re solvent are often not in the best interest of the tenant.
To tenants of public housing stressful environments have been created by management po 1 i ci es.
From a total picture of the survey abstracting those questions which tend to give a true picture of the Tenant vs Management dilemma, tenants have more negative than positive words about their policy makers.
The majority of the residents (50%) think that breaking and entering is the largest issue of management's problems, because of poor security.
Second to breaking and entering were complaints about filth and roaches (23%), management policies (15%) and assaults (12%). When asked about having made formal complaints to management, 89% of those surveyed had registered a complaint at least once, but in most cases several times.
The majority, (74%), said their complaints were taken care of after a considerable period of time. The survey showed that 15% of the complaints were never acted on.
After reading the complaints it was found that a little less than half (42%) had maintenance problems, filth ranked ~econd with 27%, vandalism had 15%, presence of roaches and rats was 9%, and need for a larger apartment was 6%. ~~hen asked about the management's role in security for the housing developments, the tenants overwhelmingly (83%) thought the housing authority was doing little to protect them. The majority of the heads of households knew thate was some security program in existence, but knew little about it. Those residents (97%) who were asked about the security force thought the force should be expanded. As far as being actually hassled by the administration 77% of the heads of households had been bothered about paying rent at least once.
The tenants were asked what would be the first change they would make if they could have a role in policy-making and a little less than one-half (48%) stated to screen applicants better, 23% wanted the place cleaned up better, 15% wanted better and more frequent extermination of apartments, and 14% wanted changes in the manager where they resided.
Two-th i rds of the residents did not care about having their income checked while 32% disliked the practice. Heads of households also thought favritism was showed to some families by management, but only about one-third were aware of it.
The question that management has created stressful environments for tenants received support from the data. In looking at the responses from heads of househo 1 ds we find that the majority of the residents are dissatisfied with many of the policies and procedures put forth by the housing authority. · n· VI ouestl 0 • The dense nature of the physical environment along with unpleasant + t s of the housing design itself creates insufficient landscaping, aspec and outdoor recreational areas.
Residential environments which inhibit crime by creating the physical expression of a social fabric which defends against crime itself is the factor most public housing developments have omitted. The different elements when combined to make environments crime free have a common goal. In an environment where thete is a sense of community the residents can then translate this into their responsibility for ensuring safe, productive, and well-kept living soace. The potential criminal perceives such areas as being controlled by its residents, leaving him to be an intruder who is easily recognized and dealt with.
The larger size of many public housing projects is a major negative factor. It means that the general public can identify the project as a special area of the city and label it a high crime area.
Small scattered projects are preferable developments not only because they lessen the concentration of problem families, but because they often lessen the opposition of surrounding residents to the placement of public housing in non-slum areas.
Large projects are still being built because of presumed cost savings. But there is less social control in large projects, and often a greater feeling of alienation which results in vandalism, a low level of maintenance, and frequent turnover of tenants caused by the bad name of the project.
Architecture is also important in creating a positive or negative atmosphere. The cold-appearing concrete public housing units, built purposely to look unlike private housing, remind tenants of their low Building short-cuts, such as poor insulation causes inconveniences status· and noise problems for residents, which increase tensions and the feeling that it is not a home. Such architecture as pointed out by the data collected indicates to the public the status of the housing and the institutional nature rif the project.
one of the key points reiterated by the residents in the survey was that the limited poverty group allowed to use public housing has little power to pressure for better architecture and more recreational space.
When interviewing heads of households an overwhelming majority (70% ) were bothered by the many vacant apartments. Better than 90% of those responding to the question of density of their project agreed that it was much too dense.
Ninety-two percent (92%) of the residents think that the project areas were not adequately lighted nor did they have an adequate recreational area. Nearly everyone in the survey (97 %) regarded the project as having poor social atmosphere for raising children.
Residents when asked if they were happy with the view of the limited landscaping responded "no" 88% of the time.
In looking at the design and landscaping of projects 94% of the tenants thought that the construction did not allow them maximum privacy or a sense of a warm environment.
The question that the dense nature of the physical environment 1 g with unpleasant aspects of housing design itself creates insufficient a on landscaping, and outdoor recreational areas; received qualified support by the survey data.
The majority of the residents were not happy with the physical design and landscaping of the public housing development. The majority felt a loss of warmth and privacy. Looking at the responses the question is considered correct.

D. Summary
A paradoxical situation exists in low-rent public housing where there ts a great demand and a substantial shortage while at the same time there is a growing vacancy rate. Investigations were made of the causes of this phenomenon.
To understand the housing program and the current situation a brief history of its development was given. It explains the reasons why the program did not produce the number of housing units projected anddid not add to the total housing inventory. For instance, when the Housing Act of 1937 was enacted, it was an attempt to kill two birds with one stone. On one hand, it tried to live up to its image as a piece of social legislation and on the other, to appease the real estate interests with its "equivalent elimination" clause in which no housing could be added to the existing supply. The idea was to build housing but not enough to upset the private market. Over the years Congress voted authorizations that ran into the hundreds of thousands of units. What actually was built after cuts by the Appropriations Committee resulted in 'dribs and drabs' of bare shelter grudgingly given. It took . more than thirty years to reach the goal of the first ten years.
The Act also established the principle of federal loans to local authorities who had the responsibility for initiating, planning, building and managing the projects. The various amendments to the Act show how the program evolved from a concern for simple shelter to social requirements of the tenants.
Moral justification is clearly evident when rents in public housing are charged in proportion to the tenants' income. This policy resulted h S tratification of tenants into a low income group. in t e Tests were required of prospective tenants to prove that their ;ncome was low enough to get into public housing and low enough to stay.
In other words, the outside world knew that The federal policies enacted tended to create a malfuntioning of the Program which, in turn, led to the vacancy phenomenon.
Statistics were compiled to show that the average rate of the housing inventory-increase was far below recommended levels. A great demand l ow-rent housing existed. On the private market there was a low for vacancy rate while at the same time a greater than average vacancy rate was prevalent in many housing projects. The data showed that a project's tenants and its location affected its desirability and occupancy rate. Other factors affecting the vacan~y rate include the number of bedrooms in a unit, vandalism, maintenance, and reputation. 5. The task of providing suitable shelter and a ~onstructive social environment for larege, multiproblem, low-income families is much more an institutional function than a housing management function.
The criteria for measuring effectiveness must be formulated in terms of meeting social needs rather than the economy and the efficiency of rent collection.
6. Local housing authorities are too pre-occupied with operational matters. As a result they give little leadership in the direction of solving the housing problems of the low-income population generally.
They become defensive of what they are doing rather than experimental and innovative. 11. Alienation between the tenant and the authority has become deeprooted in many projects.

12.
Because of the very low income limitations both for entry and continued residence in public housing, only the very poor are housed there.
13. This high-child density caused numerous problems, ranging from friction with neighbors t6 vandalism and crime.
14. The large size of most public housing projects is a major negative factor. It means that the general public can identify the project as a special area of the city and thus can label it as a high-crime area.

15.
Low income families have larger fami~ies than middle and upper income families, and these facts were not planned for i n the design of the project. As a result apartments with fewer bedrooms exist.
Presently large families use two apartments or internal walls are knocked down.
Due to the increase in the number of malicious acts in and around 16.
housing projects, there is a need for programs to combat vandalism.
Recommendations Social 1. One major solution is to broaden the socio-economic range of the families in public housing by not forcing those over a certain income to vacate the unit, but instead by making them pay more rent.
2. Planners must incorporate social plans that can function to create social interaction within public housing framework.
3. Stronger policies should be formulated on the federal level to require local authorities to be more responsive to the needs and aspirations of low-income tenants. 10. The buildings exteriors should be rehabilitated and given a new, more homelike and inviting appearance.
11. To insure esthetic virtue to the project buildings trees should be planted along the walkways. Landscape furniture should be installed to create an interesting and pleasing environment between buildings.

~
Existing and new open space should be used for controlled game 12.
areas and recreational programs.
some of the parking area should be used for additional recreation 13.
area. APPENDIX 48. Looking at the landscape in the surrounding areas of your housing project, does it give you a sense of a warm environment?