Public Housing Myths

Addressing and debunking 11 widely held assumptions about public housing and why it failed, this much-needed book largely discredits the policy rhetoric concerning the problematic stereotypes associated with public housing.... The book adeptly points out that to blame public housing on the persistence of crime, poverty, and other social problems is simply not accurate. -- D.A. Oakley * CHOICE * For tenants like those who I [have spoken to in my research] and for indeed anyone who has tried to engage in discussions about public housing the value of this book cannot be overstated. Public debate about public housing requires an arsenal of rebuttals to confront these destructive myths, as well as a lot of energy and patience. As I read through this collection, I could feel a growing sense of relief finally, it's here! In one volume!... Public housing as an institution, a home and social policy has long needed a resource like Public Housing Myths. Anyone whose scholarly or professional work involves public housing should be required to read this comprehensive and convincing volume. -- Martine August * Social & Cultural Geography *

Nicholas Dagen Bloom is Associate Professor of Social Sciences and chair of Interdisciplinary Studies at New York Institute of Technology. He is the author most recently of Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century. Fritz Umbach is Associate Professor of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY). He is the author of The Last Neighborhood Cops: The Rise and Fall of Community Policing In New Yorks Public Housing. Lawrence J. Vale is Ford Professor of Urban Design and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author most recently of Purging the Poorest: Public Housing and the Design Politics of Twice-Cleared Communities.

IntroductionI. PlacesMYTH #1. Public Housing Stands Alone by Joseph HeathcottMYTH #2. Modernist Architecture Failed Public Housing by D. Bradford HuntMYTH #3. Public Housing Breeds Crime by Fritz Umbach and Alexander GerouldMYTH #4. High-Rise Public Housing Is Unmanageable by Nicholas Dagen BloomII. PolicyMYTH #5. Public Housing Ended in Failure during the 1970s by Yonah FreemarkMYTH #6. Mixed-Income Redevelopment Is the Only Way to Fix Failed Public Housing by Lawrence J. ValeMYTH #7. Only Immigrants Still Live in Eu ro pe an Public Housing by Florian UrbanMYTH #8. Public Housing Is Only for Poor People by Nancy KwakIII. PeopleMYTH #9. Public Housing Residents Hate the Police by Fritz UmbachMYTH #10. Public Housing Tenants Are Powerless by Rhonda Y. WilliamsMYTH #11. Public Housing Tenants Did Not Invest in Their Neighborhoods by Lisa LevensteinNotes Acknowledgments Contributor Biographies Index