By Alexandra M. Curley & Gretchen Weismann (Click here to view the entire P&R issue)
A recent report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston provides new insights about the housing search process, experiences, and location outcomes for families who receive vouchers through the Housing Choice Voucher Program. We found that many families residing in lower-opportunity neighborhoods are not living in areas that match their housing search preferences or priorities, and that families who moved to higher-opportunity neighborhoods (e.g. low poverty, high performing schools) report high neighborhood satisfaction. This article highlights some of the key findings from this important study.
In 2017, fewer than 14% of families with children receiving vouchers in the United States lived in low poverty neighborhoods, and white households were nearly twice as likely as black households to live in such neighborhoods. The story in Massachusetts is similar—voucher utilization remains highly concentrated in high poverty areas, and this concentration is more pronounced for black and Hispanic households than for whites (Sard et al., 2018).
The picture of residential segregation appears even starker at the local level. In a 2016 study of 8,750 Boston Housing Authority (BHA) voucher assisted households in the Boston Metropolitan area, we found that 71% lived in the City of Boston and nearly half (48%) of all BHA voucher holders lived in just three neighborhoods— Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan— even though the BHA’s voucher administrative area includes 120 cities and towns.
With our colleague and report co-author Erin Graves, we conducted a survey of voucher assisted families in the Greater Boston area to advance understanding about these imbalanced location outcomes. The goal of the research was to better understand housing location outcomes from voucher holders’ perspectives and experiences, and to explore how voucher assisted families are locating housing, and whether there are different strategies and barriers to access depending on what types of neighborhoods they search in and move to. We also asked families about the experience of living in their current neighborhood, including the quality of their life for their children, neighborhood safety, schools, neighbors, and whether they plan to remain in the neighborhood for a long time.
We conducted an in-person survey of 128 BHA voucher holders with children under 18 who had moved into their unit within the previous three years. The survey sample was drawn from the BHA voucher program data, and families were included from a range of neighborhoods and communities across the Boston Metro area. Addresses of voucher holders were geocoded and linked to census tracts and tract-level measures of neighborhood opportunity using the diversitydatakids.org – Kirwan Institute Child Opportunity Index, a comprehensive measure of community-level resources known to be crucial for healthy child development and positive life outcomes. By sampling two groups of families, those who moved to higher-opportunity neighborhoods and those who moved to lower-opportunity areas, the survey sought to develop greater insight into the factors that support and constrain housing choices for voucher holders in the current housing market.
The survey explored how housing search factors such as information, preferences, and priorities, and discrimination impact voucher holders’ search process and experiences while conducting a housing search, where they use their vouchers, and how they assess their current housing and neighborhood environment.
Voucher families of all races and ethnicities who located in higher opportunity areas expressed greater satisfaction with their neighborhoods for themselves and their children.
Findings
Residential location outcomes did not align with housing search preferences: We find that regardless of location outcomes when looking for housing, families shared similar preferences for neighborhood characteristics. The survey indicates that most voucher-assisted households want the same types of neighborhoods—safe places with good schools and neighbors from a mix of economic and racial backgrounds.
Discrimination by race and source of income: More than seven in ten voucher holders reported experiencing a problem with one or more types of discrimination during their last housing search. The process of looking for apartments, experience with housing providers and property owners, and location outcomes also varied by race, with black families experiencing the greatest access barriers to diverse communities. Compared with other families, black families used more search strategies and sought out more apartments, but they had less success and experienced more discrimination during the search process, especially in higher-opportunity areas.
Source of and span of information mattered: Families who lived in higher-opportunity areas were three times as likely as lower-opportunity movers to have searched in a higher opportunity neighborhood and more likely to have searched for housing outside of the City of Boston and in places they had never heard of. Those who moved to higher-opportunity areas were also much more likely to have used the internet to search for and find units in these neighborhoods, compared to families who relied on family and friends or housing agencies and lists of apartment rentals provided by housing agencies during their housing search.
Higher-opportunity movers are much more satisfied with their neighborhoods and want to remain in their neighborhoods: One important survey finding is that voucher families of all races and ethnicities who located in higher-opportunity areas expressed greater satisfaction with their neighborhoods for themselves and their children. They are also much more likely to report that their neighborhoods are safe and good environments for their children (87% v. 55%) and indicate that they would like to stay in their neighborhood for a long time (75% v. 46%).
In summary, the voucher assisted families we surveyed want access to a range of communities, and they are working very hard to find housing that meets their priorities and the program requirements. But in that process, they are encountering barriers that extend beyond the economic competitiveness of the rental market. The families describe discrimination as a barrier in both low and high-opportunity neighborhoods—with black families experiencing more difficulty while getting the least reward for their extensive efforts.
These findings provide evidence of the importance of enforcing fair housing laws but also of educating the community—voucher assisted households, landlords, property owners, housing counselors, and neighbors—about fair housing, the effort that families are making and what is working, and about preferences and information gaps that limit access and perpetuate residential segregation.
The full report of survey findings and policy recommendations can be found at https://www.bostonfed.org/ under “publications.”
Alexandra M. Curley (acurley.amcresearch@gmail.com) is principal of AMC Research and Consulting, LLC, specializing in housing mobility programs, mixed-income housing, and community-based research. She is a member of the Mobility Works technical assistance team.
Gretchen Weismann (g_weismann@ yahoo.com) is a consultant focused on housing policy design, program development, and evaluation. She is a member of the Mobility Works technical assistance team.
