THE PUBLIC HOUSING DEBATE CONTENTS: Introduction Does Texas need public housing? Problems facing public housing The past: Beginnings of public housing Public Works Administration builds public housing Housing Act of 1937 Public housing in Texas Special interest, race and local control Solutions to fix public housing Postscript: Allen Parkway Village today For more information TxLIHIS' work in public housing copyright 1998 Texas Low Income Housing Information Service

Solutions to fix public housing Real change for public housing Ownership means having control and responsibility over one's home. Change in public housing must provide for a transfer of ownership responsibility for public housing from government to the families residing in public housing without the fatal flaws of Secretary Kemp's HOPE original proposal to sell public housing to residents. Physical and economic conditions in public housing mean that the application of a single family homeownership model, as proposed by Secretary Kemp, cannot work for public housing. Models of multifamily ownership must be used instead of single family ownership models. The federal government simply cannot walk away from its financial obligations to low income families. Government has a continuing responsibility to provide financial support for public housing. Public housing will fail, regardless of whatever type of reforms are put in place, if the federal government does not provide adequate financial support for maintenance of the housing. But money alone is not the answer. Without systemic management and ownership reforms, all the money in the world will not solve public housing's problems. Co-op management with shared resident and government responsibilities is necessary for real change in public housing. Provision of adequate funding and systemic management reform will provide residents of public housing real control and ownership of their homes and will enhance the economic viability of the developments as well as allow the improvement and preservation of these homes. As noted earlier, the Kemp plan failed because it did not account for the realities of public housing's physical structures (multi-family apartments) and the economic realities facing public housing residents (very low income). It is not a realistic solution to simply hand residents a deed and leave them to work out collective maintenance and management of the projects. It is irresponsible to withdraw financial support for maintenance and utilities from low income families and allow them to become homeless. Continued public support for public housing is essential. Public support requires a degree of accountability and responsibility to society on the part of both public housing authorities and residents. The challenge is to balance the involvement of government while achieving meaningful resident responsibility and ownership over public housing. The shared responsibility co-op management approach achieves this balance. Shared responsibility: co-op management