Affordable Housing and Crime in the US

This assignment explores the complex link between affordable housing projects and crime rates in the US. It analyzes the correlation between these factors, considering the concentration of low-income populations in suburbs and public housing, as well as the impact on health outcomes and community well-being. The analysis draws upon research studies and data to provide insights into this multifaceted issue.

Running head: HOUSING IN UNITED STATES
Housing in United States
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Introduction
The current study focuses upon the aspects of affordable housing within the United
States. In this context United States is one of the most costly and Porsche countries of the world
with respect to housing infrastructure. The price of the houses whether own or rental which are
below 30 % of one’s income were declared by the US government as affordable housing. In this
respect, the US government had launched affordable housing schemes. The scheme was to
provide sufficient tax waivers to the lower income group who were buying houses for the first
time.
Thesis statement
To analyse the affordability of housing within the United States and suggest mitigation
strategies
Background analysis
There is tremendous pressure upon the housing resources within the United States of
America. This could be attributed to the huge exodus of population from the developing nations,
which puts more pressure upon the nationwide resources. As commented by Saez, Emmanuel,
and Gabriel, the huge ocean of opportunities available within the US attracts more than 10
million job seekers annually. This results in the real estate bidders hiking the per capita costs of
the housing property. In this respect, problems are mainly faced by the non-native Americans
who might have moved into the country with a hope of finding new hopes and opportunities. As
per reports and estimates only 21 units are available per 100 extremely low income rental
households (Chauvin et al.). In this respect, the resource limitation and excessive high prices of

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the housing can act a hindrance for the entire nation. As commented by Saez, Emmanuel, and
Gabriel , huge number of immigration have been seen to enhance the foreign exchange of a
country. However, the accommodation issues and high pricing of the houses can limit the
number of international students and job seekers visiting the country.
For the affective mitigation of the issue US has created a neat interactive map, which
analyse the gap between demand, and supply of affordable units in each and every US based
City. The map helps in comprehending the severity of the problem within the US. The figures
and estimates show that they have 42 units per very 100 low-income renting household. Further
research and analysis have pointed out that as housing costs are lower in the countryside, which
is as per the income. In this respect, the tourists have often complained of economical rents being
allowed which makes US tourism one of the most costly one. The inability to provide sufficient
accommodation affects the health prospects of the public in general. The extent of the
dilapidated living conditions can be understood form the fact that many families are sharing their
apartments or accommodation.
The housing act of 1949, states that every citizen has the right to decent standards of
living (Wu, Lynn, and Erik). However, lack of sufficient income and excessive pressure building
upon the public resources affects the availability standards of housing and proper shelter. In
addition, the construction costs being on the higher side people cannot easily afford to build their
own houses. One of the immediate causes, which had been encountered over here is the lack of
approval standards for the social contract based upon housing (Favara, Giovanni, and Jean).
Thus, the initiative lies on the part of the government to implement sufficient cost regulation
strategies and parameters which could control the cost of the housing.

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The effects of the affordable housing in American society:
Housing is a fundamental necessity of the people that provides them with basic facilities
such as storage of foods, water and other essentials. Housing also works as the source of identity
for the people who live there. It is also an object of attachment for the people residing there. The
affordable housing has its association with the public health and well-being (Tighe). When a
country has insufficient supply of affordable housing, the poor families are forced to limit their
expenditure for food and medical care. The lack of affordable housing in a community makes
these families to move from the neighbourhood in the search of the instability they faces.
The metropolitan areas have witnessed a trend of segregation of poor households in
recent decades. Between 1970’s and 1990’s the number of people living in the extreme poverty
neighbourhood increased very much. When the poverty population increased, the poorer
population increased in the impoverished area (Ruel et al. ). The African Americans are the one
who has affected the most by the changed opportunity structures there are many lower income
African American families who also faces the racial discrimination in the housing market.
However, in the recent years, the racial discrimination faced by the African Americans has been
reduced a little. Still the African-Americans are abundant in the poorer neighbourhood of
America.
In the recent time, there has been a chain of events in which it is seen that the property
owners providing home to the poor people are upgrading their building in order to attract people
of the higher income groups (Gurran, and Whitehead). For that, they are raising the rent, which
the people already residing there cannot afford. This is raising the need of the affordable housing
in USA.

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In the year 1949, the enacted housing act ensured the decent living in every family in
America. In the recent times, the population in America has been on a rise as there are many
Hispanic migrants coming from the Latin American countries such as Mexico (Kneebone, and
Berube). The recent argument is that, the act was written in many years earlier when the
population of the country was less. As per the recent time, it is almost impossible to provide all
these people with decent housing. However, it is to remember that the basic human right of
decent living is for everyone. These people who migrated to USA, are increasing the total
population of the country. Most of these people are unable to afford the standard living
condition.
In the suburban areas, the development of affordable housing can be seen which has
increased the ethnic heterogenecity and class diversity (Albright et al.). This development has
made the social theorists predict an increase in the number of social disorganization such as
increase in the number of crimes and declination in the value of property. A recent study, which
was conducted in Louisville, Kentucky, it is found that increase in the number of crimes is
associated with the location change and affordable housing concentration. The study revealed
that that the crime hotspots of the specific areas are the low-income housings of the city. The
place theory suggests that the high-density lower-income housing projects have the higher rates
of crime.
There are many homeless people in America who lives in the community houses and
slums. They cannot afford better housing as they also have to pay for the commodities, which is
the same for everyone and is increasing day by day (Loftus-Farren). This is one of the reasons

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that they cannot afford any housing. They cannot save enough and take up the burden for the big
house.
There is a research, which shows that the public housing residents are more prone to have
worst health condition than any population. Variety of people enters the public housing facility
and the lack of hygiene there, makes their health condition worse.
Conclusion:
From the above discussion, it can be seen that the African American people are the
prevalent population in US who lives in the lower income areas with affordable housing projects.
The affordable housing projects are prevalent in the suburbs of US and the number of crime
committed there is also high. The number of population in America is increasing day by day, and
it is beyond the ability of the American government to provide them with basic housing needs.

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References
Albright, Len, Elizabeth S. Derickson, and Douglas S. Massey. "Do affordable housing projects
harm suburban communities? Crime, property values, and taxes in Mount Laurel, NJ." City &
community 12.2 (2013): 89-112.
Chauvin, Juan Pablo, et al. "What is different about urbanization in rich and poor countries?
Cities in Brazil, China, India and the United States." Journal of Urban Economics 98 (2017): 17-
49.
Favara, Giovanni, and Jean Imbs. "Credit supply and the price of housing." The American
Economic Review 105.3 (2015): 958-992.
Gurran, Nicole, and Christine Whitehead. "Planning and affordable housing in Australia and the
UK: a comparative perspective." Housing studies 26.7-8 (2011): 1193-1214.
Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Alan Berube. Confronting suburban poverty in America. London:
Brookings Institution Press, 2013: pp.15-25.
Loftus-Farren, Zoe. "Tent cities: An interim solution to homelessness and affordable housing
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Ruel, Erin, et al. "Is public housing the cause of poor health or a safety net for the unhealthy
poor?." Journal of Urban Health 87.5 (2010): 827-838.
Saez, Emmanuel, and Gabriel Zucman. "Wealth inequality in the United States since 1913:
Evidence from capitalized income tax data." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 131.2 (2016):
519-578.

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Tighe, J. Rosie. "Public opinion and affordable housing: A review of the literature." CPL
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