Mixed-Income Housing Developments
Publication Date: 12/07/2009
The Problem:
The shortage of adequate, affordable housing can create pockets of concentrated poverty, exposing children and others to lead and other pathogens, which affects the health of children and families. The Urban Institute. Research on Record: Housing. Also, housing expenses draw resources away from health expenditures (e.g., nutritious food and healthcare). CDC and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Healthy Housing Reference Manual.
The Law:
States and localities have attempted to address the inadequate supply of affordable housing and its associated harms by facilitating the creation of mixed income housing developments through a number of legal mechanisms. Mixed-income housing developments provide affordable housing for low-income residents in rental units that are interspersed with market-rate housing. Laws promote mixed-income housing developments by subsidizing the construction of multi-family residences and reserving a portion of units for low-income residents at affordable prices. Hope VI is federal housing program that funds mixed-income housing fully or in partnership with private developers. HOPE VI Revitalization Notices of Funds Availability; 24 C.F.R. 941.600. Some municipalities have used zoning law to increase mixed income housing. For example, Sacramento, California ( Sacramento City Code § 17.190.030) and Burlington, Vermont (Burlington Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance §§ 9.1-9.2)) have inclusionary zoning requirements that require that a certain percentage of new housing units are affordable to low-income residents.
The Evidence:
In a Community Guide review, Anderson et. al. could not find any qualifying studies that measured the impact of mixed-income housing developments in creating and maintaining safe and affordable housing for low-income residents. Anderson LM, et al. Providing affordable family housing and reducing residential segregation by income: a systematic review. Am J Prev Med. 2003;24(3S):S47-67. As a result, the reviewers could not ascertain the effectiveness of mixed-income housing developments as a public health intervention.
The Bottom Line:
In the judgment of a Community Guide expert panel, there is currently insufficient evidence to establish the effectiveness of mixed income housing as a public health intervention.
What are Evidence Briefs?
A Public Health Law Research Program “Evidence Brief” summarizes the research assessing the effect of a specific law or policy on public health.
Evidence Briefs are prepared by the staff of the National Program Office. Briefs are based on systematic literature reviews conducted by highly-regarded scholars and published by credible organizations or peer-reviewed journals. Evidence Briefs digest the best available evidence, but readers should bear in mind that even the best evidence may have limitations or deficiencies.
The evidence briefs are organized by topic and intervention. Each law or policy is classified as “effective,” “uncertain” or “harmful,” according to the conclusions of the expert reviewers. These are not independent conclusions of the NPO, nor do they reflect the views of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
About the Links
Each Evidence Brief includes links to the study on which it is based. In many cases, the study is available in the public domain, but access to some may require a subscription.
