HOPE VI reauthorization passes House
HOPE VI, the acclaimed federal grant program for public housing redevelopment that was guided by New Urbanist design principles (see Part One and Part Two of the principles booklet), may be headed for a comeback. On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3524 by 271 to 130. Read more via the AP.
Two major improvements in the bill include new standards for environmentally advanced building design, a one-for-one public housing replacement requirement, and additional protections for existing residents of public housing. Many completed HOPE VI redevelopments have been criticized locally for resulting in a net loss of needed public housing units -- often the only housing units guaranteed to be affordable to families with extremely low incomes.
The matching Senate bill, S. 829, is awaiting mark-up by the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee. The White House, which has previously zeroed out funding for HOPE VI, continues to oppose the program's return.
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