Why should we revisit public housing?
Currently, many cities in China are building public rental housing. The government also provides special land to encourage construction. Many developers also attach great importance to the construction of public housing. But public housing is nothing new in China. Before the reform and opening up, local governments were the largest landlords in the city, and most residents lived in public housing or unit housing.
However, due to the lack of housing investment, urban housing is seriously lacking, so housing reform has become an important part of economic system reform. The primary purpose of the reform is to increase housing supply, such as gradually canceling unit-distributed housing, encouraging public and private funds to invest in the construction of commercial housing to replace distributed housing; distinguishing public ownership and individual use rights of public housing, allowing the circulation of use rights; etc.
Times have changed, and the reason for mentioning public housing now is very different. It is not insufficient investment or insufficient supply, but excessive housing prices, resulting in a lack of affordable housing. Therefore, officials hope to increase effective supply and lower housing prices by building public housing, attract talents by providing public housing, and at the same time crack down on real estate speculation.
Public housing is an important supplement to the supply of housing under market economy conditions and is an effective means of government intervention in housing supply. Therefore, public housing is also an important factor in maintaining social equity and stability. Renting can also become a long-term way of living, but only if "equal rights to rent and purchase" are truly realized.
The percentage of people who own houses in the total population. Image source: http://www.cityup.org/news/urbanplan/20110721/79616-3.shtml
There is a common view that the higher the home ownership rate in a society, the better, but this is not the case. Professor Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University, believes that one result of the high homeownership rate is that families’ limited funds are frozen in housing, resulting in no more Live money is used to operate, thus affecting the flow of talents and capital.
According to the 2010 census data, it was found that in major developed countries, the homeownership rate is not positively correlated with the economic level of a society. Switzerland, with a per capita GDP of more than US$70,000, has a home ownership rate of only 34.6%, while Spain and Italy, with a per capita GDP of less than US$40,000, both have a home ownership rate of over 80%. It can be seen that whether to buy a house is a social and cultural issue rather than an economic level issue.
The history and failure of public housing in the United States
At present, the world's major developed countries have experience in providing public housing. The more successful ones are Singapore , while the more failed ones are like the United States. Let’s take the United States as an example to examine why public housing policies fail.
Let’s first look at the overall housing situation in the United States. According to 2010 census data, the United States has 132 million housing units for a population of 308 million, of which 67.3% are single-family houses, 25.9% are apartments, and 6.8% are RVs. The private home ownership rate increased from 65.6% in 1999 to 69% in 2005, and fell to 65.1% in 2010 after the subprime mortgage crisis.
In other words, more than one-third of Americans still live in rented houses. By region, the homeownership rate is low in big cities and high in small cities. In terms of race, whites have the highest homeownership rate at 72.3%, followed by Asians at 62.9%, Hispanics at 650.5%, and blacks at the lowest at 46.8%.
Housing policy is the foundation of American urban policy. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the government department in charge of housing in the United States, has proposed four principles for housing policy: encourage citizens to buy houses; the government provides public housing to help low-income families rent houses; promote community construction through government construction; ensure housing issues on fairness.
When it comes to public housing policy specifically, the United States has taken a very tortuous path.
In 1937, after the Great Depression, the federal government passed the housing program Housing ACT 1937, which can be said to be the beginning of public housing policy in the United States. The bill establishes that public housing is fully subsidized by the federal government and managed decentrally by local governments to provide affordable housing in the form of publicly owned rental housing. At that time, more than 3,000 public housing bureaus were set up across the United States to carry out large-scale public housing construction, mainly high-rise residential buildings. Now many large developers in China are doing what the United States did back then.However, due to too many problems, the act reduced investment from 1973 and stopped in 1982.
One of the classic cases is Pruitt-Igoe, a high-rise public housing for blacks in St. Louis, designed by Yamasaki and built in 1954. At first, it was well received by the residents for its convenient infrastructure, but soon violent incidents began to occur in the community, and public security continued to deteriorate. Therefore, in 1972, the government blew it up again.
At that time, American architecture critic Charles Jencks also commented that "modern architecture died in St. Louis, USA, at 3:32 pm on July 15, 1972." On this day, "modernist architecture has died."
Pruitt–Igoe overlooking (Photo source: blog.asf.or.id)
Pruitt–Igoe demolition moment (Photo source: wikipedia.org)
On the supply side, since public housing requires sustainable investment, the government is equivalent to shouldering all the burdens. From construction to maintenance, the government had to provide subsidies all the time, resulting in a rapid shortage of government funds. Therefore, the federal government introduced private funds in 1964 and stipulated that developers investing in public housing could receive public subsidies. But immediately there was massive fraud.
There are four Presidential Towers apartments in Chicago . They are defined as public housing. The government sells the land and subsidizes private capital to house the poor after they are built. But after the construction is completed, all residents will be middle class and above, and the poor will have no chance at all. Private capital often just uses public housing as an excuse to get subsidies from the government. Therefore, by 1980, this plan was also terminated.
In 1992, the U.S. Congress passed the HOPE-VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) Act, which overturned the original concept and demolished old public housing and replaced it with small-scale, scattered, low-/multi-story mixed public housing. Why did
have such a change in concept? Because concentrating people living in public housing together will eventually bring endless hidden dangers and social costs. The passage of this bill also marked the complete failure of traditional public housing policies in the United States.
HOPE-VI Act. Image source: wordpress.com
At the same time, the government has transformed from a supply side to a demand side. HOPE VI provides $5 billion per year to change the concept of public housing (that is, housing for low-income people) and promote mixed living with different incomes.
proposed the idea of housing vouchers during this process: If you feel that you meet the government's low-income standards and are deemed eligible for government subsidies, you can go to the housing department and transfer 35% of your salary to the housing authority. , the Housing Authority will give you a coupon to find a house in the general housing market. After you find a house, the rent will be paid entirely by the government, because you have already given 35% of your salary to the government. As a landlord of a rental house, although it is not a public residence, it is included in the public supply.
This idea aims to change the phenomenon of low-income people being concentrated in public rental housing, so that they can be dispersed into different communities to reduce racial and income segregation. Although this idea is good, it cannot be done objectively. For example, I lived in Oak Park, a western suburb of Chicago, and my neighbors were mostly white. If their property is vacant and they want to rent it, tenants need to fill out a detailed application form to meet the community's requirements.
The Death of Chicago Public Housing
As mentioned earlier, the federal government’s housing program in 1937. In the same year, the Illinois government also established the independent Chicago Housing Authority (CHA). The board members of this agency are appointed by the mayor, and its budget is independent from Chicago's mainly relies on central and state government funding. The purpose was to clear out slums within the city of Chicago that were deemed uninhabitable and provide affordable housing for veterans. CHA currently has more than 50,000 rental properties, including 21,000 apartments, and manages 37,000 households that receive Section 8 vouchers (the government’s housing vouchers for low-income private housing tenants).
From 1937 to the late 1950s, Chicago's public housing was mostly white, mainly Italians at the bottom of society.During the period of rapid industrialization in the United States after the war, many blacks moved from rural areas to big cities. Therefore, by the 1970s, blacks accounted for 65% of public housing, and by 2000, they accounted for 88%. But now things have changed again, Mexicans are coming in. As of today, 69% of Chicago's public housing residents are black, 27% are Latino, and 4% are white, Asian, etc.
At the same time, the traditional family structure no longer exists. As early as 1975, studies showed that the traditional parent-child family structure in public housing was almost non-existent, with 93% of households headed by single women. Because black women give birth early, they can claim housing subsidies and food stamps after giving birth, which is almost like a job. But at the same time, the proportion of households with children is also decreasing, from 50% in 2000 to 35% in 2010.
has a specific case that reflects the problem of public housing. Chicago's Cabrini-Green Public Housing (Cabrini-Green Homes) is located in the northern downtown area. It was built in 1941 and was named after the Italian missionaries Frances Cabrini and William Green. It is divided into Cabrini row multi-storey buildings. The residential and Green Garden high-rise residential areas consist of 3,607 residential units and housed 15,000 people at its peak. It is close to two of Chicago's wealthiest communities - Lincoln Park and Gold Coast, to show the government's willingness to allow low-income people to live in the best areas.
The Cabrini-Green Homes were first built in 1942 (Photo source: encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org)
Cabrini-Green Homes echo the Chicago skyline, photographed in 1996 (Photo source: architect.com)
From 1950 By 1969, CHA built 11 high-rise residential projects here, forming an enclosed "superblock." But in this way, public transportation cannot effectively extend into the residential areas, and the low-income residents inside are also isolated from the scope of police patrols, so the security situation is very bad. In order to solve the security problem, the Chicago Housing Authority even created its own police department (CHAPD) in 1989. This inevitably conflicted with the external police system, so it was disbanded after ten years.
One of the high-rise residential buildings in Cabrini-Green (Photo source: chicagoreader.com)
Corridor covered by barbed wire (Photo source: reddit.com)
In addition, various problems have arisen in the design of residential projects, including high-rise buildings Residential safety of residential buildings and event spaces in multi-story residential buildings. The corridors of high-rise residential buildings are designed as verandahs and are wrapped with wire mesh so that the outside can see inside. But even so, a big case soon emerged. A nine-year-old girl was raped and died next to the elevator. Secondly, the children living here had no place to play, and they did not study well all day long, so they had to play around the trash cans, so security problems soon arose. This in turn requires police cars and police officers to watch and stand guard all day long to maintain order.
Drawings of Chicago community children. Picture from Zhang Tingwei
I once surveyed children in two communities in Chicago and asked them to draw what their homes looked like. The painting on the left is from a child living in public housing, and the painting on the right is from a child living in a suburban Chicago home. The comparison of the two paintings is very shocking. Children in the suburbs drew large birds, flowers, trees, and houses, while children in public housing drew rows of windows and two people fighting each other on the top floor. This is the result of concentrated living in public housing, and it has a profound psychological impact on children. Why do these problems occur with
? The main reasons are as follows:
1) The composition of residents in public housing has changed dramatically over time. The residents have changed from white working-class people to black people and poor people with nowhere to go. Racial problems, economic problems, and social divisions have emerged. ;
2) After the United States began its deindustrialization process in the 1980s, industrial employment opportunities decreased.Cabrini-Green Homes was originally close to Chicago's industrial areas and could provide many jobs. However, as the industrial areas moved to the suburbs, residents had nowhere to go, and the unemployment rate rose in the residential areas;
3) because of the "superblocks" of public housing form, resulting in insufficient internal public transportation, and it is difficult for people to have the opportunity to go to work in the suburbs;
4) The decline of public education in the community, there is a big youth problem;
5) Safety problems caused by the design of high-rise residential buildings, such as elevators, stairwells, etc. Dead End;
6) The government's attitude towards public housing has also changed, from initial support to laissez-faire, resulting in a reduction in maintenance funds;
7) Changes in public opinion. From the earliest times, public opinion felt that this place should be a permanent residence solution for the poor and it was an indispensable part. However, public opinion gradually began to believe that this kind of public housing was the source of some social problems;
8) The opportunities for surrounding development brought some temptations. Because it is next to a wealthy area and housing prices are rising, people are beginning to question why public housing is built here?
It can be seen that public housing represented by Cabrini-Green Homes has problems in three aspects: policy, design and management.
The 2019 budget plan of the Trump administration in the United States. Source: washingtonpost.com
There are so many problems. Is there any way for the competent authority CHA or even HUD to solve them?
Unfortunately, HUD is a second-tier department in the United States. It has never received attention from the federal government and its budget is shrinking day by day. The picture above is the 2019 budget plan of the Trump administration in the United States. It can be seen that the budget increases are in the order of the Department of Veterans, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health, the Department of Commerce, etc. The budget reductions are in order of the State Council, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Small Business Owners Protection Bureau, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, the Interior Department, and HUD, among which the HUD budget has been reduced by 14%.
But Cabrini-Green Homes has been built, and problems still need to be solved. Therefore, the current reconstruction proposal is to carry out market-oriented demolition and reconstruction, and carry out a mixed living form of 20% relocation + 80% market-priced housing; cancel high-rise buildings and replace them with "multi-storey + low-rise" and individual small high-rise buildings; improve design standards; Increase community participation in the planning and design process and participate in management.
However, new problems have arisen. Chicago's public housing is now demolished to only about 15% of its original size. But many of the demolished places remain empty because there is no new stuff to fill them, leaving huge scars on the city.
The last high-rise apartment building in Cabrini-Green was demolished in 2011 (Image source: wikipedia.org)
Comparison of satellite images of Cabrini-Green Homes in 1999 and 2018. Large open spaces were formed after the demolition of the residential buildings (google earth)
Public housing policy, The trinity of design and management
Based on the above development history and cases of public housing, I believe that the key to the success of public housing is that policy, design, and management must become a whole.
1) Policy issues
First, policies must be sustainable. At the beginning of the decision-making process, it is necessary to think clearly about the long-term goal of public housing, whether it is permanent rental or transitional rental. If public housing is regarded as a long-term arrangement, the life cycle of the residents should be considered in the design and management, including establishing a family, children's education, elderly care, etc., so there should be corresponding design content and management measures.
In theory, public rental housing should be a decent and alternative way of living (such as Switzerland and Singapore), rather than becoming the last destination for poor people with nowhere to go.
Therefore, the goal of public housing should be to solve the long-term housing problem rather than the short-term housing price problem. This also involves residents’ final arrangements, whether to continue living here after retirement or to move out.
Second, there must be a stable source of investment and maintenance costs to achieve self-supporting sustainability. For example, Hong Kong's public housing can make its own blood. There are high-rise residential buildings above and commercial developments on the lower floors for rent. The money earned is enough to fund maintenance.
I once suggested that the United States learn from Hong Kong's experience and use a piece of land for development and use the money earned to maintain public housing.However, American scholars say this is against the law, because U.S. law stipulates that the government cannot use taxpayers’ money to compete with taxpayers for business opportunities. This will squeeze out opportunities for private developers, so the government can only spend money, not earn money. Money is like tying oneself to death. There will always be a bottomless pit of money. This is a huge problem.
Third, it is necessary to be able to predict changes in the composition of residents and changes in housing demand during the life cycle. It is also necessary to consider the impact of changes in surrounding industries on residents; possible changes in the composition of residents and changes in their environmental needs. Finally, the government must also be aware of issues such as public education, youth entertainment and community security.
2) Design issues
is the impact of the quality of the living environment on residents. This ties in well with the larger goals of public housing.
first is site selection. Placing public housing in inner-city areas, while fair on its face, is it sustainable? Will they be shared with residents from other income groups, or will they be grouped alone?
The second is the form of residential areas and the distribution of public spaces. Should we use super blocks or mixed-use small blocks? How are indoor and outdoor public parts distributed and coordinated?
In terms of residential form, is it a high-rise or multi-story? In terms of the use of building materials, in order to build public housing quickly and save costs at the beginning, the quality of the building materials was generally low, resulting in extremely high maintenance costs later. Therefore, the use of building materials must balance the relationship between price and maintenance cycle.
3) Management issues
In management, diversified requirements should be considered and reflect the needs of various residents. In terms of management institutions, it is necessary to establish an open management model that is open, fair and involves public participation. Among them, there must be at least four main bodies - residents, housing management agencies (housing bureaus), development and construction agencies (local governments), and external society (transportation, public education, social management). Only by uniting these main bodies to participate Only through management can we do a good job in the community. In particular, how public housing can be integrated into the surrounding community.
The final conclusion is that a successful public housing is the product of thoughtful policies, meticulous design, and a publicly supported management system. Public housing is a new and old issue. Now that public housing is being mentioned and valued again, we should study it first and then promote it, and learn from the experiences and lessons of other countries, rather than rushing into it.
(This article is compiled from the lecture "Policy, Design, Management: Paying Attention to Public Rental Housing" by Zhang Tingwei, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of Illinois, USA, at Tongji University on May 14. It has not been reviewed by the speaker and was compiled by the Song Dynasty Lun finishing)
