Examining Neighborhood Opportunity and Locational Outcomes for Housing Choice Voucher Recipients: A Comparative Study between Duval County, Florida, and Bexar County, Texas

Abstract

Recent attention has highlighted the importance of providing low‐income households access to opportunity‐rich neighborhoods. Using a neighborhood opportunity framework developed specifically for the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, this study investigates whether low‐income households participating in the program live in opportunity areas. The results indicate that with scarce high‐opportunity neighborhoods, most HCV households reside in mixed opportunity areas and face tradeoffs when deciding where to live. Voucher holders reside in areas with moderate or poor accessibility and neighborhood conditions compared to other assisted and nonassisted low‐income renters. Opportunity outcomes also vary among different household types of HCV recipients.

Understanding the role of life events on residential mobility for low-income, subsidised households

“…This finding may not be detrimental if neighbourhoods are viewed through the lens of tradeoff attributes, as documented by recent literature on neighbourhood opportunity (e.g. Walter and Wang, 2016; Wang et al, 2017). Specifically, neighbourhoods in or near urban centres that are relatively high in poverty have transportation accessibility in Florida (Walter et al, 2015, 2018).…”

Moving to Opportunity, or Aging in Place? The Changing Profile of Low Income and Subsidized Households and Where They Live

“…Only with respect to escaping high-crime neighborhoods are voucher holders' outcomes indisputably positive (Lens, Ellen, and O'Regan 2011). Using a complex "neighborhood opportunity framework" with 32 indicators in four categories, Wang et al (2017) concluded that when high-opportunity neighborhoods are scarce-as McClure ( 2010) has shown they are-voucher households reside in areas with "moderate or poor accessibility and neighborhood conditions compared to other. .…”