The unfulfilled promise of neoliberal housing policy : how the dynamics of the rental housing market influence the spatial concentration of voucher holders in New York City

Abstract

This thesis seeks to understand how rental housing market dynamics-particularly landlord behavior, and the policies and players that shape it-contribute to the spatial clustering of households that participate in the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program in New York City. Scholars have long been interested in understanding the reproduction of HCV holders into higher poverty, racially segregated neighborhoods in cities across the U.S. Most of the research to date has focused on the ways demand-side factors influence locational outcomes of voucher holders, specifically why they move, where and under what circumstances. However, to fully understand the residential patterns we see among voucher holders, we need to look beyond the demand-side barriers to understand the structural problems of the rental housing market and the voucher program itself. This thesis draws on in-depth interviews with landlords who participate and do not participate in the HCV program in New York City to better understand their experiences with the program and what drives their decision-making practices. Interviews were also conducted with realtors, public agency officials, landlord associations and a legal advocacy organization to better understand the role that intermediaries, public policies and city agencies play in influencing these decisions. Findings provide detailed accounts of the policies and agency practices landlords and realtors are responding to; they begin to explain how the structure of the rental housing market and voucher program itself lends to the reproduction of HCV clustering into high poverty neighborhoods. Ultimately, these findings indicate how deeply embedded our housing problems are within our economic system and the need to question the adequacy of market-driven housing policies. If we hope to realize a more socially just city, a rethinking of our rental housing policies is in order.