Reseach Design for Public Housing Projects

The location of public housing projects is a contentious issue in the United States (Making downtown, 1994, pp. 7-8). Advocates for the economically disadvantaged contend that society would be better served if affordable public housing was located out of the inner cities and in more affluent neighborhoods. Critics of policies affecting the location of public housing projects frequently charge that inner city locations are selected because of strong opposition from the residents of more affluent neighborhoods (Van Housen, 1993, p. 3). Defenders of inner city locations for public housing contend that economically disadvantaged persons are served better by locating housing near to where jobs are available (Poverty's foundation, 1992, pp. A26-A27).

A research study is proposed to identify and assess the bases of policies affecting the location of public housing projects. The purpose of the proposed research study will be to determine if public housing location decisions are influenced primarily by opposition from residents of affluent neighborhoods, primarily by considerations affecting the well being of prospective tenants of such housing, or by economic factors.

Literature relevant to the issue to be investigated is reviewed in this section. Literature is reviewed in relation to location decisions, cost-benefit analysis, and social conflict theory.

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us, social costs consist of the opportunity costs associated with resources used, the value of any loss in welfare associated with a specific economic decision, and any increase in costs for those in society other than the decision-maker, which results from a specific economic decision. The concept of social costs is closely related to the concept of externalities. The social costs associated with a specific economic decision differ, in theory, from the private costs associated with such a decision by the amount of the value of any external economies or diseconomies associated with the economic decision. In lay language, externalities may be described as side-effects and fringe-benefits (Levy, pp. 145-269). Positive externalities may be viewed as fringe-benefits, while negative externalities may be viewed as side-effects. Externalities are also referred to as spillover effects, external effects, and social effects. All such terms refer, essentially, to the same phenomenon. In economics, an externality exists when an activity by one or more parties affects, for good or for bad, another one or more parties who are not a part of, or are external to, the activity (Levy, pp. 145-269). The essence of this concept is that
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Externalities Cost/benefit, Fusfeld Bates, Dye Ziegler, Research Objectives, Conflict Theory, According Weber, Van Housen, DESIGN Introduction, Collection Local, public housing, Analysis Literature, location decisions, public housing projects, housing projects, social benefits, location public, economic decision, location public housing, levy pp, social costs, specific economic decision, specific economic, affluent neighborhoods, public housing location, residents affluent neighborhoods,
Approximate Word count = 2326
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)