Annotated Bibliography

Janae Washington
Atlas, J. (1994). Public housing: What went wrong? Retrieved from:
http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/77/pubhsg.html
This article is helpful and is a good starting point for my argument. It gives a brief
overview of some of the problems and issues that accompany public housing. It mentions
many of the dangers and unfortunate circumstances that revolve around public housing
such as risk for the elderly, high crime rate, drug wars, and unemployment rates. In
addition, this article gives the history behind the creation of public housing and the
legislative logic. In theory, public housing had good intentions of creating jobs and
providing for those who were not quite up to lower middle class, but not completely poor
with no means to sustain a living. Yet, in practice, many things have went wrong and the
problem has escalated to new levels. One of the major flaws of this article is that it was
written in 1994 and many things have changed.
Ellickson, Robert C. (2010). The false promise of the mixed-income housing project. Faculty
scholarship series. Paper 401.
Retrieved from: http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/fss_papers/401
Robert Ellickson focuses on the failures of not only public housing but more so on
mixed-income housing as well. Many believe that mixed-income housing is the solution
to the countrys mass public housing issue. However, Ellickson brings light to the social
consequences of government economic support of these institutions. The arguments
brought up in this article can help me combat the counterargument that socioeconomic

diversity in neighborhoods is beneficial to all. Additionally, the part of my paper in which

I focus on possible solutions to this problem can benefit from many of his suggestions.

Harper, Caroline; Marcus, Rachel; Moore, Karen. (2003). Enduring poverty and the conditions
of childhood: Life course and intergenerational poverty transitions. World Development.
Children who experience poverty as children have a significant increase to undesirable
outcomes shortly after in life. Persistent and deep childhood poverty is linked to
intergenerational poverty. This article broken up into two segments, the first is educating
the reader on the effects of childhood poverty and the second is tailored toward policy
makers. The goal is to change the policy of institutions such as schools, housing, and
health insurance. These are types of instances where children in poverty are most
vulnerable. For my solutions portion, I would use some of the antipoverty strategies that
the authors mention and evaluate the effectiveness of such programs
Kotlowitz, A. (1991). There are no children here: The story of two boys growing up in the other
america. New York: Doubleday.
This is a book that is biographical on a family that grew up in one of the roughest
neighborhoods in Chicago. I am deciding on if I want to purchase this book because it is
kind of intense as they describe many of the domestic violence, harsh conditions and
crime they were exposed to. I did like a quote from this book that inspired the title, But
you know, there are no children here. Theyve seen too much to be children.
Ryley, S., Parascandola, R., Paddock, B., & Smith, G. (2014). NYCHA units see spike in that

outpaces city, leaving residents in fear. Retrieved from:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/nycha-residents-live-fear-majorcrimes-public-housing-soar-article-1.1747195
This article has interactive elements that allow one to isolate the crime report in each
housing district, borough or project in NYCHA. The results are staggering, yet
informative. The statistics from these studies and data can be utilized to prove my
argument about the physical dangers that are overwhelmingly presented in public
housing. The authors of this article have a clear agenda of exposing the tremendous
amount of crime in public housing and how such crime contributes to the overall demise
of the community. There are personal testimonies from veteran residents of public
housing and their opinion on the matter is included. Additionally, a sprinkle of politics is
included towards the end of the article as they focus on the lack thereof politicians
working toward helping alleviate such a dangerous issue. However, I am skeptical about
using this because the New York Daily News is the provider of this information and they
have had a spike of unreliable data reporting in the past few years.
Schwartz, H. (2011). Is montogomery countys housing policy one answer to baltimores
education achievement gap? The Abell Report, 24.
The inclusionary zoning is the primary focus of this article. In Baltimore, Maryland a
county notorious for its struggling public housing implemented policy reform. The article
analyzes what they are doing right in hopes of expanding their efforts into other
neighborhoods. Their inclusionary zones for districting have produced over 10,000
moderate priced homes. Additionally, by randomizing where families are assigned for

public housing, the concentration of poverty and poor education is spread out. I am
skeptical of using some of the methods in this article just because it is biased. It solely
focuses on one county in one state and it would be inaccurate to allow such a small
sample be representative of the whole public housing organization that houses over a
million families. However, many policy reforms are tested out on small counties and then
transpire to be applied to large scale organizations. The article gives a solid foundation
for solutions and data on solving the low income issue.
Semuels, A. (2015). A different approach to breaking the cycle of povearty.
Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/a-differentapproach-to-breaking-the-cycle-of-poverty/384029/
This is one of the best articles that I have found because it is new and contains a lot of
research as well as solutions. My capstone is about shedding light on the issue of public
housing but also proposing how we should go about fixing it as well. This article does
just that. The beginning of it focuses on the statistics that are involved with public
housing such as the poverty rate and education rate. The end of it focuses on the
education programs and welfare programs that have been created and are in practice to
help this impoverished and disadvantaged population transcend towards upward mobility
and fulfill the American dream.
Stegman, Michael A. (2002). The fall and rise of public housing. University of north Carolina at
chapel hill. Regulation.
Michael Stegman takes an optimistic viewpoint on the issue. His argument is valid
because he addresses both sides of the issue and sheds light onto the horrors and

decimation of the public housing institution, but also how it is on the rise after
improvement. The policy change that occurred within the public housing authorities in
the mid-1990s is largely responsible for the turnaround many of the projects have
experienced. Stegman analyzes these policy changes for their effectiveness and proposes
new reforms.
Virginia Department of Education. (2014). National school lunch program (nslp) free and
reduced price eligibility report. [Data file]
Retrieved from: http://doe.virginia.gov/support/nutrition/statistics/index.shtml
The Virginia Department of Education annually releases the statistics on those who are
eligible for free and reduced lunch. The NSLP program is based off a familys income
and caters to those who are needs and hail from low-income families. As a result, the
NSLP has almost a direct correlation with poverty. This source can be pulled from in
order to focus on neighborhoods that have a high concentration of poverty in public
housing and how they are connected to their respective schools. For example, in Henrico
County Public Schools in the east end with schools such as Highland Springs High
School and Fairfield Middle School, they are receiving students who live in low income
neighborhoods. According to these statistics, over half of the schools located in low
income areas are dependent on the free and reduced lunch program. It will be interesting
to find out more about such a complex dynamic and see how this data can be beneficial.
Wilburn, G. (2013). Mayoral candidates spend night in public housing.
Retrieved from: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/22892378/6-mayoral-candidates-tospend-night-in-public-housing

This article was cool to me because it contained a little bit of politics intertwined with my
subject. Democratic candidates for mayor in New York accepted Reverend Al Sharptons
challenge of spending a night in the public housing in Harlem. His goal was to get them
to realize how horrible the conditions of city run public housing is. They stayed in
Lincoln Projects in Harlem on a Saturday night with a host family. This took place in
July, on one of the hottest days of the year where most of the houses in the complex do
not have air conditioners. Christine Quinn, a democratic candidate said where she stayed
a bathroom was covered with black mold. This goes into what I was saying about the
illusion of public housing. From the outside looking in, it makes it seem like wonderful
opportunities but in reality there are poor conditions that need attention and
reconstruction.