The United States has been providing housing for low-income families since the 1930s, beginning with the 1937 Housing Act
that established permanent public housing funded by the federal government. This effort has seen some successes, but also challenges and mistakes.
From the beginning, the goal was to provide decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing for low-income families. To achieve this goal,
old tenement housing was torn down and replaced by new housing, whose construction and operations were funded by the government.
This housing was and still is owned by public housing authorities, or PHAs. Today, there are approximately 1.2 million public housing units
administered by over 3,000 public housing authorities. Challenges to public housing have included isolation, disrepair, a lack of
services to support families, and a lack of amenities. Some developments are out of place with their surroundings, adding to the isolation
of the residents and creating hostility from the larger community. While these challenges are difficult to overcome, the lessons learned
from these challenges can be used to improve public housing in the future. These lessons have led to changes in legislation over the years,
including the establishment of the Housing and Urban Development Act, the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act, and the Section 8 Housing
Choice Voucher Program. They have also led to new models of finance and management, including Asset Management and mixed finance.
Before we learn more about the basics of public housing, we encourage you to explore the interactive Timeline in your section resources to learn more.