Housing and child development

This article presents a critical review of recent research on the role of housing in children’s development, including physical health; social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes; and schooling, achievement, and economic attainment. We focus on six features of housing that are central to housing policy and have generally received the most research attention: (1) physical housing quality; (2) crowding; (3) residential mobility; (4) homeownership; (5) subsidized housing; and (6) unaffordability. The strongest evidence is provided for the deleterious associations between environmental toxins/hazards and crowding with children’s health, and for residential mobility with children’s short-term academic, social and emotional problems. The findings on assisted housing are mixed, and homeownership and affordability are not linked to children’s outcomes. More methodologically rigorous and conceptually focused research is needed. Despite fundamental knowledge gaps, the results have implications for housing policies focused on homeownership, subsidies and land use regulations.