Public housing and gender: Contextualizing the “We Call These Projects Home” report

The “We Call These Projects Home” (WCTPH) report draws attention to the ways in which US public housing policy has disregarded the input and preferences of public housing residents, a population largely composed of women of color. In this article, I examine the findings from the WCTPH report in the context of past and recent research on poverty, housing, race, and gender. I explain how breaking up communities and social networks in the shift from housing projects to housing vouchers destroys social support networks, which are essential to the survival of poor women and single-mother headed families. I discuss challenges women may face in the shift to housing vouchers in light of recent research on continued rental discrimination and sexual harassment in the private housing market. Overall, I emphasize how the findings from the WCTPH report have important implications for women of color, and argue that a gender analysis of public housing is central to understanding and remedying the multitude of challenges public housing policy presents.

► I place the WCTPH report in the context of public housing research and policy. ► I highlight the relationship between public housing and gender. ► I explain how report findings about deconcentration matter for women. ► I encourage future work to follow the example of the WCTPH report.