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Ever looked around LA and thought: "where's all the public housing?"
Well I've never worked for the housing authority, but I DO know how to use the internet, and every now and then I do a deep dive just to torture myself. Today, I share one of those with you: (THREAD)
Well I've never worked for the housing authority, but I DO know how to use the internet, and every now and then I do a deep dive just to torture myself. Today, I share one of those with you: (THREAD)
For this analysis, I'm defining Public Housing as rental units either owned or managed by the City or State within a given City, and rented to tenants based on income. I have not included Section 8 or other voucher programs which give tenants money for market rate units.
The Housing Authority (HACLA) website used to tell you exactly how many units of PH exist in the City, but no longer. Curbed reported ~6518 units across 14 properties as of Feb 2020. A quick scan of the HACLA website confirms about 13 properties, so I'll accept Curbed's numbers.
Using population data from the US Census website circa 2019, the City of LA is home to about 3.967 million people. That means Los Angeles has approximately 1 unit of Public Housing for every 609 residents.
But how does that compare to other US cities?
But how does that compare to other US cities?
According to New York City Housing Authority's 2020 Fact Sheet, NYC has 326 properties across the 5 boroughs, totaling about 168,961 units of PH. Since NYC is home to ~8.419 million people, that's approximately 1 unit of Public Housing for every 50 residents.
Huh. That must be a fluke. Let's try somewhere else.
The Chicago Housing Authority website reports being 88% of the way to its goal of 25,000 units of Public Housing. Assuming this is true, Chicago has 22k units up and running. Since Chicago is home to ~2.71 million people, that's about 1 unit of PH for every 123 residents.
Not all cities make their housing data easily accessible, but I tried a few smaller cities, as well. Here's Cleveland, OH:
255 properties with 25,104 units of PH, and 385,282 residents or about 1 unit of PH for every 15 residents.
255 properties with 25,104 units of PH, and 385,282 residents or about 1 unit of PH for every 15 residents.
And just for shits 'n' giggles, my hometown of Putnam, CT:
5 properties totaling 793 units of Public Housing, with ~6,615 residents or about 1 unit of PH for every 8 residents.
5 properties totaling 793 units of Public Housing, with ~6,615 residents or about 1 unit of PH for every 8 residents.
Summary:
Los Angeles: 1 unit PH per 609 residents
Chicago: 1 unit PH per 123 residents
NYC: 1 unit PH per 50 residents
Cleveland: 1 unit PH per 15 residents
Putnam, CT: 1 unit PH per 8 residents
Los Angeles: 1 unit PH per 609 residents
Chicago: 1 unit PH per 123 residents
NYC: 1 unit PH per 50 residents
Cleveland: 1 unit PH per 15 residents
Putnam, CT: 1 unit PH per 8 residents
Now, I'll say right now this is basically me pulling random cities out of a hat, so if you wanna add to this, please do.
And it should be noted that there are other factors besides the number of units of PH which affect the availability of affordable housing to them as need it.
And it should be noted that there are other factors besides the number of units of PH which affect the availability of affordable housing to them as need it.
Linkssss:
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/NYCHA-Fact-Sheet_2020_Final.pdf
https://www.thecha.org/residents/public-housing
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycha/downloads/pdf/NYCHA-Fact-Sheet_2020_Final.pdf
https://www.thecha.org/residents/public-housing
https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/ohio/cleveland
https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/Connecticut/Putnam
https://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-search/Connecticut/Putnam
Another note: these numbers are Public Housing, not Permanent Supportive Housing, shelter units, or other homelessness-response housing units. Just regular Low-Income housing units.
If you liked this thread and you're new to LA City politics, get plugged in by following
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@PplsCityCouncil, @KtownforAll, @NOlympicsLA, @LATenantsUnion, @stoplapdspying, @GroundGameLA, @KNOCKdotLA, @LACANetwork, @kennethmejiaLA, @UnrigLA, @BLMLA, @WP4BL, @StreetWatchLA
