Affordable Housing in US Shrinking Cities: From Neighborhoods of Despair to Neighborhoods of Opportunity?

Given the rapid urbanization of the world’s population, the converse phenomenon of shrinking cities is often overlooked and little understood. Yet with almost one in ten postindustrial US cities shrinking in recent years, efforts by government and nonprofit anchor institutions to regenerate these cities are gaining policy urgency, with the availability and location of affordable housing a key concern. This is the first book to look at the reasons for the failure (and success) of affordable housing efforts in the fastest-shrinking US cities. Applying quantitative and global-information-system analysis using data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the authors make recommendations for future place-based practices, stressing their importance for ensuring more equitable urban revitalization.