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Research Article

Affordable Housing and Walkable Neighborhoods: A National Urban Analysis

By Koschinsky, J., & Talen, E.

Full Citation

Koschinsky, J., & Talen, E. (2015). Affordable housing and walkable neighborhoods: A national urban analysis. Cityscape, 17(2), 13-56.

Key Findings

Although demand for housing in walkable neighborhoods has been increasing rapidly in recent years, as has evidence of the benefits of walkable urban form and walking, these neighborhoods nevertheless remain in short supply, especially for low-income residents. This paper assesses the US nationwide supply of urban neighborhoods with walkable access and the extent to which U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-assisted voucher and project housing enables tenants to live in these neighborhoods. It finds that only 14 percent of all neighborhoods and 13 percent of all housing units in U.S. metropolitan areas have good walkable access. Public housing has the most walkable access (37 percent), followed by project-based rental assistance (PBRA; 30 percent) and low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) and housing choice vouchers (both about 23 percent). Locating public housing and PBRA units in walkable suburbs is one of the mechanisms that work to provide both accessibility and affordability.

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