Cityscape: Volume 19 Number 1 | Waste of a Scarce Resource

The goal of Cityscape is to bring high-quality original research on housing and community development issues to scholars, government officials, and practitioners. Cityscape is open to all relevant disciplines, including architecture, consumer research, demography, economics, engineering, ethnography, finance, geography, law, planning, political science, public policy, regional science, sociology, statistics, and urban studies.

Cityscape is published three times a year by the Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Volume 19, Number 1

Mark D. Shroder

Michelle P. Matuga

Waste of a Scarce Resource

Barbara Sard
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Refereed Papers
Refereed papers that appear in Cityscape have undergone a thorough and timely double-blind review by highly qualified referees. The managing editor reviews submitted manuscripts or outlines of proposed papers to determine their suitability for inclusion in this section. To submit a manuscript or outline, send an e-mail to cityscape@hud.gov.

The public should not subsidize the rental costs of families with incomes between 80 and 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), with a few limited exceptions. Instead, we should target scarce public funds to families who most need help affording a decent, stable home in a neighborhood that provides opportunities for them to thrive. That is not only fair but also smart public policy, because those are the investments that pay social dividends in the long run.