Cityscape: Volume 15 Number 3 | Article 23

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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Rental Assistance and Crime

Volume 15, Number 3

Mark D. Shroder

Michelle P. Matuga

Using Near-Repeat Analysis To Measure the Concentration of Housing Choice Voucher Program Participants

Ron Wilson
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Public housing authorities (PHAs) are often concerned about housing voucher recipients’ reconcentrating after entering the Section 8 voucher program. I use a near-repeat analysis method in this analysis for Dallas, Texas, to test whether new voucher recipients concentrate and, if so, how quickly. The results reveal that new recipients do locate in close proximity to each other at a steady pace over time. PHAs can use this method and subsequent results to measure the progress of deconcentration plans and to help new housing voucher recipients make more informed choices about where to locate.