Successfully Mixing Incomes in Greenwich

by Leigh Graham · 2009-09-27 11:08:00 UTC
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Don't be fooled by the misleading statement in this NYT piece about public housing in Greenwich, CT, one of the wealthiest towns in the nation, where the Housing Authority manages 750 units, including 300 for the elderly:

"In many ways, the housing in Greenwich mirrors modern trends in public housing — low-rise, small-scale structures — even though most of it was built years ago."

The majority of the more than a million units of public housing in the U.S. is in developments with less than 500 units, and half of all our public housing is in developments with less than 100 units.  Contrary to the high rises that capture our ire and imagination, most public housing is smaller scale and more unassuming than even these model projects in Greenwich - which offer low-income families, many former workers of the wealthy families in town, playgrounds, picnic and BBQ areas and comfortable, mostly well-maintained if aging homes.

The key to success of low-income housing like this is yes, de-concentration, but by that I mean not putting it only in low-income neighborhoods.  It's not the low-income population in the projects and their lack of resources that's the problem when we think about public housing, but the limited overall resources of the surrounding communities and authorities in cash-strapped cities and neighborhoods (think New Orleans, Detroit, Memphis; Roxbury (MA), South Boston, etc.).  When public housing is situated in place like Greenwich, or the South End in Boston, the natural "mixed-income" benefits of better schools, safer neighborhoods, and more amenities kick in for public housing residents in a much more effective way than demolishing units and trying to import middle-class residents.

As we prioritize more affordable rental housing, and try to desegregate wealthy communities (still in 2009!), we could use more favorable, realistic coverage of public housing like this from the media.

(Families enjoying life in Greenwich, CT; photo by WalkingGeek)

Leigh Graham
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