
In North America there are two ways of dealing with the term ‘public housing.’ One, which we’ve chosen of late, has been to blur the distinction between it and ‘social housing.’
Why? Well, current American public housing is a shadow of its original intent, but its roots are similar to other, successful national social housing programs.
In Europe, social housing varies in its execution from country to country. American public housing evolved as one particular national execution of social housing, albeit with a ‘public’ name that, as time passed, proved more palatable than ‘social’, with its implied connections to ‘socialism’ in a Cold War environment.
Unfortunately, ‘public’ housing has in America has become identified as a failure, thanks to the unique treatment of its management and financing (or increasing lack of either), as well by demonizing its tenants.
Why not link the future of government-built and run housing to the term ‘social housing,’ which has been highly successful in other countries, instead of dragging the ugly bag of ‘public housing’ into the future?
That’s one way of dealing with it, and it does works elsewhere, including countries where ‘social’ and ‘public’ are used interchangeably.
An optimistic article linked below takes another approach, by distinguishing American ‘public’ housing from European ‘social’ housing and calling for a social housing program in the US.
One term — public housing — is used to gather up America’s ugly baggage of faulty design, mismanagement, unworkable funding, and discriminatory ‘blame the tenants’ attitudes, then consign it to the garbage bin of history.
The other term — social housing — belongs to a bright future based on its proven potential in other countries.
Well, either perspective can work, as long as they allow careful consideration of a future that includes essentially the one proven method of providing large quantities nationally necessary permanent housing for low and no income citizens.
For a brighter look at what social housing might bring to the Washington, D.C. area, read more at American University Radio WAMU 88.5: How European-Style Public Housing Could Help Solve The Affordability Crisis