Problems and Progress: Public Housing in an American Social Housing System

Public housing is the oldest and largest supplier of permanently affordable housing in the US, but it has often been left out of the conversation about a new “social housing” system in which public and nonprofit entities would develop, own, and manage housing for low-income Americans. This paper by historian Alexander von Hoffman examines the nearly 100-year history of public housing in the US and the role the public sector might play in a new social housing system.