HOPE VI Panel Study: Baseline Report Susan J. Popkin Diane K. Levy Laura E. Harris Jennifer Comey Mary K. Cunningham Larry Buron (Abt Associates) with William Woodley HOPE VI Panel Study: Baseline Report Final Report September 2002 Prepared By: Susan J. Popkin Diane K. Levy Laura E. Harris Jennifer Comey Mary K. Cunningham Larry Buron (Abt Associates) With William Woodley The Urban Institute Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center 2100 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20037 Submitted To: The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development UI No. 07032 The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or it funders. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The HOPE VI Panel Study is a large and complex project and we wish to thank the many people who have made significant contributions to the completion of this Baseline Report. Daryl Dyer, Claudia Aranda, Davis Kim, Michael Baker, and Rhiannon Patterson all participated in the initial reconnaissance visits to the study sites. Skip Camp and Dennese Neal of Abt Associates Survey Research Group directed the survey data collection, as well as making contributions to the design of the survey instrument. Lynn Reneau managed the field data collection. We want to acknowledge the survey interviewers’ outstanding work, which is reflected in the high quality of the data and the impressive response rates they achieved. In addition to the authors, Aaron Graham, Elizabeth Cove, Carla Herbig, Sherri Lawson-Clark, and Ken Williamson all conducted in-depth interviews for this project, doing an exceptional job of getting both adults and children to talk openly about their experiences . We particularly want to thank all of the survey and in-depth interviewers for their enthusiasm and their willingness to conduct interviews in what were sometimes dangerous and unpleasant conditions. William Woodley conducted most of the quantitative data analysis for this report. His attention to detail and cheerful willingness to run—and rerun—seemingly endless data analyses is much appreciated. Shawnise Thompson and Elizabeth Cove have provided much assistance with a range of tasks including literature and internet searches, creating tables, and qualitative analysis . Erin Godfrey and Carla Herbig also made substantial contributions to the analysis of the qualitative data. Jessica Cigna and Sandy Padilla assisted with the development of the maps for this report. Diane Hendricks did an outstanding job formatting and producing the final report. Finally, Tim Ware provided invaluable administrative support along the way. We wish to thank Margery Turner, Tom Kingsley, and Jill Khadduri for their consistent help and support throughout the project, from the initial development stages through the preparation of the Baseline Report. Art Naperstek helped initiate the project and has remained an enthusiastic supporter and advisor. Our advisory panel, Lynn Olson, Megan Sandel, Mary Joel Holin, Janet Smith, Tama Leventhal, John Goering, Jo Anne Schneider, Greg Acs, Christy Visher, Greg Duncan, Martha Burt, and Mike Puma provided much helpful guidance during the design phase of the project and careful review of the Baseline report. Wendell Johnson, Brett Williams, Adelle Harrell, David Connell, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Tony Earls, Robert Santos, and Robert Sampson all provided valuable feedback and support during the early phases of the project. We also wish to thank our funders, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Fannie Mae Foundation. Our project officers, Ronald Ashford, Tony Hebert, and Robert Leonard of HUD; Susan Lloyd of MacArthur; Cindy Guy of Casey; Julia Lopez and Darren Walker of Rockefeller; and Amy Bogdan of Fannie Mae have all provided enthusiastic support for this ambitious project. We also wish to thank Todd Richardson, Kevin Neary, and Bob Gray of HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research for their assistance. HOPE VI staff from the five housing authorities in this study (Atlantic City, Chicago, Durham, Richmond, and Washington, D.C.) have been generous with their time and assistance, providing us with the information we needed to carry out the project. Finally, we wish to thank the many residents at the five sites who generously shared their personal experiences with us in surveys and in-depth interviews. HOPE VI Panel Study: Baseline Report TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................i CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1-1 The HOPE VI Program ............................................................................................... 1-1 Research on Public Housing Transformation............................................................. 1-3 Overview of Research Objectives and Methods ........................................................ 1-6 Research Questions .............................................................................................. 1-7 Site Selection ......................................................................................................... 1-9 Data Collection....................................................................................................... 1-9 Benchmarks ......................................................................................................... 1-10 CHAPTER 2: SAMPLE AND STUDY SITES................................................................ 2-1 Respondent Characteristics ....................................................................................... 2-1 Site Profiles ................................................................................................................. 2-3 CHAPTER 3: HOUSING CONDITIONS AT BASELINE............................................... 3-1 Housing Conditions ..................................................................................................... 3-1 Resident Reports ................................................................................................... 3-2 Multiple Problems .................................................................................................. 3-3 Maintenance .......................................................................................................... 3-4 Comparison to American Housing Survey ............................................................ 3-6 Housing Satisfaction ................................................................................................... 3-6 Summary..................................................................................................................... 3-8 CHAPTER 4: NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS AT BASELINE ................................. 4-1 HOPE VI Panel Study: Baseline Report Neighborhood Effects ................................................................................................. 4-1 Characteristics of Neighborhood Housing and Residents ......................................... 4-2 Neighborhood Amenities ............................................................................................ 4-4 Crime and Disorder..................................................................................................... 4-4 Physical Disorder................................................................................................... 4-4 Social Disorder....................................................................................................... 4-5 Violent Crime ......................................................................................................... 4-7 Personal Safety and Victimization.............................................................................. 4-9 Differences Between Older and Younger Adults' Perceptions of Crime and Safety ............................................................................................................ 4-10 Neighborhood Social Environment ........................................................................... 4-11 Social Networks ................................................................................................... 4-14 Summary of Findings ........................................................................................... 4-15 CHAPTER 5: HEALTH................................................................................................... 5-1 Housing, Neighborhoods, and Health ........................................................................ 5-1 Physical Health ........................................................................................................... 5-2 Chronic Illness ....................................................................................................... 5-3 Asthma........................................................................................................................ 5-4 Mental Health .............................................................................................................. 5-5 Self-efficacy ..........................................................................................................