The growing awareness of housing problems Ten years ago it was possible, and even fashionable, for local officials and civic leaders in American cities to deny the existence of slums or other basic housing problems in their communities. Today the shortage of housing is known to every school child, and most cities possess both emergency and long-term machinery for housing betterment. The past de...

Ten years ago, I was the doctor for an 18-year-old with cystic fibrosis whose mother was a heavy smoker. The patient told me how she coughed, wheezed, and choked when she was at home. I became close with her; it seemed she was always in the hospital, and I couldn't help but think it was because she wanted to escape a toxic environment. Three years later, at 21, she died—more than 14 years befor...

The rapid rate of China’s urbanization in recent years arises greater demand of houses. To ease the housing shortage, Chinese authority has been building or collecting a large amount of public housing. However, as the large-scale construction of public housing has been promoted, an increasing number of people focus their eyes on the equitable distribution of these houses. This paper aims to est...

This article assesses the impact of public investment in supportive housing for homeless persons with severe mental disabilities. Data on 4,679 people placed in such housing in New York City between 1989 and 1997 were merged with data on the utilization of public shelters, public and private hospitals, and correctional facilities. A series of matched controls who were homeless but not placed in...