From Despair to Hope: Hope VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America's Cities [Paperback]

Henry G. Cisneros (Editor), Lora Engdahl (Editor), Kurt L. Schmoke (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

As pressing economic and quality of life issues heighten calls for increased federal engagement in America s cities, this new book offers cause for optimism and lessons for policy innovators. From Despair to Hope documents the evolution of HOPE VI, one of the most ambitious urban redevelopment initiatives in the past half century and a true federal-urban partnership.

Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Henry G. Cisneros is executive chairman of the CityView companies, community-building firms dedicated to producing workforce homes in America's cities. A four-term mayor of San Antonio, he also served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton.

Lora Engdahl is a Washington, D.C.- based writer, editor, and housing consultant to government agencies, nonprofits, and media outlets. She writes KnowledgePlex Week in Review, an e-newsletter on housing policy trends nationwide.

Product Details

• Paperback: 334 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815714254
• ISBN-13: 978-0815714255
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,862 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and thorough review of the history, policies, and accomplishments of HUD's HOPE VI public housing renewal program, March 7, 2010

By 

David Hoicka "David Hoicka" (El Paso, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: From Despair to Hope: Hope VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America's Cities (Paperback)

"From Despair to HOPE: Hope VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America's Cities", by Henry G. Cisneros and Lora Engdahl, editors, is published by the Brookings Institution Press, 2009. Henry Cisneros is a former Secretary of HUD, and Laura Engdahl is an editor and writer on housing programs.

"From Despair to HOPE" is a balanced and encyclopedic analysis and review of the Hope VI public housing redevelopment program from its beginnings in the 1990s to the present. The chapter authors are the very best, with detailed and personal knowledge from years of careful work on public housing and affordable housing programs. As noted by the authors, photo researcher Hilary Mac Austin assembled about 100 truly useful historical and demonstrative photographs. I own this book.

The resulting book, "From Despair to HOPE" provides unmatched coverage of the Hope VI program's 240 developments and $16 billion funding, both federal and private, discussing the political and policy issues, funding concerns, and lessons learned. There are 15 chapters plus appendices:

Forward by Kurt L. Schmoke, Dean of Howard University School of Law, and former Mayor of Baltimore for 12 years.

** Part 1: Program origins and defining principles **

Chapter 1: A new moment for people and cities, by Henry Cisneros

Chapter 2: The origins of Hope VI, by Bruce Katz, VP and Director at Brookings Institution, and former HUD Chief of Staff, who worked on the initial implementation of Hope VI.

Chapter 3: The evolution of Hope VI as a development program, by Richard D. Baron, CEO of McCormack Baron Salazar, an urban redevelopment company.

Chapter 4: Hope VI and the new urbanism, by Peter Calthorpe, a founder and president of Congress for New Urbanism

Chapter 5: Hope VI and the deconcentration of poverty, by Alexander Polikoff, ED of BPI, a Chicago public interest law and policy center.

** Part 2: Setting the stage: early Hope VI redevelopments **

Chapter 6: An overview of Hope VI revitalization grant projects, by Laura Engdahl

Chapter 7: New Holly, Seattle, by Lora Engdahl

Chapter 8: The villages of Park DuValle, Louisville, by Lora Engdahl

** Part 3: Broader impacts of the model **

Chapter 9: The Atlanta blueprint: transforming public housing citywide, by Renée L. Glover, CEO of the Atlanta Housing Authority

Chapter 10: Hope VI, neighborhood recovery, and the health of cities, by Margery Austin Turner, VP for research at the Urban Institute, and former deputy assistant secretary of research at HUD.

Chapter 11: Has Hope VI transformed residents' lives? by Susan J. Popkin, principal researcher at the Urban Institute, and Mary K. Cunningham, senior research associate at the Urban Institute

Chapter 12: How Hope VI has helped reshape public housing, by Richard Gentry, CEO of the San Diego Housing Commission, and formerly SVP of the National Equity Fund, and CEO of the Austin Housing Authority and Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

** Part 4: Learning from critiques and planning for the future **

Chapter 13: Hope VI: what went wrong, by Sheila Crowley, CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition

Chapter 14: The conservative critique of Hope VI, by Ronald D. Utt, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and formerly director of housing finance at HUD

Chapter 15: Taking advantage of what we have learned, by G. Thomas Kingsley, senior researcher at the Urban Institute, and formerly director of the RAND Corporation's Housing and Urban Policy Program and assistant administrator of the NYC Housing and Development Administration.

Appendix A Scope and status of the Hope VI program, by G. Thomas Kingsley

** "From Despair to HOPE" is an important and useful addition to the professional library of affordable housing practitioners, and is a new classic. The many authors are to be commended for their hard work and excellent presentations on this important topic, providing decent and affordable housing to low-income families.

By David Hoicka