The current trend to rejuvenate public housing in
the United States poses both challenges and
opportunities for low-income residents. Over the
years, strategies have been devised to remedy
physical and social problems associated with public
housing.
The goal of HOPE VI is to revitalize severely
distressed urban areas, and to improve the lives of
residents residing within public housing. Some have
argued that the program has given greater attention
to both physical and economic revitalization with
less concern for the social welfare of public
housing residents. In its operation of over ten
years, the HOPE VI program has met its goals of
demolishing severely distressed public housing units
and transforming them into revitalized housing, but
in terms of resident welfare, HOPE VI has failed to
adequately address the underlying causes of poverty
and social mobility affecting the nation's low-
income residents.