Mixed-income housing: A conceptual model and critical discourse analysis.

摘要

To many people, the concept of mixed-income housing embodies the democratic ideals of inclusion and equal opportunity. Despite the undeniable value of these "ends," however, the question of whether project-based mixed-income housing development is the appropriate "means" to achieve them is a matter of debate. This dissertation synthesizes the results of a multi-disciplinary literature review and critical discourse analysis that reveals the complex ideological assumptions that lay behind both the advocacy of and the skepticism about mixed-income housing.; There are strong arguments in support of mixed-income housing development, such as its ability to provide low-income households access to better neighborhood services, its advancement of socioeconomic integration, and its valuable contribution to the expansion of residential choice. Yet, often the advocacy rhetoric is replete with unexamined notions such as "community," "role models," and "social capital." Criticisms include the potential that mixed-income housing dilutes the appearance of the pressing needs of the poor, the outdated "culture of poverty" motivations of some advocates for mix, and the fact that macro-level forces will limit any potential socioeconomic benefits from mixed-income residence.; To evaluate the validity and impact of these conflicting arguments, I created a conceptual model of residential social mix. The model distills the seven elements that comprise each theoretical position on mixed-income development, namely, lens, argument, scale, mechanism, target, corollary, and outcome. Together, they form a system with which to process different relevant theoretical opinions as well as recognize the points at which they overlap in order to facilitate their integration.; Despite the theoretical debate, in 1992, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched HOPE VI, a program that attempts to revitalize distressed public housing and encourage resident self-sufficiency through mixed-income redevelopment. The redeveloped HOPE VI projects are undoubtedly physically superior to their predecessors. However, typically only one-third of their units are subsidized for very low-income households. To critics, HUD is using the questionable benefits thought to accrue to low-income households through living in a mixed-income environment to justify a reduction in actual government assistance for the poor.; Using Fairclough's critical discourse analysis, this dissertation examines HUD's HOPE VI publications and interrogates their characterizations of mixed-income housing. The study aims to make explicit the opaque ideological frames and unstated assumptions invoked by HUD to justify the HOPE VI policy. The discussion focuses around the intersecting functions of HUD's HOPE VI texts, namely, to legitimize the HOPE VI policy and to construct it in a way that resonates with the moral framework of U.S. society. This analysis is a vehicle for developing a clearer understanding of the merits and limitations of mixed-income housing, an important and increasingly widespread development pattern. Moreover, it has important social justice and housing policy implications.