Howard A. Husock, "The Projects: A New History of Public Housing" (NYU Press, 2025)

Jun 18, 2025

Howard A. Husock, a journalist and researcher at the American Enterprise Institute, dives into the intricate history of public housing in America. He discusses how well-intentioned policies often backfired, leading to the decline of vibrant Black neighborhoods. The podcast uncovers tales of community resilience against the backdrop of past mistakes in housing policy. Husock also emphasizes the importance of social connections in urban living and proposes reforms for affordable housing that honor community-driven solutions.

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INSIGHT

Public Housing's Elite Origins

Public housing started as an elite-driven plan, not a grassroots demand for better living conditions.
It aimed to replace slums with high-rise towers and green spaces but overlooked residents' desires and community value.

ANECDOTE

Early Public Housing Experiences

Early public housing residents were happy with new, affordable, modern apartments.
Over time, as better-off tenants left, maintenance suffered and conditions and safety declined.

INSIGHT

Chicago's Public Housing Impact

Public housing in Chicago largely replaced vibrant African American neighborhoods, demolishing key community structures.
This displacement erased social capital like churches and businesses, worsening segregation and community loss.

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How housing policy failed the people it was designed to help -- and how to fix it

As the US struggles to provide affordable housing, millions of Americans live in deteriorating public housing projects, enduring the mistakes of past housing policy. In The Projects: A New History of Public Housing (NYU Press, 2025), Howard A. Husock explains how we got here, detailing the tragic rise and fall of public housing and the pitfalls of other subsidy programs. He takes us inside a progressive movement led by a group of New York City philanthropists, politicians, and business magnates who first championed public housing as a solution to urban blight. From First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to the controversial city planner Robert Moses, many well-known historical figures made a convincing case for affordable housing in America.

Despite the movement's lofty ideals, the creation of the Projects led to the destruction of low-income communities across the country. From the Hill District in Pittsburgh to Black Bottom in Detroit, predominantly Black neighborhoods were judged only by the quality of their housing. Husock looks beyond these neighborhoods' physical conditions to their uncounted riches, from local artists like August Wilson to vital community institutions. As he shares residents' stories, he honors what they crafted through their own plans, rather than those of city planners.

Husock traces the history of public housing to contemporary debates on the government's role in the housing market. Through interviews with residents, he reveals how public housing transformed the lives of Americans and the physical faces of cities and towns. He ultimately critiques "repair and reform" efforts, making policy recommendations that address the core failings of public housing for the people it was once designed to help. Mapping out a better path for policy-makers, he lays a new foundation for upward mobility in America.

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