HUD/APA
Westlawn Gardens, a public-housing development in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Today's stereotypes of what public housing looks like originated four decades ago.
In 1978, the Jimmy Carter administration created the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8, which provides assistance to low- and moderate-income families to rent affordable housing built by local housing authorities.
You've likely seen some of these 1980s-era apartment buildings - characterized by their boxy shapes and shabby brick facades - which come with a number of negative stereotypes. A 2010 analysis points to five major public concerns around Section 8 units: a lack of maintenance, expectation of crime, disapproval of housing as a handout, reduction of property values, and physical unattractiveness.
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The project won a 2018 Excellence Award from the American Planning Association, an organization comprised of urban planners from across the US.
Take a tour of Westlawn below.