Single-Period Location Models for Subsidized Housing: Tenant-Based Subsidies

Previous research has established a need for operations research models to help urban public housing authorities (PHAs) in the U.S. better manage the transition from the traditional model of high-rise public housing developments to tenant-based housing subsidies for market-rate rental units and project-based housing subsidies for scattered-site, low-density public housing. This paper presents the tenant-based subsidized housing location model (TSHLP) that is simplified and applied to a larger and more representative data set than has been done previously. Base-case and sensitivity analyses indicate that model solutions, which are approximations to a Pareto frontier of nondominated potential family allocations, give planners considerable flexibility in choosing alternative housing configurations that can satisfy the needs of various interest groups.