(Dis)location: Black Exodus

1980s–90s

In 1989, Congress authorized a national committee to review “severely distressed” public housing across the U.S. in order to develop a plan to eradicate distressed housing by 2000. In 1992, the commission released its report which found that 86,000 units (only 6% of all public housing) were “distressed”. In 1993, Congress authorized the Urban Revitalization Demonstration program called HOPE VI, which granted federal funding to local housing authorities to replace poorly maintained housing. In 1993, SFHA received HOPE VI funding for Bernal Plaza East ($48 million), Hayes Valley North and South in 1995 ($22 million), and North Beach in 1996 ($20 million), and Valencia Gardens in 1997 ($23 million). In 1996, HUD took control over SFHA due to longstanding mismanagement. In 1998, The City demolished a highrise public housing development called the Geneva Towers that was originally a private housing complex built in 1967 that failed to attract private renters. 
       Rather than rehabilitate existing public housing buildings with HOPE VI funds, SFHA moved to completely demolish the buildings and rebuild them. Hundreds of families were displaced during HOPE VI redevelopment as The City did not keep track of original residents who were forced to take Section 8 subsidies during construction and many of the projects were rebuilt with fewer public housing units than the original buildings. Only about 30 percent of the original residents moved into the new HOPE VI buildings. In the face of this, public housing tenant organizing (especially at the North Beach project with assistance from Eviction Defense Network) against HOPE VI displacement won several future protections for future public housing redevelopment such as onefor-one replacement of all public housing units.
 

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