Transforming Neighborhoods from Disinvestment to Choice | Choice Neighborhood Initiative

In the 1930s, the U.S. government developed the first public housing. Segregated from the onset, public housing eventually had the devastating consequence of concentrating poverty and perpetuating disinvestment and racial segregation within neighborhoods.

HOPE VI represented the first evolution toward transforming public housing from projects back into neighborhoods and homes. While it succeeded in building more dignified housing, it fell short in addressing issues of neighborhood investment and supporting residents’ economic, health, and educational potential. In 2010, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) launched, offering a more holistic framework for neighborhood transformation.

UDA’s process of Listening, Testing, and Deciding empowered residents trapped in downward economic spirals. UDA helped to bring cities, housing authorities, developers, non-profits, and residents together to develop shared visions. Soon after, funding to implement followed. New mixed-income homes came out of the ground and families started to succeed in ways they hadn’t experienced before. 

UDA has helped 14 communities across the country win $29 to $50 million HUD CNI Implementation Grants and five communities develop Transformation Plans through CNI Planning Grants. UDA’s efforts have helped to deliver over $4 billion in investments for neighborhoods and families. Seeing this has confirmed what we know to be true — design is a powerful tool for transforming the built environment and altering the economic trajectories of neighborhoods and individuals.