The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $500,000 in research grants to four entities to study HUD's Choice Neighborhoods (CN) Program, an endeavor designed to transform distressed neighborhoods into sustainable, mixed-income neighborhoods with affordable housing, safe streets and good schools.
The grants were divided between Oregon's Portland State University ($76,948), the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services ($198,027), the University of California, Berkeley ($131,148), and the International City/County Management Association ($93,877). Since 2010, HUD awarded 30 CN planning grants and six CN implementation grants.
‘HUD expects the Choice Neighborhoods Program will transform poverty-stricken neighborhoods and produce expanded opportunities for the families who live there,’ says Erika Poethig, HUD's acting assistant secretary for the Office of Policy Development & Research. ‘These grants demonstrate our commitment to sound research to help gauge the program's overall success and cultivate the most promising approaches to making the greatest possible impact.’