Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties and Access to Transit in the Triangle Region

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • February 28, 2019
Creator
  • Messinger, Adena
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of City and Regional Planning
Abstract
  • An important strategy of federal, state and local housing agencies for improving the quality of life of low-income housing residents is helping these residents locate in mixed-income, low-minority neighborhoods. Such a strategy often implies moving from urban to suburban areas, and by extension from transit-rich to transit-poor areas. Reduced transit access for low-income families is not an insignificant trade-off, as transportation is the second largest line item in a household's budget--primarily because of the associated costs of fuel, insurance, loan payments, and maintenance. This paper examines the relationship between low-income housing and public transportation, in particular for the federally sponsored Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The geographic focus of the study is the Research Triangle region in North Carolina, which includes the metropolitan areas of Orange, Durham, and Wake counties. The data analysis indicates that the current spatial pattern of LIHTC properties have basic accessibility to transit (i.e., are within a quarter-mile of a transit line). However, locational trends are shifting such that more LIHTC properties are being developed farther from transit lines, jeopardizing transit access for LIHTC residents. The major implication for the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency--the agency that sets the tax credit award criteria--is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of transit access as a means to both better serve low-income housing residents and fund more desirable developments (in particular LIHTC properties slated for urban areas. At the same time, the results suggest that transit agencies should recognize and act on the importance of low-income housing locations when considering expansion of existing services.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Advisor
  • Rodriguez, Daniel
Degree
  • Master of City and Regional Planning
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language
Location
  • Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
  • Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
  • Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, United States
  • Durham, North Carolina, United States
Extent
  • 33 p.
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • December 10, 2010

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Properties and Access to Transit in the Triangle Region 2019-04-25 Public Download