While public housing is often the best option for individuals or families who require housing assistance, tenants can come to be seen as second-class citizens because of their need. Whether it’s a question of financial or medical need, the reason for choosing public housing can alter the way tenants see themselves. Housing structure and municipal policies can affect tenants in a host of ways psychologically, many of which can leave them at a further disadvantage.
Among some tenants, the feeling of being corralled into housing with other tenants from similar backgrounds can make some feel as though they are being excluded from society. This feeling is exacerbated when there is a perceived stigma behind a tenant’s reason for choosing public housing, such as poverty.
Where public housing policy does not account for the negative impacts of too many tenants, situations of overcrowding can occur. According to a paper published in the Journal of the American Planning Association in 1996, evidence indicates that overcrowding can lead to negative psychological effects, though there are no policy standards for what constitutes an overcrowded facility.
Crime is higher in public housing facilities--especially in major cities--than in many other residential neighborhoods. Tenants in facilities with active violent crime, or located near neighborhoods with higher crime rates, report higher instances of anxiety and depression. A tenant may find that a move to a different public housing facility or private housing alleviates some of his concerns about crime, but the process is gradual.
Depression and anxiety are often more prevalent among public housing residents than those in private housing. A study released by the National Center for Health in Public Housing about public housing residents in Boston showed that instances of poor mental health and excessive anxiety were substantially higher in public housing tenants than in other residents. College graduates living in public housing facilities also reported more anxiety than non-graduates.
"Not in my back yard," the response of neighborhood residents to the announcement that a public housing facility would be constructed nearby, is evidence that the public focuses on the negative impacts of public housing rather than any social benefits. However, once implemented, public housing causes minimal adverse psychological effects on the surrounding community, and some residents are largely unaware of its presence in the neighborhood.
- Mind: Housing and Mental Health
- USC Research Computing Facility: The Changing Problem of Overcrowded Housing
- Color Lines: It's Not Just Bullets Scarring Chicago Public Housing Residents
- National Center for Health in Public Housing: Residents Living in Boston Public Housing and Mental Health/Substance Abuse
- University of Kentucky: Neighborhood Effects of Public Housing
- boring apartments image by green308 from Fotolia.com