The change of distribution in housing choice voucher recipients for the City of Phoenix between 1998, 2004 and 2009

This dissertation represents an important step in investigating the efforts to deconcentrate and decentralize assisted housing. In addition, it represents an effort to better understand the relationships among variables encompassing gender, race, and ethnicity as possible factors that influence locational choice. The research is unique in that it is the first to analyze the change in distributional patterns over time in a large city with a large number of voucher users. The cases are from the City of Phoenix's assisted housing database from 1998, 2994 and 2009. Summative statistics are used to compare the changes that occur overtime and GIS displays the location of the assisted housing by census tracts.The first assisted housing programs were project based and were found to contribute to segregation. Court rulings followed that mandated dispersing the minority population. Housing choice vouchers were designed in response to this problem. They provided the recipients with the opportunity to select housing in areas that would best meet the needs of the individual. It was hoped that the housing choice vouchers would decrease both the concentration and centralization of those receiving assisted housing.This research indicates that the number of census tracts with housing choice voucher recipients in the City of Phoenix has increased. In 1998, at least one housing choice voucher recipient occupied 199 of the tracts. By 2009, 259 of the possible 308 census tracts were occupied by a housing choice voucher recipient. The vouchers have decreased the centralization of those receiving assistance. However, the recipients are still highly concentrated in the southern part of the city. Five census tracts contain 22 percent of the housing choice voucher recipients and the same tracts provide housing to 30 percent of the racial minorities. The housing choice vouchers do not appear to have reduced the high concentration of voucher recipients, especially for the racial minority recipients.