Housing Abandonment: A National Problem Needing New Approaches

Although housing abandonment is a relatively new phenomenon, it has generated concern among those who have experienced or observed its impact on the Nation's cities. Various studies have suggested that housing abandonment is a market phenomenon which is accelerated and exacerbated by poverty, racial tensions, rising crime, and poor neighborhood services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal agency primarily responsible for urban housing programs, does not have a specific program for dealing with housing abandonment nor has it developed an overall strategy for combating abandonment.