As federal policies regarding housing have shifted during the last 10 years, local governments have been faced with a growing housing crisis for low-income people.  In Chicago, where public housing has been uniquely characterized by heavily concentrated developments of high-rise housing for very low-income people, the city’s current policy champions the demolition of many of these high-rises as a solution to the over concentration of the poor.  Along with this policy has developed a demand to create mixed-income communities in place of public housing.  Some people who are displaced, the argument goes, can remain and make up 20 percent of the people who will be living in the new housing.  The rest can find housing in the private market with the use of vouchers or Section 8 certificates.

During this same period of time, Chicago has experienced a healthy market economy in real estate which has translated into new construction as well as an unprecedented number of conversions of rental apartment units into condominiums.  The impact on the rental market has been to tighten it severely, pushing rents up.  The impact on affordable housing units has been dramatic.  The impact on availability of safe, standard units that poor and working families can afford has been devastating.  And the impact on the few communities that have during the last 25 years been home to people of different incomes, races and national origin has been intense. 

In Uptown, there has been an active community effort, aimed at the realization of a policy of development without displacement, for at least 30 years.  Many thousands of units of housing that poor and working people lived in for years have now been converted to condominiums.  Former community residents have been displaced and replaced by newer residents who have more financial resources.  However, several thousand units of housing have been rehabilitated and preserved as affordable units – some for very low-income people, some for moderate income people, some for families, some for singles, some for seniors, etc. etc.