The durability of gains from the Gautreaux Two residential mobility program: a qualitative analysis of who stays and who moves from low-poverty neighborhoods*

Abstract

This paper examines mobility in the Gautreaux Two Housing Mobility Program, which attempted to alleviate poverty concentration by offering vouchers to residents of highly distressed Chicago public housing developments. In contrast to the original Gautreaux program, placement moves in Gautreaux Two have proven far less durable – most families quickly moved on from their placement neighborhoods to neighborhoods that were quite poor and very racially segregated. Based on in-depth interviews with 58 Gautreaux Two participants and their children, we find that the primary factors motivating secondary moves included substandard unit quality and hassles with landlords. Other factors included feelings of social isolation due to poor integration into the new neighborhood, distance from kin, transportation difficulties, children's negative reaction to the new neighborhood, and financial difficulties. Policy implications include the need for further pre- and post-move housing counseling for families in mobility programs.