The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced recently that it is making available $109 million in grants to revitalize public and HUD-assisted housing and transform communities. These grants are offered through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Program, a redevelopment approach that provides communities with tools to revitalize hard-hit communities into vibrant, opportunity-rich neighborhoods.
“The Choice Neighborhoods program is critical to building stronger, safer neighborhoods that thrive and provide ladders of opportunity for hard working families,” says Donovan. “We look forward to working with community leaders across the country to expand this program, while supporting President Obama’s proven tools that strengthen and support our nation’s hard working communities.”
The grantees join forces with HUD’s team, local residents and leaders in city government, business, philanthropy, law enforcement, education, and many other fields to transform struggling neighborhoods into thriving communities where families will choose to live. Choice Neighborhoods is focused on three core goals:
Housing: Replace distressed public and assisted housing with high-quality mixed-income housing that is well-managed and responsive to the needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
People: Improve educational outcomes and intergenerational mobility for youth with services and supports delivered directly to youth and their families.
Neighborhood: Create the conditions necessary for public and private reinvestment in distressed neighborhoods to offer the kinds of amenities and assets, including safety, good schools, and commercial activity, that are important to families’ choices about their community.
