TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cook, Cody
AU  - Li, Pearl Z
AU  - Binder, Ariel J.
        TI  - Where to Build Affordable Housing? Evaluating the Tradeoffs of Location
        PY  - 2026/Jun/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18711
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18711
        AB  - How does the location of affordable housing affect the distribution of assistance, tenant welfare, and segregation? Using administrative data, we first show that, despite fixed eligibility requirements, developments in higher-opportunity neighborhoods disproportionately house tenants who are higher-income, less likely to have children, and far less likely to be Black or Hispanic. We then build a structural model in which households choose from both market-rate and affordable housing options, where the latter must be rationed. For existing developments, the targeting of assistance is driven mainly by which eligible households apply, with developer screening playing a smaller role. Simulating new developments across neighborhoods, we find that building in higher-opportunity locations raises aggregate tenant welfare and reduces segregation, but primarily benefits more moderate-need and white households at the expense of higher-need and minority households. Policy levers available after construction, such as lowering income limits, have more limited effects than the initial choice of location.
        KW  - affordable housing location
KW  - tenant welfare
KW  - residential segregation
KW  - targeting efficiency
KW  - structural estimation
        ER  -