America is in the midst of a rental affordability crisis. More than a quarter of those that rent their homes spend more than half of their income for housing, even as city leaders across the United States have been busily dismantling the nation's urban public housing projects. In After the Projects, Lawrence Vale investigates the deeply-rooted spatial politics of public housing development and redevelopment at a time when lower-income Americans face a desperate struggle to find affordable rental housing in many cities. Drawing on archival research and more than 200interviews with public housing residents, real estate developers, and community leaders, Vale analyzes the different ways in which four major American cities implemented the federal government HOPE VI program for public housing transformation. While some cities attempted to minimize the presence ofthe poorest residents in their new mixed-income communities, other cities tried to serve as many low-income households as possible. While Vale examines the social, political, and economic forces that underlie housing displacement, he also reveals that the disparate results of HOPE VI are ultimatelylinked to different kinds of governance and community pressures that have evolved in response to each city's struggles with urban renewal. Providing a much-needed national picture of public housing, After the Projects shines a light on the broad variety of attitudes towards public housing redevelopment in American cities and identifies ways to achieve more just processes and outcomes for low-income Americans. | After the Projects by Lawrence Vale, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters