Privatizing Public Housing: The Black and White of It

Jacqueline Carmichael (Howard University)

Many public housing communities in the District have mandates to be involved in a New Communities initiative in which both the federal and local government are seeking to tear down dilapidated housing and privatized by replacing with mixed-income and inclusionary zoning initiatives. This study will attempt to analyze the interior design schematics, housing, spatial and social needs for end-users of public housing dwellings undergoing revitalization through privatized mixed-income and mixed-use developments.

I will seek to define and redefine the African American aesthetics of both the historical and cultural attributes of these spaces to create meaning and place for end-users of public housing. The instruments for this study include client surveys, group discussions, and interviews with current residents, along with the use of photography to collect data and perceptions to build both racial and social equity, and community needs. Also, the study utilizes both placemaking, place-based, and participatory design theory.