Housing is a vital component for a healthy and thriving life. However, due to the high cost of housing, not all people have a decent home in a suitable living environment. For individuals, housing can make up a large proportion of their incomes. For society, housing costs do not stand alone but closely interact with its environment, including its neighborhood as well as the market system and policy.
SPI’s Housing Initiatives views housing issues as societal, and it is a key component to understand broad socioeconomic phenomena and their policy implications. By evaluating housing as both an explanatory factor and an outcome, we explore how housing affects and is affected by various social issues. Recent research topics include the long-lasting housing market inequity and systematic discrimination in the housing market, economic downturns, natural disasters, and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We explore diverse housing issues from varying scopes and methods. Our rich data assets encompass varying regional scopes, from a local neighborhood to a metropolitan area, and even include global perspectives. SPI’s research capacity and network enable us to view housing issues from diverse perspectives with collaborators from various academic backgrounds and global training. We also adopt varying empirical methods and methodologies, including qualitative approaches, in addition to our quantitative approaches such as econometrics and spatial models.
Our Housing Initiatives
Evaluating Impact of Choice Neighborhood Initiative
Research Agenda
This explores (1) how USI’s services are developed and measured, (2) how USI’s services are implemented in a variety of contexts, and (3) what the impact of USI’s services are on families’ economic mobility, education, and health outcomes.
Evaluating the impact of Ascend STL on family mobility
Research Agenda
The Mobility Connection Evaluation is a survey of households with Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) who moved to higher-opportunity neighborhoods in St. Louis with assistance from Ascend, STL.
Research Response to COVID-19
Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 Survey
COVID-19 has dramatically shifted the world, and applying lessons learned during the pandemic will be critical as we not only rebuild our economy, but make it more equitable, too.
Latest Publications
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Housing Instability During the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Role of Assets and Income Shocks
Habitat for Humanity International awards $350,000 to investigate impact of housing on wealth building
