Social Issue 3 – Housing inequality in the USA
There are huge differences in the quality of housing across the USA.
Run-down inner-city areas
A significant minority of Americans live in run-down inner-city areas. As Black and Hispanic Americans are, on average, poorer than White and Asian Americans, proportionally, many more people who are Black and Hispanic Americans can be found there.
These areas are characterised by:
- poor housing
- less home ownership
- unemployment
- poverty
- dysfunctional families
- crime
- drugs
American suburbs
Wealthier people, who are more like to be White or Asian Americans as these groups tend to have better education and better incomes, are more likely to live in the suburbs, located on the outskirts of cities.
The characteristics of suburbs include:
- less poverty
- greater home ownership
- less crime
- better-funded schools
- clean streets
How is home ownership broken down by racial group?
Home ownership (%) by racial group (2021)
| Racial Group | White | Hispanic | Black | Asian |
| Percentage (%) owning home | 72.7 | 50.6 | 44.0 | 62.8 |
| Racial Group | Percentage (%) owning home |
|---|---|
| White | 72.7 |
| Hispanic | 50.6 |
| Black | 44.0 |
| Asian | 62.8 |
How is the US Government tackling housing inequality?
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has introduced various initiatives to tackle housing inequalities.
For example:
- rental assistance programmes
- providing direct housing and services to millions of families across the USA
Funding has also been provided to help:
- people with disabilities who are on low-income pay their rent
- homeless veterans
President Biden and tackling US housing problem
In 2022, the Housing Supply Action Plan was released by President Biden. The plan aimed to ensure that more and better quality housing would be available, as well as reducing housing costs and enabling more Americans to be able to afford to buy the own homes.