Exploring the Spatial Distribution of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties

U.S. housing policies promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have placed increasing emphasis on dispersing housing assistance in order to deconcentrate poverty. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, the nation's largest affordable housing subsidy program, is not administered by HUD and therefore not closely monitored for compliance with poverty de-concentration objectives. In fact, several provisions of the LIHTC enabling statute provide incentives to concentrate LIHTC properties within high-poverty census tracts.