Interracial Variations in Housing Preferences

It is clear that an accurate assessment of the future housing needs of urban Americans must be founded upon an understanding of households' perceptions of desirable dwellings and residential environments. Only if families can successfully obtain the type of unit and neighborhood aspired to can a reasonable degree of societal contentment be expected. Although several economic and sociological studies have explored many of the determinants of these housing preferences, insufficient attention has been given to a crucial remaining factor, especially where urban housing policy is concerned--the race of the household. It is in this context that the paper tests the hypothesis that blacks possess preferences for the various components of the housing package which are distinctly different from those of comparable whites.