Le politiche del governo federale statunitense nell’edilizia residenziale. Suggerimenti per il modello italiano

this paper aims at examining the federal housing policy at present in place in the United States of America. The most significant initiatives are the “public housing” program, that provides rental housing for eligible low-income families, and “Section 8”, that grants, through the allocation of vouchers, rent subsidies to a relevant number of needy individuals. They’re both administered by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and, locally, by the public housing authorities. Particularly interesting are the programs aimed at helping assisted residents to move toward self-sufficiency. Funds for housing affordability are also provided to the states and the local governments through the housing block grants and the LIHTC program. The last part of the paper tries to underline the elements that could be of interest for a comparison with the Italian public housing system, which is object of many reform proposals in this period.