Poll Shows Support for Urban Housing Spending

N E W  Y O R K, Oct. 23 -- A new report shows that rising housing costs and increasing frustration with traffic is creating support for public spending to improve urban housing options, according to a national organization of mayors and mortgage lenders who commissioned the poll.

The report shows that urban and suburban residents buck the conventional wisdom that they would have opposite views on urban sprawl, inner-city revitalization and transportation spending.

The poll says that 68 percent of city residents and 66 percent of suburbanites want to see city centers rebuilt and improved public transportation to combat urban sprawl.

“It’s a recognition that the sprawl model hasn’t worked, and that it’s been costly,” said Andrew Woodward, the chairman of Bank of America Mortgage and the president-elect of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

Support for Incentives

The survey shows strong support for affordable housing for teachers, fire fighters and police officers. In the only question involving taxes, 77 percent said they support use of tax dollars to improve transportation, but there are no question about whether new taxes would be acceptable, or what spending should be cut to provide extra transportation funds.

A number of questions addressed what made city living and suburban living desirable. Suburbs received high marks for their quietness, access to parks and open space and low crime rates but faulted for traffic, long commutes and lack of public transportation.

Urban centers were cited as good places to live for their cultural activities, excitement and short commute times.

More than half said they would encourage more people to live in cities to discourage sprawl, but only 12 percent of suburban respondents would actually consider moving into the city center themselves.

The telephone poll reached 1,400 residents of Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis and Washington D.C.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Mortgage Bankers Association of America, which commissioned the poll, hope to use the report to stimulate discussion about housing issues. They hope to encourage public and private partnership son the local level and create funding pressure at the federal level. Several mayors, gathered at a New York news conference, said housing has not received enough attention and funding on the federal level.