This paper addresses the question of whether the repair behavior of owner occupants depends on the housing upkeep of neighboring owners. The policy issue is whether spatial targeting of rehabilitation loans and grants to low income owners in specific areas of a city is effective in leveraging private funds of adjacent residents for housing repairs. This paper presents four case studies of low income residential areas that have been targeted for community development aid. Data collected for the Community Development Strategies Evaluation Project suggests that the additional amount each owner spends for every thousand dollars his/her neighbors spend, although measurable, is very small.
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