It is often assumed that most residents of large public housing projects in America's inner cities would welcome the opportunity to leave such places. This study, based on indepth interviews with 267 residents of five public housing developments in Boston, examines the reasons why two-thirds of these respondents say they would like to stay put, and also discusses the factors that make the other one-third eager to depart. The article concludes by attempting to reconcile these findings with a central dilemma facing urban planners and housing policymakers: how to sustain stable communities in public housing while also increasing the opportunities for residents to move to less impoverished neighborhoods.
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