Public housing in Puerto Rico is a subsidized system of housing units, mostly consisting of housing projects (Residenciales, Barriadas, or Caserios Publicos, in Spanish), which are provided for low-income families in Puerto Rico. The system is mainly financed with programs from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are 322 public housing developments in Puerto Rico.
Contents
- Introduction
- History
- Organization
- Eligible tenants
- Criticism
- List of public housing projects in Puerto Rico
- Adjuntas
- Aguadilla
- Aibonito
- Aasco
- Arecibo
- Barceloneta
- Barranquitas
- Bayamn
- Caguas
- Canovanas
- Carolina
- Catao
- Cayey
- Ciales
- Cidra
- Coamo
- Corozal
- Dorado
- Fajardo
- Florida
- Guayama
- Guayanilla
- Guaynabo
- Gurabo
- Hormigueros
- Humacao
- Juana Daz
- Juncos
- Lares
- Las Piedras
- Loza
- Luquillo
- Manat
- Mayagez
- Moca
- Morovis
- Naguabo
- Ponce
- Quebradillas
- Ro Grande
- Sabana Grande
- San Germn
- San Juan
- San Lorenzo
- San Sebastian
- Toa Alta
- Toa Baja
- Trujillo Alto
- Villalba
- Yabucoa
- Yauco
- Vega Alta
- Vega Baja
- Vieques
- Public Housing Authorities
- References
Introduction
Neighborhoods in Puerto Rico are often divided into three types: barrio, urbanización (urbanization) and residencial público (public housing). An urbanización is a type of housing where land is developed into lots, often by a private developer, and where single-family homes are built. More recently, non single-family units, such as condominiums and townhouses are being built which also fall into this category. (In Puerto Rico, a condominiun is a housing unit located in a high-rise building. It is popularly called an "apartamento", or, alternatively, "apartamiento" (English: apartment), whether or not its resident owns the unit or lives it as a renter.) Public housing, on the other hand, are housing units built with government funding. These have traditionally consisted multi-family dwellings in housing complexes called a Barriada or a Caserío Publico (and more recently a Residencial), and where all exterior grounds consist of shared areas. Increasingly, however, public housing developments are being built that consist of other than the traditional multi-family dwellings with all exterior grounds consisting of shared outside area, for example, public housing may consist of single family garden apartments units. Finally, a home that is located in neither an urbanizacion nor of a public housing development is said to be located in (and to be a part of) a barrio. In Puerto Rico, a "barrio" also has a second and very different meaning official meaning: the geographical area into which a municipios is divided for official administrative purposes. In this sense, urbanizaciones as well as public housing developments (as well as one or several "barrios" in the popular sense) may be located in one of these 901 official geographic areas.
History
Puerto Rico's Department of Housing, created in the 1970s, succeeded the Urban Renewal and Housing Corporation, or Corporación de Renovación Urbana y Vivienda (CRUV, its Spanish acronym), which was created in the late 1950s to succeed the Puerto Rico Housing Authority, created by Gov. Luis Muñoz Marín and headed by César Cordero Dávila, to consolidate several state and municipal housing agencies. Puerto Rico Housing and CRUV were responsible for the design and construction of many of the older "residenciales" in Puerto Rico. The first three public housing developments, Ponce De Leon, Santiago Iglesias and Caribe, are located in the city of Ponce. Henry Klumb provided early support for those efforts and one of his protégés, George McClintock was the first Architect-in-Chief of Puerto Rico Housing in the early-to-mid 1950's. Among Klumb's designs are the 1945 design work for the Cataño, San Lorenzo, Lares and Aguadilla Puerto Rico Housing projects, Naranjito Public Housing Project in 1957, Comerío Public Housing Project in 1958, and Residencial Las Virtudes, designed and built between 1969 ad 1976. Klumb had previously done work for several municipal housing agencies, including Mayagüez' and Ponce's.
In 1973, José Enrique Arrarás became the first Secretary of Housing. He was appointed by Gov. Rafael Hernández Colón.
Organization
Operating funds are provided by HUD for tenant rent subsidizing and for the construction, acquisition, maintenance, and operations of public housing projects, which are in turn administered by several entities throughout the island called Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). The main Public Housing Agency in Puerto Rico is the Public Housing Administration (Administración de Vivienda Pública, or AVP, in Spanish) under the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (Departamento de Vivienda in Spanish). Other Public Housing Agencies include certain municipalities which are authorized by HUD and commonwealth law to operate housing projects independent of the main state PHA. All PHAs can contract a Management Agent (usually a for-profit enterprise) to manage day-to-day operations, including processing tenant complaints, housing unit repairs, and overall project maintenance.
HUD also allows private non-profit organizations and for-profit enterprises to manage housing projects as PHAs, offering program funding and tax incentives (Tax Credit Projects) in order to compensate for operating costs. However, these types of public housing projects are not as common in Puerto Rico as those which are managed by the state.
The PHA is responsible for providing adequate living arrangements for program tenants, in compliance with Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) (formerly Housing Quality Standards (HQS)) set by HUD. Additionally, the PHA must manage all federal funds received in an efficient and reasonable way, in compliance with HUD prescribed guidelines and with Chapter 24 of the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Management Agents are also required to comply with these standards. The USDA provides federal loan programs (including direct loans or loan guarantees) to PHAs for the construction of new public housing projects or acquisition of existing living complexes to convert into public projects.
Eligible tenants
The tenant rent subsidizing system allows low-income and impoverished individuals and families to reside in a subsidized housing unit just as long as their income status complies with federal regulations (but no family assistance has ever been terminated because of excess of income limit). Families wanting to participate must first be included in a Waiting List, which includes all citizens applying for subsidized housing by order of application date. Families must therefore "wait until their turn" for eligibility as the PHA selects families by that order, a process which in Puerto Rico may take several years. Applicants must provide evidence of low-income status (HUD recommends a copy of a filed income tax return) and are Given a housing unit for which HUD will subsidize its rent.
Criticism
Supporters of the system argue that Puerto Rico's annual income per person is $12,000 (2004), a figure which is much lower than in the United States and which explains why a relatively larger portion of the island population participates in the system.
List of public housing projects in Puerto Rico
The following is a list of public housing projects located in Puerto Rico, and includes those that are managed by the Government of Puerto Rico, by municipalities, and by private non-profit and for-profit entities:
Adjuntas
Aguadilla
Aibonito
Añasco
Arecibo
Barceloneta
Barranquitas
Bayamón
Caguas
Canovanas
Carolina
Cataño
Cayey
PRIVATIZADO
Ciales
Cidra
Coamo
Corozal
Dorado
Fajardo
Florida
Guayama
Guayanilla
Guaynabo
Alejandrino
Gurabo
Hormigueros
Humacao
Juana Díaz
Juncos
Lares
Las Piedras
Loíza
Luquillo
Manatí
Mayagüez
Moca
Morovis
Naguabo
Ponce
Quebradillas
Río Grande
Sabana Grande
San Germán
San Juan
San Lorenzo
San Sebastian
Toa Alta
Toa Baja
Trujillo Alto
Villalba
Yabucoa
Yauco
Vega Alta
Vega Baja
Vieques
Public Housing Authorities
Public Housing Authorities are government agencies designated by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer federally subsidized housing units.
Source: Public Housing Agency (HA) Profiles, US Department of Housing and Urban Development