To move or not to move: Relationships to place and relocation choices in HOPE VI

Abstract As the HOPE VI (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere) program redevelops public housing, residents must relocate. Little is known about how they make the choice to stay or to go, if they are given one. Survey interviews with 200 residents of Seattle's High Point HOPE VI project provide the data to address four questions about such moves. First, what factors predict residents’ initial choice to stay on site during redevelopment or to move permanently away? Second, how does the initial choice predict actual behavior? Third, what is the role of place attachment and place dependence on residents’ relocation choices? Fourth, what is the role of other trade‐offs in decision making? Findings suggest that family situations and place‐dependent considerations shape initial relocation preferences of public housing residents and that their family situations may be a more important influence on the actual move. Implications for the HOPE VI program are discussed.