This paper discusses efforts to create incentives for privately built housing in American cities. It addresses both affordable housing and market-rate housing; the income range runs from “low and moderate-income” to “middle-income.” The low end of this range overlaps with some housing assistance programs.

The paper focuses on four categories of incentives: (1) the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), the most important rental-housing production incentive; (2) federal homeownership incentives; (3) mixed-income housing, which can be either rental or owner-occupied; and (4) the two major federal block grant programs to promote housing and community development, the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships. The paper describes these programs, both how they work and how they relate to community development in cities. It concludes with some observations about the role of housing production and preservation more generally in the community development context.