As advocates push for the inclusion of affordable housing beyond the central city, siting battles have become increasingly common. Opponents often claim that affordable housing brings no net benefits to the community and that it threatens neighborhood property values. This review considers existing evidence regarding the relationship between the provision of quality affordable housing and benefits to the larger community. Evidence is considered in the areas of health and education. Given the high level of public concern with these two issues, evidence of benefits could be especially potent in public discussions of affordable housing. Future research is proposed in each area.

While planners still find themselves in the middle of battles over housing issues, the relationship between housing and larger social concerns is less apparent. As concern has shifted from poor housing conditions to the high cost of housing, and as housing has become increasingly viewed as an asset or investment, zoning and other planning tools have been used to preserve or enhance housing values for owners. In this context, where battles are increasingly taking place in middle-class neighborhoods, providing affordable housing to low-income residents is viewed more like a contagion than a social good (Massey and Denton 1993).