More Than Shelter: Activism and Community in San Francisco Public Housing

330 Pages·2014·4.721 MB·English

by  Amy L. Howard

More Than Shelter
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M o re Th a n S h e l t e r
activism and community in
san francisco public housing
Amy L. Howard
A Quadrant Book
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis
London
Quadrant, a joint initiative of the University of Minnesota Press and the Institute for
Advanced Study at the University of Minnesota, provides support for interdisciplinary
scholarship within a new, more collaborative model of research and publication.
http://q uadrant .umn .edu .
Sponsored by the Quadrant Design, Architecture, and Culture group (advisory board: John Archer, Ritu Bhatt,
Marilyn DeLong, and Katherine Solomonson) and by the University of Minnesota’s College of Design.
Quadrant is generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Copyright 2014 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401- 2520
http:// www .upress .umn .edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Howard, Amy Lynne, 1971–
More than shelter : activism and community in San Francisco public
housing / Amy L. Howard. 
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8166-6581-5 (hc : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8166-6582-2 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Public housing—California—San Francisco. 2. Housing Authority of
the City and County of San Francisco. I. Title.
HD7288.78.U52S264 2014
363.5'850979461—dc23
2013028370
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal- opportunity educator and employer.
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For my loving parents, Donna and David Howard,
and my daily joy, Rob and Meseret
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Contents
abbreviations ix
introduction xi
1. “To Provide Decent, Safe, and Sanitary Housing”
San Francisco’s Housing Authority 1
2. The Contested Mission of Valencia Gardens 45
3. “Peace and Prosperity Dwell among Virtuous Neighbors”
Chinatown’s Public Housing 97
4. “The Best Project in Town”
North Beach Place 147
Conclusion
Looking Back, Moving Forward 195
ac know ledg ments 207
notes 211
index 297
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Abbreviations
BART Bay Area Rapid Transit
CCHC Chinese Community Housing Corporation
CCU Council for Civic Unity
Chinatown CDC Chinatown Community Development
Center
CREA California Real Estate Association
EOC Economic Opportunity Council
FAP Federal Art Project
FEPC Fair Employment Practices Commission
FWA Federal Works Agency
HEW Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
HOPE VI Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere VI
HPTU Hunters Point Tenants Union
HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development
I-Hotel International Hotel
LIHTCs Low- income Housing Tax Credits
MCO Mission Co ali tion Or ga ni za tion
MOH Mayor’s Offi ce of Housing
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People
NBRMC North Beach Resident Management Corporation
NBTA North Beach Place Tenants Association
NTO National Tenants Association
PHA Public Housing Administration
PHTA Public Housing Tenants Association
PYRIA Ping Yuen Residents Improvement Association
QHWRA Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act
RMC Resident Management Corporation
SFAIA San Francisco Branch of the American Institute
of Architects
ix