a more informed level of analysis may be based. 

 The data even raise new questions of their own. 

 For example, all previous studies indicated that 

 fear of crime was the most serious urban concern. 

 Among sample survey respondents questioned 

 about neighborhood problems severe enough to 

 cause them to move, crime was not among the top 

 factors. If validated by further study, these data 

 could lead to shifts in current domestic program 

 priorities. 



In other instances, instead of responding to an 

 existing emergency, HUD has attempted to direct 

 its research to anticipate newly emerging problems 

 or to provide data and tested alternatives prior to 

 the adoption of large-scale new initiatives. 



The most notable of these is the experimental 

 housing allowance program (EHAP). This is the 

 largest single social science research project yet 

 funded. When completed, a total of approximately 

 $175 million in research and operating subsidy pro- 

 gram funds will have been devoted to it. Its pur- 

 pose has been to test whether direct cash pay- 

 ments may be an effective alternative to the provi- 

 sion of housing units and services to the housing 

 poor. It is examining three subquestions: (1) What 

 are the possible alternative delivery mechanisms 

 for such cash payments to eligible recipients; (2) 

 what are the effects of such payments in actual 

 housing markets; and (3) what are the behavior 

 changes and potential benefits to the recipients of 

 such housing assistance? Nearly 20,000 families in 

 more than 10 cities will have participated in the 

 experiment for as long as 10 years before the last 

 parts of the project have been completed. It will 

 have been a very large-scale simulation of multiple 

 alternatives, prior to the implementation of any 

 operating program. The work is a first of its kind 

 for any housing program, and is also providing in- 

 sights into the more general problem of welfare 

 reform . 



As a consequence of this research, a richness 

 and diversity of detail is being obtained about the 

 behavior of housing market participants (occu- 

 pants, landlords, lenders, service agencies, local 

 government, developers, suppliers, sales and man- 

 agement firms, etc.), never before available. Its 

 availability and analysis will provide insights of the 

 most fundamental kind, going well beyond the 

 bounds of this particular demonstration. 



We have other work that falls between our 

 short-term, firefighting studies and the kind of an- 

 ticipatory research represented by EHAP. 



The current policy emphasis on the preservation 

 of our existing neighborhoods and housing stock 

 arises, in part, out of earlier analyses by HUD's 

 research program. A corollary of that analysis was 

 the need for improved housing management, espe- 

 cially in the use of our existing public housing 



120 HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 



Stock. This led to a series of projects in this field, 

 an initiative that continues today. Among the most 

 important of those projects has been a five-year 

 study of the qualities that make for "good" public 

 housing management. 



An important — and somewhat counterintuitive — 

 finding has been that good Public Housing Authori- 

 ty (PHA) management is less costly than bad. That 

 is, when measured objectively by the condition of 

 the buildings and grounds and subjectively by the 

 satisfaction of the tenants, well-managed projects 

 were found to cost less to operate, per dwelling 

 unit, than projects in which the buildings were 

 poorly kept and tenant satisfaction was low. This 

 finding had an important impact on program subsi- 

 dies and is described below. In general, good man- 

 agement was also found to be decentralized, re- 

 sponsive, and firm — qualities that had not pre- 

 viously been seen by many PHA directors as keys 

 to successful management. Even a small shift to- 

 ward improved management practices among such 

 managers could help restrain the rapid growth of 

 Federal PHA operating subsidies (from $30 million 

 in 1969 to $WX)+ million in 1977). 



The growth of PHA operating subsidies is also 

 held down by another application of our housing 

 management research. It is perhaps the most 

 significant use of social science research by 

 HUD, or possibly any other Federal agency. The 

 operating deficits of PHA's grew from the twin 

 pressures of reduced income (a statutory change 

 had fixed a limit of 25 percent of tenant income for 

 rent) and inflation. In April 1975, a performance 

 funding system was introduced, based on our re- 

 search. Under it, subsidy to any PHA is limited to 

 an average range of the amounts needed to operate 

 high-performing PHA's found in our study, but 

 adjusted for each individual PHA by factors be- 

 yond the direct control of management, such as 

 the age of buildings, to assure the system's respon- 

 siveness to individual circumstances. To our 

 knowledge, this is the first use of research, in any 

 domestic program, to determine a fairer means to 

 allocate Federal subsidies. PHA's whose manage- 

 ment costs were too high were not left unaided; 

 parallel programs were devised to help such PHA's 

 reduce waste and improve efficiency. 



Another current major effort of HUD research, 

 in an entirely different field, is the residential solar 

 energy program. Approximately 20 percent of the 

 Nation's daily energy use goes to heating, cooling, 

 and lighting our dwellings. In addition to strong 

 conservation efforts, alternate energy sources must 

 be found if we are to reduce this load. Solar ener- 

 gy is such a source, and hardware already exists 

 for residential applications. Unfortunately, much 

 of it is not yet cost-effective at today's custom- 

 produced prices. It is expected there may be sub- 



