Beginning before the Civil War and continuing through World War II, Brockton, Massachusetts was the shoe manufacturing capital of the world. Since then, shoe factories have moved their operations to other locations in search of cheaper labor. Now only one shoe factory still operates in the city. The decline of the shoe industry has had an impact on the housing stock in the last decade. Although jobs in service industries have more than replaced the lost manufacturing jobs, many of those employed have chosen to live in surrounding suburbs rather than in Brockton.
In the coming year, Brockton plans to use $1,885,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for such projects as an owner-occupied home improvement loan/grant program, demolition of vacant property, and neighborhood street improvements. Projects that will use $725,000 Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds include rehabilitation of housing units, homebuyer assistance, single-family rehabilitation deferred loans and grants, and tenant-based rental assistance.
Brockton sponsored two public hearings to give citizens a chance to offer their views concerning the city's housing and community development needs. The first hearing, held December 7, 1994, gathered ideas for the proposed draft. Notices of the meeting were published in the Brockton Enterprise. The second hearing, held March 30, 1995, surveyed citizens' views of the proposed activities and program performance.
A summary of the Consolidated Plan was advertised in the Brockton Enterprise on April 6, 1995. The summary explained that there would be a 30-day review period to submit comments and that the plan would be submitted to HUD no later than May 12, 1995.
MAP 1 depicts points of interest in the jurisdiction.
Brockton's population decreased by 2.5 percent between 1980 and 1990 to 92,788. In 1990 there were 32,714 households averaging 2.8 people per household.
There have been dramatic changes in the racial and ethnic composition of Brockton's population during the 1980s. The white population decreased by 18 percent (from 87,422 to 71,885), while the black population increased by 120 percent (from 4,929 to 10,841). The Asian population increased from 566 to 1,589 (181 percent) and the Hispanic population increased from 427 to 5,860 (1,272 percent). It appears these trends have continued since the 1990 census was taken.
In recent years a number of trends, including an increase of illegal activities and decreased demand for much of the old, wood-frame housing in the inner-city neighborhoods, have combined to present the city with serious housing problems. Employment has declined because of the overall economic situation. Some impediments to economic growth include limited supplies of well-located land for development, lack of good low-cost industrial space, shortage of credit for entrepreneurs, relatively high tax rate, increasing immigrant population with some language barriers, relatively low educational achievement, uneven availability of medical care, poor public image regarding crime and conditions in the downtown area, and limited water supplies.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
The city considers a structure to be substandard if it does not provide safe and adequate housing, and contains one or more major defects or a combination of minor defects in sufficient number to require extensive repair or rebuilding. It is also substandard if it lacks either hot or cold piped water, a flush toilet, and bathtub or shower inside the structure. It is substandard but suitable for rehabilitation if the defect or defects can be corrected at a cost that can be amortized over a 10-year period without increasing the monthly cost of the housing to more than 10 percent over the cost of similar housing in the same neighborhood. Brockton has about 2,000 owner-occupied units and 1,500 rental units that are substandard but suitable for rehabilitation.
The low-income population in Brockton has serious housing needs, largely related to the lack of income relative to the cost of housing. Approximately two-thirds of very low-income households (with incomes under 30 percent of the area median) pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing and more than half pay more than 50 percent. More than 60 percent of low-income households (31 to 50 percent of the median) pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing; more than a fourth pay over 50 percent.
The need is almost as great for moderate-income households (incomes 51 percent to 80 percent of median).
Special needs groups in Brockton that would benefit from assisted housing include lower- income elderly and frail elderly populations, people with physical or mental disabilities, recovering substance abusers, and people with AIDS and related diseases.
According to the 1990 census, Brockton had 35,377 year-round housing units, 32,850 of which were occupied. Of the occupied units, 17,516 (53 percent) were owner-occupied and 15,334 (46.7 percent) were renter-occupied. Vacant units totaled 2,576, of which 1,541 were for rent (a vacancy rate of 9 percent) and 346 (2 percent) were for sale. The city also had 640 vacant units classified as "other," neither for sale nor rent.
Average monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit is $454. A two-bedroom unit costs $527, and a three-bedroom unit is $600. This is below the Section 8 fair market rents established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Rents are close to affordable even for people with incomes below 50 percent of the median for the metropolitan area.
The problem, however, is that it is not clear that these rents are sufficient to allow landlords to maintain their units or even to maintain ownership. This may be the reason for the large number of substandard and abandoned units.
A similar trend is evident with respect to for-sale housing. An examination of transactions recorded with county registrars shows that in the 10-month period from January to October, 1991, there were 745 residential sales with an average price of $100,000. For the same period in 1992, there were 796 sales with an average price of $89,000. This indicates that prices for such housing is well within affordable limits for eastern Massachusetts. The primary concern is not so much affordability as continued confidence in the city in the face of declining values and perceived problems of neighborhood decline.
There are roughly 42 homeless families, totaling 120 people and 170 homeless individuals in Brockton. The city is working to establish a continuum of care for all its homeless citizens. Thus far it has succeeded in providing basic food and emergency shelter for the homeless—who tend to be recovering substance abusers, victims of domestic violence, or long-term unemployed. The city's network of nonprofit human service providers has also succeeded in making available a certain amount of transitional housing, especially for single mothers and victims of domestic violence.
Because of these services, there is general agreement that there are not large numbers of unsheltered homeless in Brockton. Yet Brockton's shelters are heavily used. Shelter managers feel they could use additional space because they believe there is a certain amount of hidden homelessness represented, for example, by people living in vacant buildings. There is also a need for more transitional housing and more opportunities for permanent housing. Many homeless people are former substance abusers and need a secure place to move to if they are to keep their lives together. They also need education, job training, and a stable environment.
More facilities are needed to house separately those who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. Shelter managers agree that it is difficult to keep recovering addicts sober unless they are in a drug-free environment.
More shelter is needed to house the severely mentally ill, who make up perhaps 15 percent of the sheltered population. Women and children fleeing domestic violence need more transitional and permanent housing, and assistance with education and employment so that they can manage their lives on their own. People with AIDS also need special housing facilities because of the nature of their health problems.
There are seven private housing developments in Brockton that are subsidized through Section 8 project-based certificates. These developments have a total of 1,777 units (1,090 in 3 family projects, 285 in 3 elderly projects, and 402 in 1 mixed project).
In addition, the Brockton Housing Authority (BHA) administers 589 tenant-based certificates/vouchers. South Shore Housing Development Corporation, a regional nonprofit housing corporation, administers 146 Section 8 certificates/vouchers in Brockton.
The BHA administers 250 tenant-based Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program subsidies. Under present State regulations, these vouchers stay with tenants wherever they go within the State. Once the voucher is returned, it is not issued to anyone else nor are any new vouchers issued. Thus, the number of vouchers can only decrease.
The present relatively depressed state of the Brockton housing market offers both impediments and opportunities to the city. The affordable prices for both rental and sales housing offer an opportunity to house individuals and families who would otherwise not have that opportunity. In particular it offers an opportunity for homeownership to people who would otherwise be shut out of the market.
Yet the forces that have created this opportunity -- weak housing demand relative to supply, a declining employment base, perceived problems of crime and neighborhood decline -- discourage the private investment that is needed to make better housing a reality for those who need it. Unfortunately, these forces are driving housing prices so low that owners are deferring maintenance on their properties and even abandoning them because they do not have the resources to manage them.
The city recently completed an analysis of impediments to fair housing and concluded that there are no significant impediments at the time.
The primary environmental concern facing Brockton's housing stock is the presence of lead- based paint. Given the magnitude of the problem and shortage of available resources, it is not possible to inspect each housing unit in the city. Based on 1990 census figures, Brockton has 13,612 housing units (13,038 rental and 574 sale) that were built before 1980 and are affordable to low- and moderate-income households. These are the units most likely to contain lead-based paint.
Self-Help, Inc., a Community Action Agency, is addressing a portion of this problem through its administration of a State/Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant for the elimination of lead-based paint in low- and moderate-income housing. In addition, the Brockton Redevelopment Agency, under both its CDBG and HOME programs, deleads single- family homes for low- and moderate-income owners when a child is lead-poisoned.
Most of the city's community development needs relate to economic development, either to provide jobs and tax revenues or to improve the city's ability to meet other community development needs such as infrastructure and public safety.
During 1994 Brockton averaged 7.6 percent unemployment, far exceeding the State rate of 6.0 percent. It has exceeded the State and regional rates for more than 7 years. The city's labor force participation rate of 66.9 percent is well below the regional rate average of 71.4 percent and is the lowest in the region except for the town of Bridgewater.
The retail core of Brockton has suffered the fate of many older downtown areas as department and chain stores closed or moved to suburban locations. The result is vacant storefronts, abandoned buildings, and debris-filled lots. The physical condition of the area is matched by the social problems of its residents, who fear gang violence and drug-related problems. The downtown area also serves as the locus for most of the city's homeless. It suffers from concerns about public safety, requiring increases in both police and fire protection.
Overall, Brockton wants to make the center of the city a viable economic entity once again. This means building on the strengths it already possesses: a government and service center and a small but not insignificant manufacturing area. The key to this strategy is the creation of economic activity that will provide the revenue to improve the physical appearance of the area and the income to address the needs of its residents.
To ensure that the residents will be able to take advantage of the employment that will be provided, public job training agencies will work closely with employers to link their programs with the requirements of the jobs. The strategy will also include economic opportunity for residents by encouraging and supporting them in the establishment of their own businesses. Concurrently, there needs to be a concentrated attack on crime, arson, gang violence, and substance abuse.
The major housing needs of Brockton that have developed over the last decade have been driven by the continuing decline in the quality of the housing stock and the growth in low- income populations. The decline in the economy that reduced income available for rental and sale housing has exacerbated the problem.
The strategies being proposed, while not able to address the root causes of the problems nor able to alleviate all housing conditions, will continue programs that are relevant, revive programs that were discontinued but still appropriate, and generate new initiatives to address problems of which the severity is now better known.
The key strategies are as follows:
The city expects to use its limited resources to meet non-housing community development needs by making judicious investments in public improvements and services such as community police patrols and improved fire fighting facilities. Public improvements will be targeted to the predominately low- and moderate-income central portion of the city. This will support the overall strategy of the city by encouraging economic development in this area as a means of providing employment opportunities. Social service funds will also be focused on the central part of the city and will address concerns relating to crime, substance abuse, and arson.
The city feels that the most effective antipoverty strategy will involve the private sector as a means of providing employment opportunities for low- and moderate-income people. Its strategy will encourage the development of these opportunities in the central part of the city.
Because of the deterioration in economic conditions, Brockton has limited financial resources to devote to housing and community development projects. Over the next 3 years, the only funds that will be available for this purpose are those that can be provided by State and Federal governments. There are no guaranteed funds, but the city has a reasonable expectation of receiving the following formula grant funds for at least the next 3 years:
The Brockton Redevelopment Agency (BRA) led and coordinated the consolidated planning and submission process. In order to ensure that the consolidated plan represented the best available information about the city's community development needs, the BRA conducted a formal process of consultation with a number of agencies including the Brockton Housing Authority, the city planner, the Police Department, the Public Library, the Brockton Area Private Industry Council, the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Brockton Association. The BRA will continue to consult these agencies as appropriate to plan and implement specific activities under the Consolidated Plan.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; as well as, provides a table with information about the project(s).
Key projects for the coming year include the following:
