The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

In this report:

The Impact of High Vacancy Rates and Temporary Housing

High vacancy rates and the number of people still living in temporary housing will increase the difficulty and scope of Update/Leave, Nonresponse Follow Up, and subsequent field operations. 

Not surprisingly, the widespread damage to, or destruction of, homes during Hurricane Katrina has left many communities with large numbers of vacant and abandoned housing units.  The most recent New Orleans Index reports that the number of unoccupied residential addresses in the city continues to decline, but the number is still high – about 66,000 in March 2009 – representing nearly a third of addresses; the report suggests that most of these addresses (nearly 59,000) are probably blighted or empty lots.  The percent of vacant or unoccupied residential addresses in St. Bernard Parish is even greater, exceeding 50 percent (about 14,400 addresses).  Homes that did not appear habitable during the spring 2009 address canvassing operation were likely not included on the Bureau's Master Address File, which will determine which housing units receive a census form next March, either by mail or hand-delivery.

Participation in the important Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program was high in southern Louisiana, according to Census Bureau officials.  New Orleans and other local jurisdictions that participated in earlier phases of LUCA may have the opportunity to review and challenge the final address lists under the LUCA Appeals Process.  Under this process, eligible state and local governments may appeal new addresses not added to the address lists, deleted addresses, or incorrect addresses on the final address lists resulting from Address Canvassing.  Appeals must include detailed information on each challenged address, such as housing unit number, street direction, street type, and corresponding post office, or a description of the housing unit if an address is not available.  For communities recovering from widespread destruction of living quarters and in the midst of significant rebuilding and development, the LUCA appeals process could prove to be problematic, time-consuming, and ultimately difficult to accomplish in any meaningful way.  Participating jurisdictions will have 30 days to review and challenge the address materials they receive from the Census Bureau in Summer and Fall 2009. The Census Bureau will complete the LUCA appeals process by March 31, 2010, and will add new addresses to the workload for subsequent field operations (either Nonresponse Follow Up or Field Follow Up ) in spring and summer 2010.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, FEMA provided temporary housing assistance to 143,000 households.  As of June 2009, the agency reported, 139,000 of those households had moved into longer-term housing, leaving about 3,450 households in need of longer-term housing assistance.²⁷ New measures put in place this year by FEMA and Congress allow residents of some temporary units (such as mobile homes and park models) to purchase their units for as little as $1.00; these people, however, might move again as they complete renovation of their pre-Katrina homes or locate more attractive, affordable housing options.  Still other efforts, which involve HUD, as well as state agencies, include housing vouchers and other rental assistance to accelerate the pace of transition to longer-term housing for more people.  It is not clear how long this transition will continue, however, and the ongoing upheaval in the housing stock presents significant challenges for the Census Bureau.

Next Section: Consequences of More Households without Phone Service

27. FEMA web site, "Finding Long-Term Housing Solutions for Hurricane Victims," updated June 3, 2009.  http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/longterm_housing_hurr.shtm