Disproportionate Housing Opportunities: Study of HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program within the City of Amarillo, TX
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Authors
Cara M. King
Issue Date
2026-05-22
Type
Dissertation
Language
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic , Housing subsidies--Texas--Amarillo , Housing policy--Texas--Amarillo , Low-income housing--Texas--Amarillo , Rental housing--Texas--Amarillo , Section 8 housing--Texas--Amarillo , Discrimination in housing--Texas--Amarillo
Alternative Title
Abstract
This study examined the alignment between neighborhood opportunity conditions, localized rental market pricing, and Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) payment standards in Amarillo, Texas. Using the Neighborhood Opportunity Attribution Framework (NOAF) developed for this study to establish tract–Multiple Listing Service (MLS) spatial units, the research assessed whether metropolitan Fair Market Rents (FMRs) supported the availability of rental housing within voucher limits in a high opportunity neighborhood and evaluated Small Area Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) exception payment standard scenarios to determine whether alternative payment thresholds could expand that availability. Three research questions guided the analysis: identification of tract-MLS areas using the NOAF to verify residential containment; comparison of metropolitan FMR payment standards with prevailing two-bedroom rents in the verified high-opportunity tract; and modeling SAFMR exception payment standard scenarios to determine the thresholds at which rental units became financially reachable within voucher limits. Among four fully contained tract-MLS areas with HCVP households, only one, Puckett in Randall County, met all high-opportunity criteria. Multifamily rents aligned with FMR payment standards, whereas single-family rents exceeded metropolitan FMR thresholds. Scenario modeling indicated that single-family rental availability within voucher limits emerged near 130% of SAFMR, with broader alignment near 140%. These findings demonstrate how payment standard misalignment can produce disproportionate housing opportunities within the same metropolitan voucher program when rents for certain structure types exceed voucher limits, limiting the availability of those units in high-opportunity neighborhoods.
Description
King, Cara, M. "Disproportionate Housing Opportunities: Study of HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program within the City of Amarillo, TX," D.P.A. Diss., Valdosta State University, 2026. 1 electronic record (PDF), 2.54 MB, 298 pages.
Citation
King, Cara, M. "Disproportionate Housing Opportunities: Study of HUD Housing Choice Voucher Program within the City of Amarillo, TX," D.P.A. Diss., Valdosta State University, 2026. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7704.
Publisher
Valdosta State University