In the United States, the public housing program is a federal project overseen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, known by many as HUD. Public housing comes in many forms, such as highrise apartments, sprawling low-rise units and single-family houses.
HUD allocates Federal funds to local Housing Authorities, who administer the program in their area. They manage the public housing projects and take in and review applications.
According to HUD, the program was created to give eligible low-income families, the elderly and persons with disabilities housing that is safe and in good condition. Because public housing is managed at the local level, in reality, some public housing projects meet these standards, while others are crime-ridden and the units are in bad shape. Often, it's these latter types of public housing that give housing projects a bad name.
