Housing for the poor remains a major policy problem in U.S. cities. Jay Forrester’s 1969 Urban Model predicted that increasing the availability of low income housing exacerbates the city deterioration. Poverty and homelessness are on the rise in this country. Families, often single parents with children, and the elderly are two of the largest groups affected. Subsidized housing is one way to fight homelessness. This year’s budget proposal has President Bush slashing funding to the department of Housing and Urban Development, including many programs that help supply housing to the poor.  I plan to investigate various low income housing policies to determine how and why they would or would not work.