housing project

American  

[hou-zing proj-ekt, proj-ikt] / ˈhaʊ zɪŋ ˌprɒdʒ ɛkt, ˌprɒdʒ ɪkt /

noun

1. a publicly built and operated housing development, usually intended for low- or moderate-income tenants, senior citizens, etc.

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housing project British  

noun

1. a housing development built and maintained by a local authority, usually intended for people with a low or moderate income

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Etymology

Origin of housing project

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Westhoughton-born actress Maxine Peake was among the campaigners against it, describing it as a "housing project in golf clothing".

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

She moved the family from the Ramona Gardens housing project in Boyle Heights to the apartment where Davis grew up around Pico and Western when Davis was just a few years old.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

The family lived in a Brooklyn housing project at a time when such accommodations were safe, comfortable and a marker of the American black middle class.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Based in a World War II-era housing project on 1st Street, the Rancho San Pedro gang is now divided into six cliques, including two female crews, the Malditas and the Locas.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2025

There happened to be a Boy Scout drum and bugle corps located in the housing project next to ours.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston