Her primary area of research is assisted housing and her focus is on expanding affordable housing opportunities for low-income households and building safer communities in distressed neighborhoods. She evaluates the policies and outcomes of the two largest federal assisted housing rental programs in the United States (the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the Housing Choice Voucher program). Dr. Walter’s research also aims to bridge the gap between housing and criminal justice by addressing barriers to housing during the reentry process, examining the extent to which criminal histories predict housing success, and identifying property factors for both multifamily rental housing and commercial real estate that create the safest neighborhoods.