Federal officials have cleared the way for Boston's public housing applicants to choose the developments where they live, scrapping a citywide waiting list the courts forced on housing officials 15 years ago to stamp out racial segregation.

The Boston Housing Authority... had adopted the citywide list in response to a 1988 lawsuit alleging that minorities were steered away from mostly white developments in South Boston, Charlestown, and East Boston. But for nearly a decade, BHA officials and Mayor Thomas M. Menino have pushed for a return to site-based lists, arguing that the BHA has revamped its policies and staff and that people in dire financial straits should be able to live in the neighborhood of their choosing.

...The US Department of Housing and Urban Development said... it will monitor the BHA to make sure segregation does not recur....

BHA officials say white strongholds in public housing developments are unlikely now, however, because black and non-white Hispanic families outnumber white families in every development, and 85 percent of those on the waiting list are non-white....

Under the new rules, which could be instituted as soon as next year, applicants would choose between putting their names on one or more waiting lists for specific developments or on a citywide list. Current residents won't be able to transfer without approval from the BHA, which usually grants permission only in cases where the family's safety is at risk.

-From The Boston Globe, By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff, 9/19/2003