Urban Renewal

Urban renewal is a comprehensive program for the revitalization of theNation's cities, where 7 of i o Americans now live, and where in all probability an ever-increasing proportion will be concentrated in comingyears. 1 It has been aptly called the "program of the future." Althoughit is concerned with urban problems on a scale much broader thanhousing alone, it may involve every major Federal housing program andagency. Above all, it involves the mass displacement of people, andparticularly nonwhites. For this reason, if it is to succeed, urbanrenewal, more than any other program, must meet and master the problem of the restricted minority group housing market.

America's cities face formidable problems of growth and decay. Eachyear a constant stream of migrants flows from the countryside increasingtheir size and their burdens. And as the poor, ill-educated, and unadapted migrants move into the central cities, there is an exodus of thewealthier, more stable, middle class into the expanding suburbs. Themigrants, largely nonwhites, are fenced off into the older, deterioratingneighborhoods and the tempo of decay increases. Slums grow, withtheir concomitants of crime, disease, and human degradation, and thecity governments must pay an ever larger cost in police, fire, health, andwelfare services. The middle class which in the past has provided stability, leadership, and a firm fiscal base for municipal taxes, is fleeing tothe "white noose" of the suburbs, where its members are largely beyondthe reach of municipal taxing power, although they work in the city andrequire many urban services which municipal government must helpprovide.

A program of revitalization must be geared to meet these problems andattract suburban dwellers back into a dynamic, attractive central city.This can be achieved partly through removal and replacement of slumstructures; rehabilitation and conservation of existing structures; strategicplacement of educational and recreational facilities; provision of adequate transportation, within, to, and from the city; and dispersion ordissolution of the heavy concentration of low-income population.

In an effort to meet these urban needs, new governmental programshave been created and the entire concept of housing has been altered and

enlarged. As HHFA Administrator Robert G. Weaver recentlyexplained: 2

[W]hen we talk of housing we are talking of more than simply

shelter. We are talking of cities, we are talking of transportation,we are talking of the various facilities that make up the communitiesin which we live. And of course we are also talking of people.

The Federal urban renewal program, which seeks to meet these needs,was originally narrow in scope. It was thought that cities could be revitalized and urban dwellers accommodated merely by eliminatingblighted areas and constructing new homes on the cleared sites. Consequently in 1949, Congress declared the national housing policy tobe 8 2014

. . . the elimination of substandard and other inadequate housingthrough the clearance of slums and blighted areas, and the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitableliving environment for every American family. . . .

Experience under the 1949 act soon showed that to be effective urbanrenewal must encompass a much broader program. The Housing Actof 1954, therefore, expanded the slum clearance concept to embrace aprogram of total community improvement. 4 This legislation and related regulations require the community that seeks Federal assistance todraft a "program for community improvement" which includes, in addition to slum clearance, a plan for strict code and zoning enforcement,a comprehensive community program, a neighborhood-by-neighborhoodanalysis of blight, adequate financing, housing for displaced families, andcommunitywide citizen participation in the total plan." To those communities that comply with congressional and HHFA requirements theFederal Government offers substantial loans to assist planning, andprovide working capital for acquiring land and structures, relocatingfamilies, demolishing structures and preparing the project area for itsreuses. In addition, Federal grants pay two-thirds of the net cost ofthese activities, that is, the difference between what they cost and theprice received for the land. In the Housing Act of 1954 special FHAmortgage insurance programs were provided to spur construction bothwithin and without the renewal area. Between 1949 and the end ofthe fiscal year 1961 the Congress authorized grants of $2 billion to localcommunities for urban renewal projects. On June 30, 1961, PresidentKennedy signed the Housing Act of 1961,° adding $2 billion to theprogram. As of April 30, 1961, there were 786 communities operatingunder active urban renewal programs. 7

The concentration of minority groups in the decaying cores of the

cities, together with their forced immobility, means that urban renewal

82

has a particular impact upon them. As a result major problems of discrimination or unequal opportunity arise in connection with three aspectsof urban renewal. The most pervasive is the problem of displacement.A program of urban renewal must provide for the adequate relocation ofthose displaced by slum clearance, highway, and other municipal projects.The Federal Government, aware of this crucial need, requires communities to provide for relocation of displacees to decent, safe, and sanitarydwellings. 8 This presents special hardships with respect to nonwhites and other minorities. Their relocation is difficult because of themany racial and economic barriers that impede their mobility in thehousing market. At the same time these barriers cause severe overcrowding, as exploding nonwhite populations have pressed on the limited supplyof housing available to them. Therefore adequate relocation must provide substantially more housing units for those displaced than they arenow occupying. To relocate deprived minorities in contiguous slums,or for them to relocate themselves in new slums, is no solution to urbanrevitalization. Albert M. Cole, former HHFA Administrator, underlined the importance of this problem when he said: 9

.. . no program of housing or urban improvement, however well

conceived, well financed, or comprehensive, can hope to makemore than indifferent progress until we open up adequate opportunities to minority families for decent housing.

The second aspect of urban renewal that raises problems of unequalopportunity is the use of land that has been cleared by the exercise ofgovernmental power. For example, where new housing is built on slumcleared land, who shall be permitted to occupy it?

A more general problem of unequal opportunity in urban renewalis that of assuring adequate consideration of minority group interestsin the planning of both the overall program and particular projects.HHFA has recognized and responded by requiring, through the workable program, arrangements for full opportunity for citizens to participate in program developments as they are being considered and put intoeffect.

Whatever course the planners follow will affect the entire metropolitan community, and especially the disadvantaged nonwhite population. Statistics from HHFA indicate that as of June 30, 1960, anestimated 106,457 °^ I ^4,i5i families residing in urban renewal projectareas which reported color of population were nonwhite. 10 Complicating the nonwhite relocation factor of urban renewal is the low incomecharacteristic of many of these families. Of 200,629 families residingin a total of 466 projects which reported eligibility for low-cost housing,116,690 had earnings low enough to qualify them for low-income publicly subsidized housing. 11

THE OPERATION OF URBAN RENEWAL PROGRAMS

States and municipalities may undertake urban renewal on their own.If they desire Federal assistance, which is principally administeredthrough the Urban Renewal Administration (URA), an agency of theHHFA, they must meet certain criteria intended to assure that the recipient community views renewal as a process of total revitalization. Thesecriteria are set out in the "program for community improvement" (formerly called the "workable program") established by the Housing Actof 1954 and defined by HHFA. The program consists of seven requirements, four of the most important being: 12

  1. That the local community appoint a citizens' advisory committee,

    representative of the community in membership, and a subcommitteeof this committee, or a special committee on minority housing problems.The latter's membership must include representatives of the minoritypopulation of the community.

  2. The preparation of a comprehensive community plan coveringland use, thoroughfares, community facilities, public improvements, zoning ordinances, and subdivision regulations.

  3. That the community conduct neighborhood analyses, developinga communitywide picture of blight2014where it is, how intense it is, andwhat needs to be done about it.

  4. That plans be made for the relocation of families displaced bygovernmental action.

    Once the community devises a workable program for community improvement, it is submitted to the regional office of HHFA for its recommendation, and then directly to the HHFA Administrator for reviewand approval. His certification is good for i year and once the approvalis obtained, the community is entitled to apply for Federal financial aidfor specific renewal projects. "Thereafter the community must showthat it is diligently carrying out its plan for community betterment inorder to obtain recertification each year and maintain its eligibility forFederal urban renewal aids." 1S

    After preparation and certification of the overall program for community improvement, the community may prepare for the execution ofspecific urban renewal projects. Each project must meet certain statutory and administrative requirements. These include approval of theplan for the specific project by the local...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT