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The 60th Anniversary of the National Housing Act is July 15th, next Wednesday.
This is the law with the "decent home in a suitable living environment" and "safe, decent, and sanitary" provisions we have seen referenced over the years ; the law also authorized the start of urban renewal programs.
Some resources:
- GAO--The most complete history of the bill I found including hearings, floor debates, amendments, and statements in the Congressional Record. The final law from this GAO website is HERE.
- From the GAO website, I created excerpts from the Congressional Record from Oregon Congressional Representative Angell (his district was all within Multnomah County). They provide some Oregon housing context and a listing of proponents and opponents of the bill.
- Housing Policy Debate had a special issue, Legacy of the Housing Act of 1949, that was published to recognize the 50th Anniversary; the issue contained seven different articles about the aftermath of this landmark legislation.
- VIDEO below, from my fav place, the Internet Archive: A Place to Live, 1948. This period piece video provides a rationale for slum clearance/urban renewal and public housing development in Philadelphia.
Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.
In doing research for FHA's 75th Anniversary I ran across reference to July 4,1939 (70 years ago next month) opening of FIRST local public housing authority project created under the 1937 Housing Act.
Project was 40 unit Santa Rita in Austin, Texas. It was developed in the Congressional District of then Congressman, later President, Lyndon Baines Johnson (adjacent picture is of him visiting site in September 1939 and picture of same unit taken 3 years ago).
Fortunately, I ran across a great site with a lot more detail that was prepared as part of a National Historic Register nomination. From that website HERE, a short summary of this first local housing authority project:
"Santa Rita Courts was the first of three public housing projects built in Austin in the late 1930's. Santa Rita, intended for occupancy by Mexican families, consisted of 40 units of modern "slum clearance" public housing. Rosewood Courts, built for African-American families, consisted of 60 units, and Chalmers Courts, built for whites, consisted of 86 units. All three housing projects were completed in 1939, are currently still in operation, and are managed by the Austin Housing Authority, now known as the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA for short). Three separate housing projects were built because of the segregationism [sic] common at the time."
Other materials on site provide useful historical context, including reference to public housing developed BEFORE the 1937 Act became law. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SITE: HERE.
City of Tualatin adopted a Community Development Week Proclamation on Monday, HERE.
The CDBG act was passed into law into 1974, 35 years ago. (Yes, I did start working at HUD before CDBG was enacted).
I can think of at least THREE other important HUD related anniversaries this year.
THREE challenges/questions:
- What date was the CDBG Act signed into law in 1974?
- What are three OTHER HUD related legislative anniversaries occurring this year?
- What were the dates those three other pieces of legislation were signed into law?
IF you think you can answer these challenges put your answers in the comments section of this post; I will offer prizes for the first correct answers.
