Housing Act 1950

After World War II, cities began to decline as people moved to the suburbs and blacks fled the South in an effort to escape racial discrimination. Michael H. Schill, author of Housing and Community Development in New York City: Facing the Future notes, “Public housing became a way to manage huge influxes of African Americans fleeing into cities from the rural South after World War II.” Additionally, government policies exacerbated the issue, though that was not their intention. These are only a few of the reasons for the Housing Act, and the blame for blight itself seems to come from everywhere.
In July of 1949, Harry Truman announced the approval of the Housing Act of 1949. In a message to the people of the United States, he said “It opens up the prospect of decent homes in wholesome surroundings for low-income families now living in the squalor of the slums.” Designed to eliminate slums by privatizing land acquisition to create new opportunities, redevelopment became a viable concern for varying groups who sought to revitalize their cities. Locally planned slum clearance, redevelopment of communities, and installation of community improvements were the core of the bill, giving responsibility to do these things to the local and state government. After clearance of targeted areas, the land

The Housing Act of 1954, like its earlier predecessor sought to end urban blight; however, where past legislation left off, this new amendment provided an opportunity to clear areas that could be considered slums in the future. As before, this bill sought to help minority groups who, according to Dwight D. Eisenhower, “had the least opportunity of all our citizens to live in good homes.” Unfortunately, it fell short. Davis McGuire cites the legislation’s shortsightedness to involve the federal government, distributing much of the power on a state and local