Americ The Great Depression

Political forces, which are controlled by the government, can majorly influence and change the way people live their life. From the Federal Housing Administration, which enabled citizens to become homeowners by underwriting mortgages, to the Interstate Highway Act, that change the route of expressways, political forces can dramatically change the way a city runs and functions. Wilson (2011) states, “In short, public housing became a federally funded institution that isolated families by race and class, resulting in high concentrations of poor black families in inner-city ghettos” (pg. 14). Wilson describes political forces as

The problems that arise from housing are numerous. Housing takes up more than half of all real property tax. Not only that, it’s also the largest issue in a family’s budget. The federal government spent $38 billion in preferential subsidies and $2 trillion on housing in total in the year 2006. Rigid zoning codes prohibit certain types of housing from being built. This prevents some citizens from being provided with homes that fit their budget and ads to the chronic problem of homelessness our communities face. Too many houses can crowd neighborhoods and make transit difficult. They can also obstruct view and, when foreclosed upon, lead to plummeting property values.

The author explained how the government established policies and initiatives that created ghettos and suburbs. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is a program that helped citizens become homeowners by lending loans. However, only certain neighborhoods qualified for those loans. Research and data were used to prove that certain areas were considered a loss of investment. The

The America in the 1930s was drastically different from the luxurious 1920s. The stock market had crashed to an all time low, unemployment was the highest the country had ever seen, and all American citizens were affected by it in some way or another. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal was effective in addressing the issues of The Great Depression in the sense that it provided immediate relief to US citizens by lowering unemployment, increasing trust in the banks, getting Americans out of debt, and preventing future economic crisis from taking place through reform. Despite these efforts The New Deal failed to end the depression. In order for America to get out of this economic

For the past fifty years the shift from meeting the housing needs of the poor through government projects-based housing to a more individual approach, has been slowly implemented. Housing vouchers now enable underprivileged populations to move from high-poverty, segregated neighborhoods to more un-segregated, low-poverty neighborhoods. Low-poverty neighborhoods have less crime, better opportunities for employment, and more diverse schooling options. Some housing advocates however, contend that housing assistance is unnecessary and is an income subsidy that should be combined with other social safety nets (Clark, W. 2008).

To judge the success or failure of Blumberg Apartments, we must first analyze the project as it works to provide good housing. Good housing should not just be regarded as a noun, it should also encompass housing as a verb. The commodity of the house as a shelter is the noun. This commodity should provide a place for redressing. It should hold the essential necessities that make for a comfortable and complete home. A place that balances privacy and social interactions. As a verb, good housing should be a utility that works to enhance one’s life (Turner, 1972). It should be a stepping stone towards opportunity. For Blumberg Apartments in the grand scheme, both of these facets can be regarded as failures. As the housing projects suffered through massive deterioration, it failed as a commodity. Residents described how their housing had “stairwells that reeked of urine and dirty diapers, constantly breaking appliances and elevators, and the frequent sounds of gunshots” (Colaneri, 2016). Furthermore, units were found to not meet minimum size standards and

It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people

In order to eliminate the racist perception that Black poverty derives from laziness, the government should allocate public resources to restoring the predominantly African American communities by providing cheaper housing and resources for children. By restoring the communities, Blacks will have more opportunities and be seen more positively, both of which counteract the racist presumption that all African Americans are poor and lazy. Additionally, by making Black communities just as desirable as their white counterparts, the direct correspondence between race and affluence will no longer be as prevalent. As part of a new housing act in 1949, Chicago received funding for new housing projects – 98 percent of which were built in Black neighborhoods.

Housing programs and redevelopment continued to expand and finally the United States passed the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD for short, in 1965. The establishment of the eleventh Cabinet-level agency sparked controversy between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. The arguments “were based on the need for managerial improvement and greater efficiency and coordination of programs, but there was, also, general recognition that the prestige of Cabinet status would benefit housing and urban programs both in Congress and outside government” (Willmann 22).

Community leaders in the city of Atlanta knew it was time for drastic changes, and by the 1920’s Tech-woods Flats were run over by unsafe and unsanitary structures, overcrowded residency, and poor ventilation. In response to this devastation among residency of Tech-wood Flats, in 1936 Atlanta built the first ever Tech-wood Home that provide temporary housing for white families, although Tech-wood populations was 94 percent black. African American families were forced to move out of their homes and look to stay somewhere else, while white families were able to move in. Things began to change in the 1960’s, when laws were passed prohibiting officials from continuing the practice on barring single mothers and welfare recipients from there complexes.

Cecchetti, Stephen G. "Understanding the Great Depression: Lessons for Current Policy ." Monetary Economics (1997): 1-26.

Housing codes in this country shape the way we live. They tell us everything from what is considered to be a bedroom, to how many people can live in one dwelling. Max Page and Ellen Pader looked at two different examples of the way the US’s housing policies have had a major impact on our society. Page examined the tearing down of the slums in New York City. The government claimed that the buildings were old and unsafe, and thus needed to be demolished. Pader looked at eviction of ethnic groups, particularly Latinos, from their homes in Chicago. The rational for the evictions was that there were too many people occupying one space. This was unhealthy, and thus whole families lost their homes. In both instances, the government in mandating

In addition to long-held stereotypes of public housing is a general atmosphere of complacency among citizens whose homes and businesses are geographically removed from the view of public housing buildings. This same sense of complacency is firmly attached to a nearly universal mindset of “out of sight, out of mind”, until “the projects” are bathed in the ultra-bright lights of emergency vehicles [police-fire-ambulance and occasionally Coroner] and TV news

In urban areas, insular poverty is also caused by housing shortages and homes of inadequate quality (Powell 5). Housing is more than shelter. It is a critical determinant of opportunity in our society. The spatial location and form of housing are important indicators of individual and collective access to social, economic, and political resources (Powell 5). Housing provides social status, access to jobs, education and other services, a framework for the conduct of household work, and a way of structuring economic, social, and political relationships (Powell 5). Housing options among the insular poor in urban areas are typically limited and the homes are usually falling apart. The terrible conditions of this housing can cause economic problems for the people who live in them. When services are limited and inadequate, residents may need to spend their own money to try to fix up their homes. These expenses are huge burdens for people whose incomes are already difficult to live on (Powell 5). Improving housing in urban areas would be a huge step in helping many Americans living in poverty better their lives.

The lack of housing access was a serious problem, hence the government undertakes mulitple measures to tackle the massive housing shortage inherited from the colonial government to ensure that all of its citizens had access to affordable housing.[1]