Transcript public policy

PUBLIC POLICY
Decentralization and
abandonment of our cities
Chapter 13
Federal Road Act of 1916
Interstate Highway Act of 1956
• Both these public policies
directed government
spending on
transportation to the
automobile and truck.
• Urban expressways, in
combination with the
emerging trucking
industry, led to massive
decentralization of
industry and housing.
New Deal Policies
• The Federal Housing
Administration (FHA, est. 1934)
and the GI Bill (1944) insured
long-term mortgage loans for
home construction
• This was meant to put people
back to work in the building
trades after WWII was over.
• Most new homes were located
in new residential developments
in the suburbs, neglecting the
inner city.
FHA Policies
• Favored the development of single-family
over multi-family projects.
• FHS-insured loans for repairs were of
short duration and were gradually small.
• Therefore families were better off buying a
new house that was in the suburbs than
updating an older home in the city.
Restrictive Covenants
• FHA favored suburban locations for FHA loans
• Property needed to be rated by an “unbiased
professional”
• This requirement was intended to guarantee that the
property value of the house would be greater than the
debt.
• This policy encouraged bias against any neighborhood
that was considered a potential risk in terms of property
value.
• This lead to restrictive covenants written in property
deeds, which prohibited certain “undesirable” groups
from buying property.
• Maps were created that lead to redlining, an area
considered high risk by the banks.
REDLINING EFFECTS
• Encouraged construction
of single-family homes in
the ‘burbs
• Discouraged center-city
locations
• Intensified the
segregation of residential
areas and actively
promoted homogeneity of
residential areas.
United States Housing Act, 1937
• Intended to provide public housing for
those who could not afford private housing
• It did encourage the construction of many
low-income housing units
• Most of these units were built in the inner
city, thereby contributing to the view of the
‘burbs as the refuge of the white middle
class
The RESULT of the United States
Housing Act
• Segregate the races
• Concentrate the disadvantaged in the
inner cities
• Reinforce the image of surburbia as a
place of refuge for the problems of race,
crime, and poverty.