Housing and Slum Clearance: Elusive Goals

Urban renewal in the United States had its genesis in legislation to improve the residential living environ ment for low-income families. Despite this fact, housing and slum-clearance goals have gradually lost their priority among those responsible for formulating public policy. The shift away from residential objectives in renewal appears to stem from the fact the goals are not uniformly held, are interpreted in various ways, are frequently in conflict with one another and with nonresidential goals, and apparently cannot all be achieved via means consistent with prevailing political and social at titudes. Housing goals for the low-income population lack politically acceptable programs of implementation; middle- income housing programs lack clear purpose; in the larger urbanized areas, renewal efforts are based in part on a con ception of the metropolis which is at odds with the residential preferences of most families. The most serious barrier to the realization of housing goals is the conflict between central city and suburb. If our housing problems are to be solved within a reasonable period of years, the federal government, which now plays the key role in community renewal and urban development, will have to insert itself in this conflict in a way that will re-establish residential goals and priorities in local programs.