Reforms in the United States

In the United States, housing problems—in particular the growth of

slums—became acute during the 19th cent. in the cities of the
eastern seaboard and in the larger Midwestern cities. A leading
cause was the heavy immigration from Europe that began in the
middle of the 19th cent. and reached a peak at the turn of the
century. The first housing law (the 1867 New York City tenement
house law) was revised in 1879 to prohibit windowless rooms. The
findings of a tenement house commission resulted in a new law in
1901, requiring better provision for light and ventilation, fire
protection, and sanitation. Most U.S. city and state housing laws in
the following years were based on those of New York City.

Until World War I there was no government housing in the United

States. Then temporary dwellings were put up for defense workers.
The U.S. government lapsed into almost complete inaction with
regard to building housing until the advent of the New Deal. The
National Housing Act (1934) created the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) to undertake a nationwide system of home
loan insurance. It also established, by means of mortgage insurance
regulation, minimum standards for construction, for design, and for
location.

Low-cost housing projects, including farm-family homes sponsored

by the Resettlement Administration, were coordinated in 1937
under the U.S. Housing Authority, which financed urban low-rent
and slum clearance developments by making loans at low interest
rates. Such loans were later extended to rural housing. The Lanham
Act (1940) authorized federal operation of a large-scale housing
program for defense workers.

To unify the many federal housing agencies, President Roosevelt

created (1942) the National Housing Agency, which included the
Federal Public Housing Authority, the Federal Home Loan Bank
Administration, and the FHA. But the total wartime construction of
permanent homes was far below peacetime levels, while the
demand for housing rose sharply with a high marriage rate,
migration from farms to cities, greater buying power, and later the
return of veterans. Complicated by building codes, union practices,
and labor and material shortages, the housing deficiency remained
serious after the war, and federal rent controls continued for some
time.

A national housing policy began to emerge when Congress passed

the Housing Acts of 1949 and 1954, aimed at easing the housing
shortage and eliminating slums; their goal was a decent home for
every family. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965
created a separate cabinet-level Dept. of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). In 1966 the Model Cities Act coordinated
government assistance to selected low-income areas of cities.

Housing since then often has been caught up in debate over rent
controls, homelessness, the failure of savings and loan associations,
and the buying and selling of political influence by government
administrators and building developers. From 1980 to 1987, 2.5
million low-cost housing units were lost, and the federal
government reduced its subsidies for construction by 60%. In
response, some private groups like Habitat for Humanity have tried
to help individuals buy and renovate low-cost housing. Housing
advocates have argued for public housing reform, including controls
on speculation and on rent (about 36% of occupied U.S. housing
units are rentals).

From http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/housing.jsp