How did we get here? A Housing History Part II

This episode of Defining Affordable traces the shift in U.S. housing policy from the 1950s through the 1990s, as urban renewal and highway projects displaced low-income communities and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 sought to address discrimination. Robin and Jaime examine how the federal government moved away from public housing—citing its visible decline while overlooking chronic underfunding and often blaming residents—and pivoted toward vouchers and market-based solutions. The episode connects these policy choices to today’s affordability challenges and what our cities look like today.

Sources and Further Reading:

Housing Policy OverviewA Brief History of Housing Policy in the U.S. https://nurseledcare.phmc.org/advocacy/policy-blog/item/641:a-brief-history-of-housing-policy-in-the-u-s.htmFederal Housing Assistance Programs (CRS Report) https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R41654.htmlUrban Renewal & DisplacementMapping Inequality: Urban Renewalhttps://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/renewal/#view=0/0/1&viz=cartogram&text=definingUrban Renewal StoryMaphttps://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/20975b3e5ae244bdb4fccd7ce2f4714aUrban Redevelopment and Policy (Journal Article) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/107808749703300207The Battle of Chicano Park https://www.chicano-park.com/cpscbattleof.htmlHighways, Infrastructure & SegregationRoads to Nowhere: How Infrastructure Built American Inequality https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/21/roads-nowhere-infrastructure-american-inequalitylHow the Interstate Highway System Reinforced Segregation https://www.history.com/articles/interstate-highway-system-infrastructure-construction-segregation4 Ways U.S. Highways Were Designed to Harm Black Communities https://www.cracked.com/article_30222_4-ways-us-highways-were-designed-to-screw-over-black-americans.htmA Forgotten History of How the U.S. Government Segregated America https://www.npr.org/2017/05/03/526655831/a-forgotten-history-of-how-the-u-s-government-segregated-americaSegregation by Design https://www.segregationbydesign.com/Public Housing: History, Decline & DebateA History of Public Housing (NLIHC) https://nlihc.org/resource/public-housing-historyWhy Public Housing Was Set Up to Fail https://www.vox.com/policy/390082/public-housing-america-policy-failure-povertyThe Sabotage of Public Housing https://www.homewardboundvillages.org/the-sabotage-of-public-housing-how-policy-choices-created-todays-crisis/Public Housing: What Went Wrong? https://shelterforce.or