John F. Bauman - From Tenements to the Taylor Homes

Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data

From tenements to the Taylor homes : in search of an urban housing policy in twentieth-century America / edited by John F. Bauman, Roger Biles, and Kristin M. Szylvian.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-271-02012-9 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-271-02013-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Housing policyUnited StatesHistory.
2. Urban policyUnited StatesHistory.
I. Bauman, John F., 1938
II. Biles, Roger, 1950
III. Szylvian, Kristin M. HD7293.F76 2000

363.50973dc21 99-055272

Copyright 2000
The Pennsylvania State University
All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

Published by
The Pennsylvania State University Press,
University Park, PA 16802-1003

Third printing, 2007

It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper for the first printing of all clothbound books. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481992.

John F. Bauman

Part I:
The Roots of Federal Housing Policy

Robert B. Fairbanks

John S. Garner

Eric J. Karolak

Janet Hutchison

Gail Radford

Kristin M. Szylvian

Part II:
Federal Housing Policy in Postwar America

Roger Biles

Thomas W. Hanchett

Alexander von Hoffman

Arnold R. Hirsch

Raymond A. Mohl

John F. Bauman

Roger Biles

Several years ago, at an informal gathering held after a day of sessions at the biennial meeting of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History in Seattle, this book was born. A number of those assembled at that conference are among the historians who have contributed chapters to this volume that endeavors to fill a perceived void in housing literature. By providing a historical portrait of U.S. housing policy, the authors unveil fresh perspectives on the nations century-long effort to wrestle with the chronic imperfections in the nations housing marketplace.

As editors of this book, we wish to acknowledge the dedication and diligence of our contributors, and in particular, their unfailing cooperation, which we believe helped achieve the main purpose of this volumeto provide a readable and comprehensible history of U.S. housing policy. Most important, the contributors understanding of the social, political, and economic dynamics of housing, their knowledge of the interplay of social and economic forces of race, ethnicity, class, and city building, and their grasp of the impact of government policy in shaping the contours of the housing marketplace make up the form and content of this book.

All historians are forever indebted to numerous people and to institutions, libraries, archives, universities, foundations, and other depositories and funding sources. In the notes, many of the authors have acknowledged such sources and have expressed gratitude for the assistance of librarians, scholars, and others who have critiqued their work and have significantly aided their research. However, the editors wish to recognize a special indebtedness to several people and institutions for helping make this book possible. These include East Carolina University, California University of Pennsylvania, especially the Irene OBrien Fund, Western Michigan University, Archives II of the National Archives, the photographic archives and the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress (especially Fred W. Bauman and Michael Flannery of that division), the Southern Regional Education Board, the Dwight D. Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, the Harry S. Truman Library Institute, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

We are especially indebted to The Pennsylvania State University Press. Peter Potter encouraged this project from the beginning, and his advice and recommendations appreciably contributed to the formation and development of this book. Ann Farkas undertook the burden of copy editing the many chapters. Her prudent queries and wise suggestions for editorial changes served to greatly enhance the quality of the text.

Finally, we wish to thank all the officers and members of the Society for American City and Regional Planning History and the Urban History Association for providing critical forums where new ideas about the evolution and shaping of the urban social, political, economic, and physical landscape are regularly discussed and new understandings and interpretations forged. As noted at the outset, without these forums, this book would not exist.