High ambitions: The past and future of American low‐income housing policy

Abstract

In the 1930s, idealistic reformers attempted to create a vast public housing program using modern architectural design. Instead they created a distinctive look that would later stigmatize its occupants. After the passage of the Housing Act of 1949, visionaries attempted to rebuild American cities by placing the poor in high‐rise buildings, an experiment that was soon deemed a disaster. Today some believe that placing the poor in environments inhabited by wealthier groups will help to address the problems of poverty. By focusing on three periods of the low‐income housing movement, this article examines how visionary idealism has led to disillusionment with housing programs. In the future, supporters of good low‐income housing should present housing programs not as panaceas for deep‐rooted social problems, but rather as important elements in social welfare policy. Advocates of housing should fight for programs that will produce as many units of housing as possible.