Housing and Community Development Act of 1968

Housing and Community Development Act of 1968
Title	Housing and Community Development Act of 1968
Enacted by	90th United States Congress
Effective date	April 11, 1968
Public law	Public Law 90–448
Signed by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Related legislation	Housing Act of 1937, National Housing Act, Civil Rights Act of 1968, Fair Housing Act

Contents

Housing and Community Development Act of 1968. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1968 was landmark United States legislation enacted during the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson and passed by the 90th United States Congress, influencing federal programs administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Housing Administration, and the United States Treasury Department. It expanded the scope of federal housing policy established under the Housing Act of 1937 and the National Housing Act, interacting with civil rights measures such as the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and broader initiatives from the Great Society program.

Background and Legislative Context

Legislative origins trace to policy debates involving Robert C. Weaver, John F. Kennedy's urban policy legacy, and congressional actors like Senator Robert F. Kennedy and members of the House Banking and Currency Committee, set against urban unrest exemplified by the 1967 Detroit riot and the Long, hot summer of 1967. Economic conditions including postwar suburbanization influenced stakeholders such as the National Association of Real Estate Boards and the United States Conference of Mayors, while academic research from institutions like Harvard University and Columbia University informed proposals debated by the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the United States House Committee on Banking and Currency.

The Act created new mechanisms including the Community Development Block Grant administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, expanded mortgage insurance programs under the Federal Housing Administration, and authorized subsidies and loan guarantees tied to urban renewal programs akin to earlier projects in Boston and Chicago. It linked federal financial instruments managed by the United States Treasury Department with housing finance innovations influenced by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation model and interacted with public housing authorities such as the New York City Housing Authority and the Chicago Housing Authority. Specific provisions referenced model legislation from state actors like the California Department of Housing and Community Development and regulatory frameworks associated with the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

Implementation depended on coordination among the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, local agencies including city planning departments of Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and quasi-public financiers such as the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Government National Mortgage Association. Administrative practice drew on program management techniques from federal projects like the Interstate Highway System and cooperation with nonprofit organizations such as the United Way and the National Urban League; congressional oversight involved hearings held by committees chaired by figures like J. William Fulbright and Senator Jacob Javits.

Short-term outcomes included funding flows to municipalities including Detroit, Baltimore, and Cleveland for rehabilitation and infrastructure, influencing redevelopment projects similar to Pruitt–Igoe debates and affecting patterns documented by scholars at University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University. The Act affected mortgage markets where actors such as Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae operated, and it intersected with civil rights enforcement by agencies inspired by rulings from the United States Supreme Court and initiatives by advocacy groups like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Fair Housing Alliance.

Subsequent statutory changes included amendments under Congresses such as the 94th United States Congress and follow-on laws including the Housing and Community Development Amendments and reauthorizations that integrated with the Community Reinvestment Act debates and later programs enacted during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. Judicial and administrative reinterpretations involved decisions by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and rulemaking by successive Secretaries of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development such as Carla A. Hills and Henry Cisneros.

Critics included organizations like the Heritage Foundation and scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology who questioned efficacy, while civil rights advocates such as leaders from the Congress of Racial Equality highlighted enforcement shortfalls similar to controversies surrounding the Fair Housing Act. Debates also echoed disputes over eminent domain invoked in projects in New London, Connecticut and over fiscal federalism raised by lawmakers from the State of New York and the State of California, and commentators in outlets tied to institutions such as Brookings Institution debated program design and accountability.

The Act's legacy endures in contemporary programs run by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and in academic discourse at centers like the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution. It influenced subsequent housing finance reforms involving entities such as Freddie Mac and shaped policy conversations in national forums including hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and analyses by historians at Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress. Its place in the legislative canon links it to twentieth-century efforts from the New Deal to the Great Society that reshaped American urban policy.