Neil Mayer examines the way HUD has juggled its many roles--provider and targeter of resources, policymaker, steward, analyst, educator, and advocate--in its low-income housing assistance and community development efforts. Yvonne Scruggs details the genesis of the Carter Administration's attempt to forge a new path for the Nation's cities with the formulation of the first National Urban Policy. From her perspective as the executive director of that effort, she compares Carter's policy to the narrowly focused policymaking process that came before it and the indifference that followed it.
Louis Winnick documents the evolution of the debate over "supply side" versus "demand side" approaches to housing assistance. In a political atmosphere that gives the concept of privatization a strong edge, Winnick declares household-based assistance to be the dominant housing policy of the future.
In the context of recent political upheavals, Anthony Downs presents a series of policy recommendations meant to align HUD more closely with the public's desire to reduce Federal intervention. His proposals include program consolidations, a continued shift toward demand-side housing assistance, incentives for regional planning, and a merger with the Department of Transportation.
Joseph Foote presents interviews with all living former HUD Secretaries, who share insights and anecdotes on the political and policymaking challenges and accomplishments of their tenures. Finally, HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros reviews the administration's sweeping reinvention strategies for the Nation's only urban policy agency and makes a case for strengthening HUD's ability to address housing and urban development problems. Interspersed among these features, six citizens reflect on the impact of HUD policies and programs on their lives.
As HUD looks toward the next 30 years, this issue of Cityscape offers a unique opportunity to review the agency's accomplishments and the lessons it has learned. Cityscape, published three times a year, is available from HUD USER for $4 per issue. Please contact HUD USER to obtain print copies.