W e Practice What W e PreachSo a t long l a s t we a r e practicing what we should preach, but w e have l o s t much time, expended much energy i n trying t o p r a c t i c e that which w e d i d preach,not stopping t o analyze what we were preaching but being i n f l uenced by it nevertheless.To-day it i s becoming evident t h a t the phrase should be "slum reclamation, and t h e provision of low-rental housing," and that t h e two parts of t h e phrase have t o do with two d i s t i n c t objectives. Slum reclamation means t h e redevelopment of a slum o r a b l i g h t d area f o r that use which w i l l b e s t serve the neighborhood and t h e community. Very oft e n -t h i s i s not housing of any character or of any cost. Provision of low-rental housing, i f i t i s ever t o be adequate in amount, involves every economy consistent with good housing. This includes inexpensive s i t e s . Slums may o r may not provide inexpensive sites. That depends, among other things, upon t h e character and t h e locsition of t h e slum. Slum Reclamation in the D i s t r i c t of Columbia ~ ~ The distinguishing f e a t u r e of the D i st r i c t of Columbia Alley Dwelling Act ( S O named because t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c slums of t h e National C a p i t a l are inhabited a l l e y s ) is t h a t i t recognizes t h e d i f f e r e n c e between slum reclhmation and the provision of lowr e n t a l housing,and makes slum reclamation its primary objective. There a r e , o r were, approximately two hundred inhabited a l l e y squares in t h e District of Columbia. The Aut h o r i t y was given ten years i n which t o r i d the D i s t r i c t of i t s inhabited a l l e y s . During the first year of its existence t h e Authority has acquired property in fourteen of these squares t h a t contained seventeen inhabited a l l e y s . It proposes t o redevelop them i n a wide v a r i e t y of ways,depending upon neighborhood and community needs. Mr. Conover has suggested an unusual, although not e n t i r e l y new, approach t o c i v i c improvement. Recently, the National Associat i o n of Real E s t a t e Boards has published a scheme f o r neighborhood r e h a b i l i t a t i o n . T h i s past year, Mr. C. B. Whitnall has suggested a reconstruction scheme f o r a blighted area of Milwaukee. These r e h a b i l i t s vieA-schemes w a rrant intensive study.Undoubtedly some c i t i e s , and especially some of the smaller cities, w i l l discontinue t o grow and expand; they may even decrease i n s i z e as some few have.Such c i t i e s may become q u i t e unimportant when measured a s Mr.
Conover suggests.Shell we therefore cast them a s i c e as unworthy of consideration? The inhabitants of these communities are often more in need of r e h a b i l i t a t i o n than those of t h e growing community.The determining cons i d e r a t i o n should be, where i s r e h a b i l i t e t i o n needed most.
Causes af B l i g h tMr. Conover has sunmarized concisely the most common f a u l t s which u s u a l l y produce b l i ...
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