Roosevelt emphasized the need of government intervention, 1932, Ames Historical Society
"Mayor Richard J. Daley with a model of the Raymond Hilliard Homes," n.d., Chicago Housing Authority
"We cannot continue as a nation, half slum and half palace."
~ Mayor Edward J. Kelly, 1942
A New Deal
In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt propagated the New Deal, an expansive set of social policies and progressive state-sponsored initiatives directed at relieving poverty during the Great Depression.
"I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished...The test of our progress...is whether we provide enough for those who have too little."
~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1937 Inaugural Address
"An Act to provide financial assistance to the States and political subdivisions thereof for the elimination of unsafe and insanitary housing conditions, for the eradication of slums, for the provision of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for families of low income, and for the reduction of unemployment and the stimulation of business activity, to create a United States Housing Authority, and for other purposes."
~ United States Housing Act of 1937
Many social programs were created, 1933, AP
Among the reforms was the establishment of federally-funded public housing and the promise to eliminate slums under the 1937 Housing Act. (Hunt, 2009)
"There is now unqualified recognition of the fact that families who cannot afford safe and sanitary housing must be relieved...by direct government aid, responsibility, and initiative, here and now."
~ Catherine Bauer, City Planner
Better Housing, Better Citizens
"Cure Juvenile Delinquency in the Slums by Planned Housing", 1936, Library of Congress
"Rotten Living Decent Living Through Planned Housing", c. 1930s, Library of Congress
"Reduce Fire Hazard Thru Planned Housing", c. 1930s, Library of Congress
At last, change had come to Chicago's slums. The government was eager to clear the eyesores and build a new modernist city.
"How can anyone say…that we should put off building in slum areas until a better time? Now is the time, today, not tomorrow; for every year until we have eliminated all the slum areas from our cities. Slums are the cancers of our cities."
~ Minoru Yamasaki, Public Housing Architect
"Cover from Chicago Housing Authority Report, The Slum...Is Rehabilitation Possible?", 1946, Chicago Housing Authority
"Types of Planning Areas in Chicago, 1942", 1942, Chicago Plan Commission
Under the leadership of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), 29 housing projects would be built for the working poor. Public housing was widely promoted as a better standard of living that fostered better citizens.
"This project represents the future of a great city, it represents a vision, it represents the American dream, and that is a decent home for every family."
~ Mayor Richard J. Daley
"Mayor Richard J. Daley Hands Key to the Gleghorn family, Prairie Courts Extension, August 18, 1958", 1958, Chicago Housing Authority
"Houses work magic. Give these people decent housing and the better forces inside them have a chance to work."
~ Elizabeth Wood, Chicago Housing Authority Chairwoman
"Henry Horner Homes under construction, Stage 1, 1955", 1955, Chicago Housing Authority
"Chicago Housing Authority, Lathrop Homes", c. 1935, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archive
c. 1940s, PBS
"We felt it was just like paradise. We felt this was just the greatest housing that we could live in."
~ Public Housing Resident
"It is like stepping into a different world. Everywhere you see green...Pleasant, vine-covered buildings stand in harmonious groups, with plenty of space left for sun and air and children's play...overhead stretches a sky that somehow looks bluer and sunnier than it did in the slums."
~ Chicago Housing Authority Brochure
Urban planner Le Corbusier's controversial "La Ville Radieuse (The Radiant City)" influenced Chicago's projects, 1930, Ville Radieuse
However, there were conflicts of interest surrounding public housing. The CHA could no longer build rowhouses because only uniform high-rises were deemed economical by the federal government, recreating crowded conditions.
"It is argued that by piling families up in the air you have much more ground available 'for use'...they are essentially less personal, less capable of creative use by man and child."
~ Elizabeth Wood, CHA Chairwoman
In addition, the projects were built in former slum areas, reinforcing residential segregation.
"The buildings are nice, but it's just like taking one big slum and sitting it in another slum, because nothing's been changed."
~ Public Housing Resident
Despite the flaws, Chicago was proud of its ambitious projects. It was emblematic of the government's promise of equal opportunity and a solution for inner-city poverty while maintaining segregation. The consequences would be disastrous.