This issue of Cityscape celebrates the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cityscape is a new journal intended to refresh, inform, and challenge the thinking of scholars and policymakers on issues of housing and community development. To commemorate HUD's anniversary, this issue combines elements of Cityscape's usual scholarly forum with several distinctive features, including a rare look behind the scenes at a major Cabinet agency, HUD.
In keeping with previous Cityscape issues, we present articles by four distinguished scholars and researchers. They were asked to give their views—negative as well as positive—on the history and achievements of the Department—in other words, to call it as they saw it. I am happy to say they have succeeded admirably in providing four thoughtful and provocative assessments of HUD’s contributions over its 30 years.
Neil Mayer brings the perspective of both a city official and a policy analyst to his assessment of HUD’s success in fulfilling its key role of providing low-income housing assistance and facilitating community development. Although the Department has some solid accomplishments to its credit, Mayer argues that its role has shifted often over the 30-year period and that it still faces formidable challenges.
President Jimmy Carter sought to overcome the legacy of laissez-faire Federalism characterized by benign neglect of urban areas and to satisfy his principal electoral base by developing the Nation’s first national urban policy. Yvonne Scruggs, executive director of that effort, writes about the ways in which President Carter achieved his objectives,
however fleetingly, and examines subsequent administrations from the perspective of a pro-city advocate.
The long debate about whether to subsidize the tenant or the project has been settled, Louis Winnick writes, and the tenant wins. Although some producer programs will—and should&151;linger on, a clear victory has been scored for adding to the purchasing power of the renter rather than increasing rent-producing subsidies for the producer. But, in
Winnick’s view, the systematic research on which we pride ourselves had little to do with Congress’ decision to implement the tenant-based approach.
Anthony Downs suggests that a window of opportunity for realigning major functions of existing Federal departments was opened by the November 1994 elections. HUD should continue to carry out those social functions that it alone can perform through simplified, consolidated programs; should shift its emphasis from the supply side to the demand side in housing aid; and should promote spatial efficiency in cities with help from strong incentives for regional decisionmaking. He suggests a merger of HUD and the Department of Transportation.
Unique to this commemorative volume are three special features. First, Secretary Cisneros invited all former Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development to reflect
upon their years in office. Their views—in their words—are presented in an article by Joseph Foote that includes one of the last interviews given by the late Secretary George Romney.
Second, through notices in a variety of professional and advocacy journals, we invited comments from the general public on any aspect of their personal involvement with the Department. Six of these thoughtful personal reflections, edited only for style, are scattered throughout the volume.
In a closing essay, Secretary Cisneros offers thoughts about his 2 1/2 years in office and the legacy the HUD team will leave from these dynamic and exciting years. Regardless of
what the 104th Congress does legislatively, so many changes have been made at HUD that the Department will never be the same again.
The editors are grateful to all who have contributed to this issue of Cityscape. We hope it will be of value to future students of 20th-century housing and urban development. We
hope too that it pays appropriate tribute to the thousands of people who have served in the Department and the millions of citizens who have benefited from its labors. Finally, it is
my hope that Cityscape itself can become part of the legacy of this administration at HUD and that my successors will consider it worthy of continuation over the Department’s next
30 years.
Michael A. Stegman
Assistant Secretary for Policy
Development and Research
