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1133419
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6/26/75 - Urban Homesteading Conference, Opening Remarks
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1133419
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document
title
6/26/75 - Urban Homesteading Conference, Opening Remarks
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Carla A. Hills Speeches
Speeches
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Housing
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Urban policy
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1133419
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26
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1975-06-26
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6
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1975
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26
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1975-06-26
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6
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1975
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The original documents are located in Box 1, folder "6/26/75 - Urban Homesteading
Conference, Opening Remarks" of the Carla A. Hills Speeches at the Gerald R. Ford
Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald Ford donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box 1 of the Carla A. Hills Speeches at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
URBAN HOMESTEADING CONFERENCE
OPENING REMARKS
JUNE 26, 1975
I WANT TO WELCOME YOU TO HUD's URBAN HOMESTEADING
PLANNING CONFERENCE. THIS CONFERENCE MARKS HUD's FIRST
STEP IN IMPLEMENTING A PROGRAM WHICH I BELIEVE CAN PROVIDE
A USEFUL TOOL TO COMMUNITIES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO STABILIZE
AND PRESERVE URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS
MANY AREAS OF OUR GREAT CITIES ARE BEING SACRIFICED
TO OBSOLESCENCE AND DECAY, IN TOO MANY, THERE ARE
ABANDONED, BOARDED UP HOUSES WHICH ARE A BLIGHTING INFLUENCE
ON THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD AND RESIDENTS,
Too MANY OF OUR CITY NEIGHBORHOODS CONTAIN HOMES
WHICH ARE STRUCTUALLY SOUND BUT FOR REASONS HAVING NOTHING
TO DO WITH THE QUALITY OF THE UNIT, THESE HOUSES ARE NOW
ABANDONED, DETERIORATING, AND OFTEN VANDALIZED. WORSE,
THESE ABANDONED UNITS TRIGGERS FURTHER ABANDONMENT AND
ACCELERATES THE neighborhood's DECLINE, AND, AS ABANDONMENT
GROWS, so DOES THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE CONSIGNED TO NEARBY
OVERCROWDED AND SUBSTANDARD DWELLINGS.
GERALO A. FORD CIBRANCY
-2-
WE MUST FIND BETTER WAYS TO PRESERVE OUR EXISTING
NEIGHBORHOODS AND HOUSING STOCK. WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD
TO WASTE AN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD, ITS HOUSING STOCK, AND
ITS PEOPLE.
CITIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN PRESERVING URBAN
NEIGHBORHOODS. THEY HAVE DONE SC WITH A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES.
AREAS THAT WERE ONCE SLUMS HEADING FOR ABANDONMENT AND
DEMOLITION ARE NOW BEING RESTORED. THESE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS,
ONE OF THE TOOLS THAT CITIES HAVE UTILIZED IN REVITALIZING
THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS IS URBAN HOMESTEADING. THE CONCEPT
ORIGINATED SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
AND WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, THE EXAMPLE SET BY THOSE CITIES
HAS PRODUCED MODELS FOR MANY OTHER CITIES THROUGHOUT THE
UNITED STATES. HUD HAS TRIED TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF CITIES
UTILIZING THIS DEVICE BUT WAS PREVIOUSLY HAMSTRUNG BY ITS
INCAPACITY TO PROVIDE HOMES OF ANY SIGNIFICANT VALUE TO
COMMUNITIES FOR USE IN THEIR HOMESTEADING PROGRAMS, OUR
NEW DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM AUTHORIZED BY SECTION 810 OF THE
1974 HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT PARTIALLY FREES
US FROM THAT RESTRAINT, WE HAVE AVAILABLE DURING THE COURSE
OF THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR UP TO 5 MILLION DOLLARS IN POSITIVE
VALUE PROPERTIES TO CONVEY TO CITIES FOR USE IN URBAN
R.
FORD
HOMESTEADING PROGRAMS.
07VU30
I
-3-
BUT HOMESTEADING WILL REMAIN A LOCAL AND NOT A FEDERAL
INITIATIVE. HUD WILL PROVIDE HOUSES TO COMMUNITIES FOR USE
IN THE PROGRAMS THEY DESIGN AND ADMINISTER. THAT IS THE
REASON FOR TODAY'S CONFERENCE. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS
DEMONSTRATION IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE YOU AND YOUR CITIES
WITH AN ADDITIONAL TOOL FOR URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION.
THIS CONFERENCE IS INTENDED TO ENCOURAGE A TWO-WAY
COMMUNICATION. WE WANT TO TELL YOU AS TO HOW WE INTEND TO
IMPLEMENT URBAN HOMESTEADING, WE WANT TO KNOW YOUR IDEAS
ABOUT HOW OUR PROGRAM SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED, AND HOW THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WITH THIS NEW TOOL, CAN BEST ASSIST
YOU TO PRESERVE YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS. BEFORE THE PROGRAM TAKES
ITS FINAL FORM, WE WANT TO KNOW THE CITIES' VIEWS ON OUR
CONTEMPLATED ACTIONS,
IN THE GROUP TODAY ARE REPRESENTATIVES OF SEVERAL CITIES
WITH HIGHLY AMBITIOUS AND SUCCESSFUL HOMESTEADING PROGRAMS,
FORD CIBRA,
1
-4-
THIS CONFERENCE WILL BE AN OCCASION FOR AN INTERCHANGE
OF IDEAS BETWEEN THOSE CITIES WHO HAVE URBAN HOMESTEADING
PROGRAMS AND THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE A SINCERE INTEREST IN
UTILIZING THIS DEVICE IN YOUR COMMUNITIES.
WE ARE AWARE, OF COURSE, THAT URBAN HOMESTEADING IS
NOT A PANACEA TO THE ILLS OF DECLINING NEIGHBORHOODS. IT
IS ANOTHER TOOL FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO USE IN NEIGHBORHOOD
PRESERVATION.
FIRST, HOMESTEADING WILL NOT REVITALIZE AN ALREADY
BADLY BLIGHTED AREA. IT IS PRIMARILY USEFUL IN STABILIZING
A BASICALLY STABLE BUT DECLINING NEIGHBORHOOD.
SECOND, IT IS NOT NEARLY AS SUCCESSFUL AS A MEANS OF
PROVIDING HOUSING TO PEOPLE AS IT HAS BEEN IN PROVIDING
PEOPLE TO ABANDONED HOUSES AND THEREBY STEMMING THE TIDE
OF NEIGHBORHOOD DECLINE.
GERALD P
1
-5-
THIRD, IT REQUIRES REINVESTMENT CAPITAL. THAT MEANS
AN ACTIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THE
COMMUNITIES' FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. MANY OF THE CITIES
HERE TODAY HAVE DEVELOPED SUCH CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH
THE PRIVATE SECTOR, I WOULD HOPE THERE WILL BE A MEANINGFUL
EXCHANGE OF IDEAS TODAY ON THIS ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF THE
NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION PROCESS.
FINALLY, HOMESTEADING IS ONLY USEFUL AS PART OF A
COMPREHENSIVE ATTACK ON NEIGHBORHOOD DECAY, FILLING A FEW
EMPTY HOUSES WILL NOT TURN A NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND, THE CAUSES
OF NEIGHBORHOOD DECLINE ARE VARIED AND ITS DYNAMICS COMPLEX.
THE SOLUTIONS ARE EQUALLY VARIED AND COMPLEX. DEVELOPING
SUCH A COORDINATED APPROACH TO NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT
SHOULD ALSO BE A MATTER ON WHICH WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM EACH
OTHER.
URBAN HOMESTEADING IS ONLY ONE WAY IN WHICH THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION. BUT,
IT IS A TOOL ABOUT WHICH I AM OPTIMISTIC. I AM PLEASED WITH
YOUR PRESENCE HERE AND HOPE THAT WE CAN ALL WORK TOGETHER TO
PRESERVE OUR CITIES USING ALL THE TOOLS AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE.
AND, I EXPECT THE SECTION 810 URBAN HOMESTEADING DEMONSTRATION
TO SHOW THAT HOMESTEADING IS A VALUABLE PART OF THAT
REVITALIZE OUR URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS.
MIX BERAS TO FORD LIDRARY