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5/17/76 - Habitat Advisory Committee
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1133466
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5/17/76 - Habitat Advisory Committee
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This file contains material relating to United Nations Conference on Human Settlements.
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Carla A. Hills Speeches
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1976-05-17
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1976
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The original documents are located in Box 2, folder "5/17/76 - Habitat Advisory
Committee" 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States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 2 of the Carla A. Hills Speeches at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FINAL
HABITAT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MAY 17, 1976
I AM PLEASED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THIS MORNING TO
MEET WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE HABITAT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
REPRESENTING SUCH A BROAD SPECTRUM OF AMERICAN LIFE -- AS
WELL AS OBSERVERS FROM OTHER PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS.
THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS HAS
BEEN CALLED -- NOT BECAUSE THAT PROPOSITION IS SUDDENLY NEW,
BUT BECAUSE THE INEXTRICABLE LINKAGE OF THE NATURAL AND MAN-
MADE ENVIRONMENTS HAVE, FOR TOO LONG, BEEN IGNORED.
THIS COMMITTEE HAS BEEN INVOLVED WITH THE HABITAT
CONFERENCE FOR ONLY TEN MONTHS, BUT YOUR INDIVIDUAL AND
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE - INDEED,
TO PRESERVE THE VERY ELEMENTS THAT ARE NECESSARY TO LIFE --
DATE WELL PRIOR TO YOUR FORMATION AS A COMMITTEE.
To MANY OF YOU, HABITAT IS AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAD COME
A QUARTER-OF-A-CENTURY OR MORE, AGO. THAT PASSAGE OF TIME
MAKES THE CHALLENGE OF OUR CONFERENCE EVEN MORE WORTHY OF
OUR AMERICAN INGENUITY,
R.
GERALD
LIBRARY
-2-
WE HAVE A WORLD-WIDE FORUM FOR OUR BEST THINKING - AT
A TIME WHEN PROBLEMS, LONG FAMILIAR TO YOU, HAVE PENETRATED
THE MINDS OF THE WORLD POPULATION.
YOUR OWN ORGANIZATIONS SHARE THE CREDIT FOR MUCH OF
THAT WORLD-WIDE AWARENESS. HABITAT, ITSELF, IS A TRIBUTE TO
YOUR DILIGENCE.
EACH OF YOU HAS ASSUMED THE RESPONSIBILITY, DURING THIS
PAST YEAR, OF MAKING SURE THAT THE CENTRAL INTERESTS OF THE
CONSTITUENCIES YOU REPRESENT WILL BE REFLECTED IN THE OFFICIAL
UNITED STATES POSITION AT THE VANCOUVER CONFERENCE. AND
THAT YOU HAVE DONE WITH CONSCIENCIOUS DEDICATION,
You WILL BE CALLED UPON TO CONTINUE IN THAT ROLE AS YOU
WILL PROVIDE A FINAL VOICE IN THE ACTUAL POSITION PAPERS --
NOW IN DRAFT FORM -- WHICH OUR DELEGATION WILL PRESENT AT
HABITAT.
BUT, THE TASK NOW PRESENTS YOU WITH A NEW KIND OF
CHALLENGE, FOR THE POSITIONS OUR NATION WILL TAKE MUST BE
WEIGHED AGAINST MANY COMPETING PRIORITIES, GROUP INTERESTS,
AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS.
-3-
THAT MEANS YOU WILL BE ASKED TO JUDGE THESE PAPERS, NOT
ONLY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR IMMEDIATE CONSTITUENCY,
BUT IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF ALL THE COMPONENTS THAT COMPRISE
MAN'S TOTAL HABITAT: POPULATION, OCCUPATION, SHELTER, AIR,
WATER, LAND, DOMESTIC AND WILDLIFE, NATURAL RESOURCES,
AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY -- AND THE OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITS OF
RURAL, URBAN AND SUBURBAN SETTLEMENTS.
WE ARE LOOKING AT HUMAN SETTLEMENTS -- AT WHERE AND HOW
PEOPLE LIVE -- THE WORLD OVER. AT HABITAT, WE STAND TO
LEARN MUCH, AS A NATION, FROM THE PLANS AND SOLUTIONS OF
OTHER NATIONS IN DEALING WITH PROBLEMS SIMILAR TO OUR OWN.
IN RECENT YEARS THE DEBATE BETWEEN THE RICH AND POOR
HAD BECOME INCREASINGLY STRIDENT AND ANTAGONISTIC. CONFRONTATION
TOO OFTEN HAS REPLACED COOPERATION. CONFRONTATION IS A
LUXURY AN INTERDEPENDENT WORLD CANNOT AFFORD. BEGINNING
WITH THE 7TH SPECIAL SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS LAST
FALL, THE UNITED STATES HAS TAKEN THE LEAD IN TRYING TO
CREATE A RELATIONSHIP OF COOPERATION BASED ON MUTUAL RESPECT.
THAT EFFORT IS CONTINUING IN THE MEETING OF THE UNITED
NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT WHICH JUST GOT
UNDERWAY IN NAIROBI. HABITAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO
EXTEND MEANINGFUL COOPERATION INTO NEW AREAS,
-4-
BUT HABITAT, MORE THAN MOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES,
HAS STRONG DOMESTIC IMPLICATIONS BECAUSE HUMAN SETTLEMENT
PROBLEMS ARE FIRST AND FOREMOST A NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY.
FOR US IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF GOVERNMENT AT ALL THREE
LEVELS AS WELL AS THE PRIVATE SECTOR, INTERRELATING AMONG
ITS VARIOUS GROUPS TO SEEK AND SHAPE CREATIVE SOLUTIONS.
PROGRESS IN AMERICA, FROM ITS EARLIEST YEARS, HAS BEEN
IDENTIFIED WITH PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN THE AFFAIRS OF OUR
COUNTRY, AND WE WILL GO TO THE CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS
WITH CONSTRUCTIVE POLICIES FORMULATED, THROUGH YOU, BY THE
VOICE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO THE PRESTIGE OF THE UNITED STATES,
AND TO THE FUTURE OF THE AMERICAN HABITAT, THAT THE INSTRUCTIONS
OUR DELEGATION CARRIES TO VANCOUVER TWO WEEKS HENCE REFLECT
THE WISHES OF ALL OUR CITIZENS, WHICH IN TURN REFLECT THE
WISDOM OF OUR DEMOCRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT,
-5-
BEFORE CLOSING, I SHOULD LIKE TO ADD THAT THE UNITED
STATES DELEGATION ALSO REFLECTS THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, As
AN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE, HABITAT CALLS FOR OFFICIAL
REPRESENTATION BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT AND THE AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. As A CONFERENCE ON SETTLEMENTS,
IT OFFICIALLY INVOLVES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT. By SUBJECT MATTER IT INCLUDES THE DEPARTMENTS
OF HEW, AGRICULTURE, INTERIOR AND TRANSPORTATION -- AS WELL
AS THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY AND THE COUNCIL ON
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY.
?
THUS, NINE FEDERAL AGENCIES ARE REPRESENTED IN OUR
UNITED STATES DELEGATION.
WE ALSO HAVE REPRESENTATION AT THE STATE AND SUB-STATE
LEVELS -- GOVERNOR, STATE LEGISLATURE, MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL.
BUT OUR LARGEST REPRESENTATION BY FAR IS IN DELEGATES
WHO COME FROM THE PRIVATE SECTOR - PUBLIC INTEREST AND
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WHO SPEAK FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF
AMERICA ON THE WIDE RANGE OF SUBJECTS DIRECTLY RELATED TO
THE ISSUES OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.
-6-
IN THE SENSE THAT OUR DELEGATES ALSO REPRESENT THE
BACKGROUND AND LIFESTYLES OF OUR DIVERGENT POPULATION, I
BELIEVE OUR DELEGATION IS EXTREMELY WELL BALANCED,
IN ADDITION TO OUR "OFFICIAL" DELEGATION, THERE WILL BE
MANY INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS WHO WILL BE IN VANCOUVER TO
OBSERVE HABITAT AND WE PLAN TO INCLUDE THEM IN OUR ACTIVITIES
AS PARTICIPANTS.
WE EXPECT TO HOLD A DAILY BRIEFING FOR ALL OUR Non-
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS WHO WILL BE IN THE CITY TO TAKE
PART IN THE HABITAT FORUM WHICH BEGINS ON MAY 27TH -- THREE
DAYS BEFORE THE CONFERENCE.
THERE WILL BE ONE HUD OFFICIAL ASSIGNED FULL TIME TO
NGO INTERESTS AND OTHER DELEGATION MEMBERS WILL BE AVAILABLE
FOR CONSULTATION WITH OUR NGO's.
FINALLY, WE GO TO THE CONFERENCE BEARING IN MIND THAT
HABITAT '76 IS ONLY A BEGINNING -- NOT AN END. IT IS MERELY
AN EVENT -- THOUGH CERTAINLY A MAJOR ONE -- IN A CONTINUING
SERIES OF EVENTS,
-7-
I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU AS WE PROCEED FROM
HERE TO HABITAT AND BEYOND.
AND I WISH TO THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE DONE TO
BRING US, AND THE NATION, TO THIS PIVOTAL POINT IN THE
HISTORY OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS.