Making a better world : public housing, the Red Scare, and the direction of modern Los Angeles

During the 1990s, Los Angeles - like many other cities across America - began demolishing public housing projects that had come to symbolize decades of failed urban policies. But public housing was not always regarded with such disdain. In the years surrounding World War II, it had been a popular New Deal program, viewed as a force for positive social change and supported by a broad coalition of civic, labor, religious, and community organizations. Socially conscious architects and planners developed innovative and livable projects that embodied the latest theories in urban design. With sharp historical perspective, Making a Better World traces the rise and fall of a public housing ethic in Los Angeles and its impact on the city's built environment. In the caustic political atmosphere of Joseph McCarthy's America, public housing opponents accused the city's housing authority of communist infiltration, effectively eliminating the left from debates over the city's development. In place of public housing, conservative forces promoted a pro-private growth agenda that redefined urban renewal and reshaped modern Los Angeles. No conventional public housing projects have been constructed in Los Angeles since 1955. In this era of skyrocketing housing prices, especially in urban areas, Don Parson's examination not only gives us the recent history of a city, but also opens up a new debate on a current national crisis in providing shelter for low-income Americans.

During the 1990s, Los Angeles - like many other cities across America - began demolishing public housing projects that had come to symbolize decades of failed urban policies. But public housing was not always regarded with such disdain. In the years surrounding World War II, it had been a popular New Deal program, viewed as a force for positive social change and supported by a broad coalition of civic, labor, religious, and community organizations. Socially conscious architects and planners developed innovative and livable projects that embodied the latest theories in urban design. With sharp historical perspective, Making a Better World traces the rise and fall of a public housing ethic in Los Angeles and its impact on the city's built environment. In the caustic political atmosphere of Joseph McCarthy's America, public housing opponents accused the city's housing authority of communist infiltration, effectively eliminating the left from debates over the city's development. In place of public housing, conservative forces promoted a pro-private growth agenda that redefined urban renewal and reshaped modern Los Angeles. No conventional public housing projects have been constructed in Los Angeles since 1955. In this era of skyrocketing housing prices, especially in urban areas, Don Parson's examination not only gives us the recent history of a city, but also opens up a new debate on a current national crisis in providing shelter for low-income Americans.

Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 18 Abbreviations......Page 20 Introduction: Of Politics, Public Housing Projects, and the Modern City......Page 22 1. The New Day of Decent Housing: Building a Public Housing Program......Page 34 2. Homes for Heroes: Public Housing during World War II......Page 66 3. David and Goliath: The Struggle to Expand the Public Housing Program......Page 96 4. The “Headline-Happy Public Housing War”: Public Housing and the Red Scare......Page 124 5. “Old Town, Lost Town, Shabby Town, Crook Town”: Bunker Hill and the Modern Cityscape......Page 158 6. This Modern Marvel: Chavez Ravine and the Politics of Modernism......Page 184 Conclusion: “Thus the Sixties Reap the Folly of the Fifties”......Page 208 Chronology of Public Housing Events in Los Angeles......Page 222 Appendix A: The File on Frank Wilkinson......Page 224 Appendix B: Sources......Page 230 Notes......Page 234 A......Page 288 B......Page 289 C......Page 291 D......Page 294 F......Page 295 G......Page 296 H......Page 297 J......Page 298 L......Page 299 M......Page 300 O......Page 302 P......Page 303 R......Page 305 S......Page 306 T......Page 307 V......Page 308 W......Page 309 Z......Page 310 During the 1990s, Los Angeles began demolishing public housing projects that had come to symbolize decades of failed urban policies. But public housing was not always regarded with such disdain. In the years surrounding World War II, it was viewed as a force for positive social change and supported by a coalition of civic, labor, religious, and community organizations. Socially conscious architects and planners developed innovative projects that embodied the latest theories in urban design. With sharp historical perspective, Making a Better World traces the rise and fall of a public housing ethic in Los Angeles and its impact on the city's built environment. In this era of skyrocketing housing prices, especially in urban areas, Don Parson's examination not only gives us the recent history of a city but also opens up a new debate on a current national crisis in providing shelter for low-income Americans