Public Housing: An Analysis of 29 Families Referred to the Casework Unit of the New York City Housing Authority by the Tenant Review Board, 1962

Background of the Study. Public housing in a historical sense is new; consequently, much is being argued pro and con regarding its function. Some feel that it should be considered a large real estate venture under public auspices while others demand that the program be nothing more than a social service activity within the broad framework of community social welfare services. This argument seems to be a philosophical basis for much of the controversy confronting the public housing program today. New York City, the forefront of public housing in America, began an effort to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing for low income families at a rental they could afford as early as 1934. This little ’Work Program Administration mushroomed into the current day massive structure that provides housing for approximately 118,439 families. At that time the selection of families was based mostly on housing need and the numbers of tenants were small. Little attention was paid to the characteristics of these families perhaps because many” were poor during the depression and poverty had a different connotation. Today; however, the public housing tenant body is large, consequently, the problems are more visible. This current day phenomenon seems to be one of the major reasons for the widespread concern about the volume of problem families found in public housing developments throughout the country