Good afternoon: I want to report to you today on the quality of life in our cities and towns. A few years ago we constantly heard that urban America was on the brink of collapse. It was one minute to midnight, we were told, and the bells of doom were beginning to toll. One history of America in the 1960's was even given the title "Coming Apart." Today, America is no longer coming apart. One of the most difficult problems of the 1960's was the alarming increase in crime--up 122 percent from 1960 to 1968. Today, the rate of crime is dropping in more than half of our major cities. Civil disorders have also declined. The air is getting cleaner in most of our major cities. The number of people living in substandard housing has been cut by more than 50 percent since 1960. The Nation's first new transit system in more than 20 years has just been opened in San Francisco. Another is under construction in Washington, D.C.; others are planned in Atlanta and Baltimore. City governments are no longer on the verge of financial catastrophe. Once again the business world is investing in our downtown areas. What does all this mean for community life in America? Simply this: The hour of crisis has passed. The ship of state is back on an even keel, and we can put behind us the fear of capsizing. We should be proud of our achievements, but we should never be complacent. Many challenges still remain. In approaching them, we must recognize that some of the methods which have been tried in the past are not appropriate to the 1970's. One serious error of the past was the belief that the Federal Government should take the lead in developing local communities. America is still recovering from years of extravagant, hastily passed measures, designed by centralized planners and costing billions of dollars, but producing few results. I recently learned of a city where $30 million was paid for an urban renewal project. But instead of getting better, the physical condition of the target neighborhood actually got worse. In one of our huge, high-rise public housing projects, less than one-third of the units are now fit for human habitation and less than one-fifth are even occupied. In another city, urban renewal was supposed to salvage and improve existing housing. Thirty million dollars was spent over 12 years, but the results were so meager that the planners finally gave up and called in the bulldozers. Now almost half of the project's 200 acres lies vacant, unsold. Some of our programs to help people buy or improve housing are also backfiring. Too many of the owners fail to meet their payments, and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill. He also gets stuck with the house and the added expense of looking out for it. As a result, over 90,000 federally subsidized housing units are now owned by the Federal Government--your Government--over 14,000 in one metropolitan area alone. Now these examples are not unusual. This does not mean that the people in charge of these programs were dishonest or incompetent. What it does mean is that they are human, and that no human being, accountable only to an office in Washington, can successfully plan and manage the development of communities which are often hundreds or thousands of miles away. There are too many leaks in the Federal pipeline. It is time to plug them up. That is why we are changing our entire approach to human and community development. We are putting an end to wasteful and obsolete programs and replacing them with ones that work. Our 1974 budget would eliminate seven outmoded urban development programs. It would suspend four ineffective housing programs. We are not pulling the rug out from under anyone who has already been promised assistance. Under commitments already made, we will subsidize an estimated 300,000 housing starts this year and will provide housing assistance to more than 2 million low- and moderate income families. But we are stopping programs which have failed. We are determined to get a dollar's worth of service out of every dollar's worth of taxes. The high-cost, no result boondoggling by the Federal Government must end. This means we will continue to press for greater efficiency and better management in Federal programs. But it also means giving the lead role back to grass roots governments again. The time has come to reject the patronizing notion that Federal planners, peering over the point of a pencil in Washington, can guide your lives better than you can. Last October, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I signed into law a general revenue sharing bill. This bill allocates 30 billion Federal dollars over the next 5 years for State and local governments to use however they like. Revenue sharing represents a new Declaration of Independence for State and local governments. It gives grass roots governments a new chance to stand on their own feet. Revenue sharing money can be used to put more policemen on the beat, to build new schools, to lower property taxes, or for whatever other purpose you and your local leaders think best. Let me emphasize one point which is often misunderstood. General revenue sharing money is new money. It was never intended to replace programs we are now cutting back. To replace those programs, I am asking the Congress to create four new special revenue sharing programs. One of these new revenue sharing bills, the Better Communities Act, would provide $2.3 billion in its first year of operation. This aid will have no strings attached as long as it is used for community development. Your local leaders can go on spending it the way Washington was spending it if they like. But they would also be free to work out better plans without having to get Washington's approval. We have several other proposals which deserve the support of every American taxpayer. One is our recommendation for a new Department of Community Development. This department will pull together programs which are now scattered among different departments or agencies. It would put them under a single roof. I first made this proposal nearly 2 years ago. It is time for the Congress to act on it. As a first step toward getting better coordination in this field, I have already appointed a Counsellor to the President for Community Development [James T. Lynn]. Another key recommendation is our $110 million proposal to help State and local governments build up their administrative skills and planning expertise. In the field of housing, we must stop programs that have been turning the Federal Government into a nationwide slumlord. One of my highest domestic priorities this year will be the development of new policies that eliminate waste and target aid to genuinely needy families. One of our highest priorities must be to improve transportation. In the past 20 years, Federal money has helped build the world's best system of modern highways. Our Administration has committed $19 billion to this goal. Now we must concentrate on moving people within our cities as effectively as we move them between our cities. We must help our communities develop urban mass transit systems of which America can truly be proud. I propose that our States and communities be given the right to use a designated portion of the Highway Trust Fund for capital improvements in urban public transportation, including improvements in bus and rapid rail systems. Changing the way we use the Highway Trust Fund should be one of the top items on our national agenda. If we do not act now, our children will grow up in cities which are strangled by traffic, raked by noise, choked by pollution. By opening up the Highway Trust Fund today, we can open up great new vistas for our cities tomorrow. I have also asked that Federal funding authority for mass transit capital grants be doubled--from $3 billion to $6 billion. And I recommended that the Federal share of mass transit projects be raised to 70 percent. All of these steps will help us meet the challenge of mass transit. Perhaps no program means more to those it helps than does disaster aid. But it is not enough for Government merely to respond to disasters. We should also take actions to prevent disasters, to reduce their effect. I will soon send recommendations to the Congress to revamp and improve disaster aid. I hope the Congress will also support an important proposal I have already made--moving disaster assistance out of the Executive Office of the President and into the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where it can be coordinated with other community aid. Too often, people think of community development solely in terms of the big city. In fact, less than 30 percent of our people live in places with a population of more than 100,000. This is approximately the same number who live in rural America. The proportion of our people living in cities with a population of over 1 million is no greater today than it was 50 years ago. In an age when people move a great deal, the growth of our great cities and that of our smaller communities are directly linked. A balanced approach to community development must keep small town America clearly in sight. Our Administration will use every effective means to help develop smaller communities, to bring new vitality to the American countryside. Perhaps the most important factor in the crisis mentality of the 1960's was the growing sense on the part of the average individual that the circumstances of his life were increasingly beyond his control. Nothing is more important in improving our communities than giving people a sense of control again, letting them know that they can make a difference in shaping the places where they live. If the spirit of community means anything, it means a spirit of belonging, a spirit of responsibility, a spirit of participation. Restoring this "spirit of community" is the ultimate purpose of all the community development efforts of our Administration. "A great city," Walt Whitman wrote, "is that which has the greatest men and women." Only by appealing to the greatness that lies within our people can we build and sustain the kind of communities we want for America. Thank you and good afternoon.
Good afternoon: I want to report to you today on the quality of life in our cities and towns. A few years ago we constantly heard that urban America was on the brink of collapse. It was one minute to midnight, we were told, and the bells of doom were beginning to toll. One history of America in the 1960's was even given the title "Coming Apart." Today, America is no longer coming apart. One of the most difficult problems of the 1960's was the alarming increase in crime--up 122 percent from 1960 to 1968. Today, the rate of crime is dropping in more than half of our major cities. Civil disorders have also declined. The air is getting cleaner in most of our major cities. The number of people living in substandard housing has been cut by more than 50 percent since 1960. The Nation's first new transit system in more than 20 years has just been opened in San Francisco. Another is under construction in Washington, D.C.; others are planned in Atlanta and Baltimore. City governments are no longer on the verge of financial catastrophe. Once again the business world is investing in our downtown areas. What does all this mean for community life in America? Simply this: The hour of crisis has passed. The ship of state is back on an even keel, and we can put behind us the fear of capsizing. We should be proud of our achievements, but we should never be complacent. Many challenges still remain. In approaching them, we must recognize that some of the methods which have been tried in the past are not appropriate to the 1970's. One serious error of the past was the belief that the Federal Government should take the lead in developing local communities. America is still recovering from years of extravagant, hastily passed measures, designed by centralized planners and costing billions of dollars, but producing few results. I recently learned of a city where $30 million was paid for an urban renewal project. But instead of getting better, the physical condition of the target neighborhood actually got worse. In one of our huge, high-rise public housing projects, less than one-third of the units are now fit for human habitation and less than one-fifth are even occupied. In another city, urban renewal was supposed to salvage and improve existing housing. Thirty million dollars was spent over 12 years, but the results were so meager that the planners finally gave up and called in the bulldozers. Now almost half of the project's 200 acres lies vacant, unsold. Some of our programs to help people buy or improve housing are also backfiring. Too many of the owners fail to meet their payments, and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill. He also gets stuck with the house and the added expense of looking out for it. As a result, over 90,000 federally subsidized housing units are now owned by the Federal Government--your Government--over 14,000 in one metropolitan area alone. Now these examples are not unusual. This does not mean that the people in charge of these programs were dishonest or incompetent. What it does mean is that they are human, and that no human being, accountable only to an office in Washington, can successfully plan and manage the development of communities which are often hundreds or thousands of miles away. There are too many leaks in the Federal pipeline. It is time to plug them up. That is why we are changing our entire approach to human and community development. We are putting an end to wasteful and obsolete programs and replacing them with ones that work. Our 1974 budget would eliminate seven outmoded urban development programs. It would suspend four ineffective housing programs. We are not pulling the rug out from under anyone who has already been promised assistance. Under commitments already made, we will subsidize an estimated 300,000 housing starts this year and will provide housing assistance to more than 2 million low- and moderate income families. But we are stopping programs which have failed. We are determined to get a dollar's worth of service out of every dollar's worth of taxes. The high-cost, no result boondoggling by the Federal Government must end. This means we will continue to press for greater efficiency and better management in Federal programs. But it also means giving the lead role back to grass roots governments again. The time has come to reject the patronizing notion that Federal planners, peering over the point of a pencil in Washington, can guide your lives better than you can. Last October, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I signed into law a general revenue sharing bill. This bill allocates 30 billion Federal dollars over the next 5 years for State and local governments to use however they like. Revenue sharing represents a new Declaration of Independence for State and local governments. It gives grass roots governments a new chance to stand on their own feet. Revenue sharing money can be used to put more policemen on the beat, to build new schools, to lower property taxes, or for whatever other purpose you and your local leaders think best. Let me emphasize one point which is often misunderstood. General revenue sharing money is new money. It was never intended to replace programs we are now cutting back. To replace those programs, I am asking the Congress to create four new special revenue sharing programs. One of these new revenue sharing bills, the Better Communities Act, would provide $2.3 billion in its first year of operation. This aid will have no strings attached as long as it is used for community development. Your local leaders can go on spending it the way Washington was spending it if they like. But they would also be free to work out better plans without having to get Washington's approval. We have several other proposals which deserve the support of every American taxpayer. One is our recommendation for a new Department of Community Development. This department will pull together programs which are now scattered among different departments or agencies. It would put them under a single roof. I first made this proposal nearly 2 years ago. It is time for the Congress to act on it. As a first step toward getting better coordination in this field, I have already appointed a Counsellor to the President for Community Development [James T. Lynn]. Another key recommendation is our $110 million proposal to help State and local governments build up their administrative skills and planning expertise. In the field of housing, we must stop programs that have been turning the Federal Government into a nationwide slumlord. One of my highest domestic priorities this year will be the development of new policies that eliminate waste and target aid to genuinely needy families. One of our highest priorities must be to improve transportation. In the past 20 years, Federal money has helped build the world's best system of modern highways. Our Administration has committed $19 billion to this goal. Now we must concentrate on moving people within our cities as effectively as we move them between our cities. We must help our communities develop urban mass transit systems of which America can truly be proud. I propose that our States and communities be given the right to use a designated portion of the Highway Trust Fund for capital improvements in urban public transportation, including improvements in bus and rapid rail systems. Changing the way we use the Highway Trust Fund should be one of the top items on our national agenda. If we do not act now, our children will grow up in cities which are strangled by traffic, raked by noise, choked by pollution. By opening up the Highway Trust Fund today, we can open up great new vistas for our cities tomorrow. I have also asked that Federal funding authority for mass transit capital grants be doubled--from $3 billion to $6 billion. And I recommended that the Federal share of mass transit projects be raised to 70 percent. All of these steps will help us meet the challenge of mass transit. Perhaps no program means more to those it helps than does disaster aid. But it is not enough for Government merely to respond to disasters. We should also take actions to prevent disasters, to reduce their effect. I will soon send recommendations to the Congress to revamp and improve disaster aid. I hope the Congress will also support an important proposal I have already made--moving disaster assistance out of the Executive Office of the President and into the Department of Housing and Urban Development, where it can be coordinated with other community aid. Too often, people think of community development solely in terms of the big city. In fact, less than 30 percent of our people live in places with a population of more than 100,000. This is approximately the same number who live in rural America. The proportion of our people living in cities with a population of over 1 million is no greater today than it was 50 years ago. In an age when people move a great deal, the growth of our great cities and that of our smaller communities are directly linked. A balanced approach to community development must keep small town America clearly in sight. Our Administration will use every effective means to help develop smaller communities, to bring new vitality to the American countryside. Perhaps the most important factor in the crisis mentality of the 1960's was the growing sense on the part of the average individual that the circumstances of his life were increasingly beyond his control. Nothing is more important in improving our communities than giving people a sense of control again, letting them know that they can make a difference in shaping the places where they live. If the spirit of community means anything, it means a spirit of belonging, a spirit of responsibility, a spirit of participation. Restoring this "spirit of community" is the ultimate purpose of all the community development efforts of our Administration. "A great city," Walt Whitman wrote, "is that which has the greatest men and women." Only by appealing to the greatness that lies within our people can we build and sustain the kind of communities we want for America. Thank you and good afternoon.
good afternoon i want to report to you today on the quality of life in our cities and towns a few years ago we constantly heard that urban america was on the brink of collapse it was one minute to midnight we were told and the bells of doom were beginning to toll one history of america in the 1960 was even given the title coming apart today america is no longer coming apart one of the most difficult problems of the 1960 was the alarming increase in crime up 122 percent from 1960 to 1968 today the rate of crime is dropping in more than half of our major cities civil disorders have also declined the air is getting cleaner in most of our major cities the number of people living in substandard housing has been cut by more than 50 percent since 1960 the nation first new transit system in more than 20 years has just been opened in san francisco another is under construction in washington others are planned in atlanta and baltimore city governments are no longer on the verge of financial catastrophe once again the business world is investing in our downtown areas what does all this mean for community life in america simply this the hour of crisis has passed the ship of state is back on an even keel and we can put behind us the fear of capsizing we should be proud of our achievements but we should never be complacent many challenges still remain in approaching them we must recognize that some of the methods which have been tried in the past are not appropriate to the 1970 one serious error of the past was the belief that the federal government should take the lead in developing local communities america is still recovering from years of extravagant hastily passed measures designed by centralized planners and costing billions of dollars but producing few results i recently learned of a city where 30 million was paid for an urban renewal project but instead of getting better the physical condition of the target neighborhood actually got worse in one of our huge public housing projects less than of the units are now fit for human habitation and less than are even occupied in another city urban renewal was supposed to salvage and improve existing housing thirty million dollars was spent over 12 years but the results were so meager that the planners finally gave up and called in the bulldozers now almost half of the project 200 acres lies vacant unsold some of our programs to help people buy or improve housing are also backfiring too many of the owners fail to meet their payments and the taxpayer gets stuck with the bill he also gets stuck with the house and the added expense of looking out for it as a result over federally subsidized housing units are now owned by the federal government your government over in one metropolitan area alone now these examples are not unusual this does not mean that the people in charge of these programs were dishonest or incompetent what it does mean is that they are human and that no human being accountable only to an office in washington can successfully plan and manage the development of communities which are often hundreds or thousands of miles away there are too many leaks in the federal pipeline it is time to plug them up that is why we are changing our entire approach to human and community development we are putting an end to wasteful and obsolete programs and replacing them with ones that work our 1974 budget would eliminate seven outmoded urban development programs it would suspend four ineffective housing programs we are not pulling the rug out from under anyone who has already been promised assistance under commitments already made we will subsidize an estimated housing starts this year and will provide housing assistance to more than 2 million and moderate income families but we are stopping programs which have failed we are determined to get a dollar worth of service out of every dollar worth of taxes the no result boondoggling by the federal government must end this means we will continue to press for greater efficiency and better management in federal programs but it also means giving the lead role back to grass roots governments again the time has come to reject the patronizing notion that federal planners peering over the point of a pencil in washington can guide your lives better than you can last october at independence hall in philadelphia i signed into law a general revenue sharing bill this bill allocates 30 billion federal dollars over the next 5 years for state and local governments to use however they like revenue sharing represents a new declaration of independence for state and local governments it gives grass roots governments a new chance to stand on their own feet revenue sharing money can be used to put more policemen on the beat to build new schools to lower property taxes or for whatever other purpose you and your local leaders think best let me emphasize one point which is often misunderstood general revenue sharing money is new money it was never intended to replace programs we are now cutting back to replace those programs i am asking the congress to create four new special revenue sharing programs one of these new revenue sharing bills the better communities act would provide billion in its first year of operation this aid will have no strings attached as long as it is used for community development your local leaders can go on spending it the way washington was spending it if they like but they would also be free to work out better plans without having to get washington approval we have several other proposals which deserve the support of every american taxpayer one is our recommendation for a new department of community development this department will pull together programs which are now scattered among different departments or agencies it would put them under a single roof i first made this proposal nearly 2 years ago it is time for the congress to act on it as a first step toward getting better coordination in this field i have already appointed a counsellor to the president for community development james lynn another key recommendation is our 110 million proposal to help state and local governments build up their administrative skills and planning expertise in the field of housing we must stop programs that have been turning the federal government into a nationwide slumlord one of my highest domestic priorities this year will be the development of new policies that eliminate waste and target aid to genuinely needy families one of our highest priorities must be to improve transportation in the past 20 years federal money has helped build the world best system of modern highways our administration has committed 19 billion to this goal now we must concentrate on moving people within our cities as effectively as we move them between our cities we must help our communities develop urban mass transit systems of which america can truly be proud i propose that our states and communities be given the right to use a designated portion of the highway trust fund for capital improvements in urban public transportation including improvements in bus and rapid rail systems changing the way we use the highway trust fund should be one of the top items on our national agenda if we do not act now our children will grow up in cities which are strangled by traffic raked by noise choked by pollution by opening up the highway trust fund today we can open up great new vistas for our cities tomorrow i have also asked that federal funding authority for mass transit capital grants be doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion and i recommended that the federal share of mass transit projects be raised to 70 percent all of these steps will help us meet the challenge of mass transit perhaps no program means more to those it helps than does disaster aid but it is not enough for government merely to respond to disasters we should also take actions to prevent disasters to reduce their effect i will soon send recommendations to the congress to revamp and improve disaster aid i hope the congress will also support an important proposal i have already made moving disaster assistance out of the executive office of the president and into the department of housing and urban development where it can be coordinated with other community aid too often people think of community development solely in terms of the big city in fact less than 30 percent of our people live in places with a population of more than this is approximately the same number who live in rural america the proportion of our people living in cities with a population of over 1 million is no greater today than it was 50 years ago in an age when people move a great deal the growth of our great cities and that of our smaller communities are directly linked a balanced approach to community development must keep small town america clearly in sight our administration will use every effective means to help develop smaller communities to bring new vitality to the american countryside perhaps the most important factor in the crisis mentality of the 1960 was the growing sense on the part of the average individual that the circumstances of his life were increasingly beyond his control nothing is more important in improving our communities than giving people a sense of control again letting them know that they can make a difference in shaping the places where they live if the spirit of community means anything it means a spirit of belonging a spirit of responsibility a spirit of participation restoring this spirit of community is the ultimate purpose of all the community development efforts of our administration a great city walt whitman wrote is that which has the greatest men and women only by appealing to the greatness that lies within our people can we build and sustain the kind of communities we want for america thank you and good afternoon
good afternoon want report today quality life cities towns years ago constantly heard urban america brink collapse one minute midnight told bells doom beginning toll one history america 1960 even given title coming apart today america longer coming apart one difficult problems 1960 alarming increase crime 122 percent 1960 1968 today rate crime dropping half major cities civil disorders also declined air getting cleaner major cities number people living substandard housing cut 50 percent since 1960 nation first new transit system 20 years opened san francisco another construction washington others planned atlanta baltimore city governments longer verge financial catastrophe business world investing downtown areas mean community life america simply hour crisis passed ship state back even keel put behind us fear capsizing proud achievements never complacent many challenges still remain approaching must recognize methods tried past appropriate 1970 one serious error past belief federal government take lead developing local communities america still recovering years extravagant hastily passed measures designed centralized planners costing billions dollars producing results recently learned city 30 million paid urban renewal project instead getting better physical condition target neighborhood actually got worse one huge public housing projects less units fit human habitation less even occupied another city urban renewal supposed salvage improve existing housing thirty million dollars spent 12 years results meager planners finally gave called bulldozers almost half project 200 acres lies vacant unsold programs help people buy improve housing also backfiring many owners fail meet payments taxpayer gets stuck bill also gets stuck house added expense looking result federally subsidized housing units owned federal government government one metropolitan area alone examples unusual mean people charge programs dishonest incompetent mean human human accountable office washington successfully plan manage development communities often hundreds thousands miles away many leaks federal pipeline time plug changing entire approach human community development putting end wasteful obsolete programs replacing ones work 1974 budget would eliminate seven outmoded urban development programs would suspend four ineffective housing programs pulling rug anyone already promised assistance commitments already made subsidize estimated housing starts year provide housing assistance 2 million moderate income families stopping programs failed determined get dollar worth service every dollar worth taxes result boondoggling federal government must end means continue press greater efficiency better management federal programs also means giving lead role back grass roots governments time come reject patronizing notion federal planners peering point pencil washington guide lives better last october independence hall philadelphia signed law general revenue sharing bill bill allocates 30 billion federal dollars next 5 years state local governments use however like revenue sharing represents new declaration independence state local governments gives grass roots governments new chance stand feet revenue sharing money used put policemen beat build new schools lower property taxes whatever purpose local leaders think best let emphasize one point often misunderstood general revenue sharing money new money never intended replace programs cutting back replace programs asking congress create four new special revenue sharing programs one new revenue sharing bills better communities act would provide billion first year operation aid strings attached long used community development local leaders go spending way washington spending like would also free work better plans without get washington approval several proposals deserve support every american taxpayer one recommendation new department community development department pull together programs scattered among different departments agencies would put single roof first made proposal nearly 2 years ago time congress act first step toward getting better coordination field already appointed counsellor president community development james lynn another key recommendation 110 million proposal help state local governments build administrative skills planning expertise field housing must stop programs turning federal government nationwide slumlord one highest domestic priorities year development new policies eliminate waste target aid genuinely needy families one highest priorities must improve transportation past 20 years federal money helped build world best system modern highways administration committed 19 billion goal must concentrate moving people within cities effectively move cities must help communities develop urban mass transit systems america truly proud propose states communities given right use designated portion highway trust fund capital improvements urban public transportation including improvements bus rapid rail systems changing way use highway trust fund one top items national agenda act children grow cities strangled traffic raked noise choked pollution opening highway trust fund today open great new vistas cities tomorrow also asked federal funding authority mass transit capital grants doubled 3 billion 6 billion recommended federal share mass transit projects raised 70 percent steps help us meet challenge mass transit perhaps program means helps disaster aid enough government merely respond disasters also take actions prevent disasters reduce effect soon send recommendations congress revamp improve disaster aid hope congress also support important proposal already made moving disaster assistance executive office president department housing urban development coordinated community aid often people think community development solely terms big city fact less 30 percent people live places population approximately number live rural america proportion people living cities population 1 million greater today 50 years ago age people move great deal growth great cities smaller communities directly linked balanced approach community development must keep small town america clearly sight administration use every effective means help develop smaller communities bring new vitality american countryside perhaps important factor crisis mentality 1960 growing sense part average individual circumstances life increasingly beyond control nothing important improving communities giving people sense control letting know make difference shaping places live spirit community means anything means spirit belonging spirit responsibility spirit participation restoring spirit community ultimate purpose community development efforts administration great city walt whitman wrote greatest men women appealing greatness lies within people build sustain kind communities want america thank good afternoon
good afternoon want report today quality life city towns year ago constantly hear urban america brink collapse one minute midnight tell bell doom begin toll one history america 1960 even give title come apart today america long come apart one difficult problem 1960 alarm increase crime 122 percent 1960 1968 today rate crime drop half major city civil disorder also decline air get clean major city number people live substandard housing cut 50 percent since 1960 nation first new transit system 20 year open san francisco another construction washington others plan atlanta baltimore city government longer verge financial catastrophe business world invest downtown area mean community life america simply hour crisis pass ship state back even keel put behind u fear capsize proud achievement never complacent many challenge still remain approach must recognize method try past appropriate 1970 one serious error past belief federal government take lead develop local community america still recover year extravagant hastily pass measure design centralized planner cost billion dollar produce result recently learn city 30 million pay urban renewal project instead get well physical condition target neighborhood actually get bad one huge public housing project less unit fit human habitation less even occupy another city urban renewal suppose salvage improve exist housing thirty million dollar spent 12 year result meager planner finally give call bulldozer almost half project 200 acre lie vacant unsold program help people buy improve housing also backfire many owner fail meet payment taxpayer get stuck bill also get stuck house add expense look result federally subsidized housing unit own federal government government one metropolitan area alone examples unusual mean people charge program dishonest incompetent mean human human accountable office washington successfully plan manage development community often hundreds thousand mile away many leak federal pipeline time plug change entire approach human community development put end wasteful obsolete program replace one work 1974 budget would eliminate seven outmoded urban development program would suspend four ineffective housing program pull rug anyone already promise assistance commitment already make subsidize estimated housing start year provide housing assistance 2 million moderate income family stop program fail determined get dollar worth service every dollar worth tax result boondoggle federal government must end mean continue press great efficiency well management federal program also mean give lead role back grass root government time come reject patronize notion federal planner peer point pencil washington guide live well last october independence hall philadelphia sign law general revenue share bill bill allocate 30 billion federal dollar next 5 year state local government use however like revenue share represent new declaration independence state local government give grass root government new chance stand foot revenue share money use put policeman beat build new school low property tax whatever purpose local leader think best let emphasize one point often misunderstand general revenue share money new money never intend replace program cut back replace program ask congress create four new special revenue share program one new revenue share bill well community act would provide billion first year operation aid string attach long use community development local leader go spend way washington spending like would also free work well plan without get washington approval several proposal deserve support every american taxpayer one recommendation new department community development department pull together program scatter among different department agency would put single roof first make proposal nearly 2 year ago time congress act first step toward get good coordination field already appoint counsellor president community development james lynn another key recommendation 110 million proposal help state local government build administrative skill plan expertise field housing must stop program turn federal government nationwide slumlord one high domestic priority year development new policy eliminate waste target aid genuinely needy family one high priority must improve transportation past 20 year federal money help build world best system modern highway administration commit 19 billion goal must concentrate move people within city effectively move city must help community develop urban mass transit system america truly proud propose state community give right use designate portion highway trust fund capital improvement urban public transportation include improvement bus rapid rail system change way use highway trust fund one top item national agenda act child grow city strangle traffic rake noise choke pollution open highway trust fund today open great new vista city tomorrow also ask federal funding authority mass transit capital grant double 3 billion 6 billion recommend federal share mass transit project raise 70 percent step help u meet challenge mass transit perhaps program mean help disaster aid enough government merely respond disaster also take action prevent disaster reduce effect soon send recommendation congress revamp improve disaster aid hope congress also support important proposal already make move disaster assistance executive office president department housing urban development coordinate community aid often people think community development solely term big city fact less 30 percent people live place population approximately number live rural america proportion people live city population 1 million great today 50 year ago age people move great deal growth great city small community directly link balanced approach community development must keep small town america clearly sight administration use every effective mean help develop small community bring new vitality american countryside perhaps important factor crisis mentality 1960 grow sense part average individual circumstance life increasingly beyond control nothing important improve community give people sense control let know make difference shaping place live spirit community mean anything mean spirit belong spirit responsibility spirit participation restore spirit community ultimate purpose community development effort administration great city walt whitman write great men woman appeal greatness lie within people build sustain kind community want america thank good afternoon