Community Development And Housing Policies

3)      What do you think is being done about poverty (e.g., specific policies and programs in the United States and globally) and how well do you think poverty is being addressed?

       

I think that in terms of housing and the community there are more things that are being done than what I expected. One for example is the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Being able to provide rural areas and urban counties with money and grants to expand affordable housing and to improve the areas in neighborhoods is a wonderful thing. It is allowing all areas (regardless of their wealth) to have a clean, safe neighborhood. I was also surprised to learn that there are over 13,000 public housing developments in the United States. Also there are Community Development Corporations (CDC's) that are put in place in many cities and they are run by a small staff who primarily serve in low and moderate income neighborhoods. CDC's produce jobs, as well as improve housing and develop human services in neighborhoods.  

4)      What do you personally think should be done about poverty in United States and globally (e.g., specific private and government policies, programs, etc. that you would recommend)?

Based on the lecture there apparently is still many families that are spending a minimum of half of their salary to rent or try and own a house and that can sometimes not even include maintaining it in well conditions. Perhaps there could be more grants going towards trying to remodel or even fix some of these homes so that these people were not living under such harsh conditions and risking getting sick. Also perhaps the states and the actual cities could focus on where they are instead of the big picture. If we were to start small and then work in our own communities we would slowly see improvement. Perhaps holding certain fundraisers or having clubs that offer people the opportunity to go into these homes and help fix or build, I have learned from my own experiences that many time people are more than willing to provide their time and offer help but they are unaware that this is happening in their own community. Making people more aware and asking for their time might help get these projects moving a lot faster.