ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the question of what impact federal housing policy has had or will have on local housing policy, on its constituents, and instrumentalities. It presents a case study of housing needs and policy in Birmingham, Alabama. The Reagan administration has sought to diminish greatly the role of the federal government in housing and community development. President Ronald Reagan has proposed a sharp curtailment of federal housing programs by imposing a two-year moratorium on new, subsidized housing. The proportional importance of sharp reductions in the federal housing budget becomes apparent when contrasted with housing-related tax expenditures. The city government of Birmingham became involved in housing during the 1970s, and then only under the stimulus of federal government programs–most importantly, the Community Development Block Grant begun by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Ironically, Birmingham's Comprehensive Housing Plan anticipated recommending, when research on it was begun in 1980, maximum utilization of the entire array of federal housing programs.
