ABSTRACT
The huge program financing the construction of urban and suburban highways, a potent force in shaping urban development, were run by the Bureau of Public Roads, soon to become part of the Department of Transportation. The War on Poverty, aimed at improving the incomes and life of the urban poor, was being waged by the independent Office of Economic Opportunity. If Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is viewed as the federal department with primary responsibility for the physical, economic, and social aspects of the urban condition, then the incompleteness of its equipment becomes even more striking. Thus, HUD's capacity to deal comprehensively with the plentiful and diverse problems of urban America was far more limited than its earlier proponents had hoped. The symbolism of the act was probably more important than the limited authorities HUD was initially given. Once established, the authorities of a cabinet department tend to grow—as, indeed, HUD's were soon to increase.
