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NATIONAL COMMISSION ON URBAN PROBLEMS ROOM 640, 806 15TH ST. N. W., WASHINGTON, D. C. 20005 CU- 8 - 68 Contact : Walt e r Rybeck Phone: 202/382-20 68 FOR RELEASE Sunday September 1, 1968 SEVE N-CI TY STUDY PINPOINTS HOUSING PLIGHT OF LARGE POOR FAMILIES Publi c a nd pr iva te. hous ing have fail ed by a la rge marg in to mee t th e ne eds of large poor fa mil ies , a ccord ing t o a stud y pr e pa r ed for the Natip nal Commission on Urban Probl ems and re l eased today . "The fin din g o f a shortage of some 71,000 dwe lling units aff e cting almost 70 pe rc e nt of t he l a r ge poor f a mili e s in s eve n major citi e s is not just a nother sta t isti c , " sa id Commis s ion Chairman Paul H. Dougla s . "The numbe r of children a ff e ct e d by t h is gap in these citi e s a lon e i s comput e d to be appro ximatel y on e th i rd of a mi ll io n." ( Se e p. 19 .) The s even c iti e s s t ud i ed we r e Wa shington , Phila de lphia, New Orl eans, St. Lo uis, Ri chmond , De nver a nd Sa n Fra ncisco. They ~ r e sel e ct ed becau se , in thes e places, detailed in come data by famil y size could be correlated with available housing su pp l y i nf orma tion, Walter Smart, Walt er Rybe ck and Howard E. Shuma n of the Commis s i on sta ff pre pare d the report , "THE LARGE POOR FAMILY--A HOUSING GAP." The s hor t age of 71,000 unit s was figur ed after including as availabl e for o cc upan cy 12, 000 units which th e s eve n citi es indica t ed we r e merely plann ed , Wh en on l y the cur r e nt ava ila bl e i nve ntory is counted, the shorta ge is more tha n 83,000 units a nd a ff e ct s 80 pe rc e nt of th e large poor familie s . Poor f a mi li e s a r e defined in t h e stud y a s thos e who with 25 pe rcent of famil y income cannot a fford de ce nt private hous ing. The i nve nt ory available to th em i s ne ce ssaril y the housin g suppli ed under vari ou s s ub s id y progra ms . Wha t is th e gap ? The stud y (1) finds th e m1n1mum income required to a fford sta ndard or de cen t hous ing in each cit y as de t e rmin ed by the local r edev e lopment a ge nc y , ( 2 ) ca lcula t es th e numbe r of large f a milie s be low that income l eve l, and (3) t otals th e numbe r of exi s ting and plann ed standard housing unit s suita bl e for large fa milies und e r a ll housin g pro g rams. In e s senc e , the gap is th e diff e r e nc e be t ween ( 2) a nd (3), be t ween need and suppl y. I n the s e ve n ci t i e s (s ee Table 3 , p . 15) there we re 103,464 lar ge famili e s with i nsuf ficie nt i ncome t o a fford standard housin g . Available and planned housing left a ga p of 71 , 162 --a sho r ta ge a ff e cting 68 , 8 pe rc e nt of these families. The f ive- a nd si x -member f a mili e s numbered 63,728 . The gap in thei r ca s e was 40 , 0 26 units - -a shortage affe cting 62.8 percent of these families. The seve n - a nd e i ght-membe r families numbe red 26,225. The gap in their case was 19 ,2 37 uni t s--a shor ta ge a f f e cting 73.4 pe rcent of the se famili e s, The n ine - a nd ten-member families number ed 9,55 8 . The gap in their case was 8,148 units- - a s hortage a f f e ct i ng 85. 2 perce nt of these families. The very lar ge fam i li e s of 11 or more members numbered 3,953. The gap in their case was 3 , 75 1 units--a shortage affecting 94.9 percent of them, As family s i ze increases, the number of families goes down sharply, the size of the gap ri s e s si gnificantl y, and the number of children affected by each unit of hou s ing shortage i ncreases . The report further shows the high percentage of nonwhi t es aff ec t ed b y th e l a r ge poor famil y housing gap (pp. 17-18). The a u t hors c it e a number of legislative and administrative factors that have tended t o dis cour age the building _o f subsidized housing suitable for large famili e s, (S e e pp. 21-28.) Mr. Dougla s said , "I was very pleased to find provisions in the new Housing and Urban Devel o pme nt Ac t of 1968 which, in part, move in the direction of easing some of the ho us ing pr oblems faced by large poor families," No t e to Cor re s po nden t s : The au t hors will hold a press conference on the report (for Sunday release) at 10 a,m , Friday, August 30, in Room 10211 , tenth floor, of the New Executive Office Buil ding, 17th & H Streets, N.W. Advance co pies ava ilable on r equest . �PUBLICATIONS - NATI ONAL COMMISSION ON URBAN PROBLEMS - AUGUST 1968 1. The Commission hearings cover all topics assigned to th e Commission and many related cu rrent issues. The compl e te se t of five volumes has been at th e printers for many months but onl y tµose liste d are available at this time. 2. Ba ckground studies und er take n by the Commission staff and consultants, in preparation for the Commission's report to the Presid e nt and to Congress, result ed in several dozen research papers, many of which it was f e lt would be of public interest. Research reports that are published do not nece ssarily carry th e endorsement of the Commission, 3. The Commission 's own r e port , carrying out the Congressional and White House mandates, will be the final category of publication. Order Form and Summary of Publications to Date Requests are being handled without charge. Single copies only, please. Bulk orders cannot be fill e d be cause of limit ed supplies. (Exception: reprints of Resea rch Report No. 1 have bee n made available by th e Jo int Economic Committ ee of Congress .) The Hearings are also available for purchase from "Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402." To avoid errors and hasten mailing, check publication you wish to receive and PRINT CLEARLY in the address blank. HEARINGS BEFORE THE NATIONAL COMMISSION ON URBAN PROBLEMS, Vol. 1. Baltimore, New Haven , Boston, Pittsburgh. Major topics-- urban r enewal, rehabilitation, housing codes, fin a ncing and insuring in blighted areas, propert y taxation, land values, Ind exed , 361 pp. (Our supply almost e xhausted , ) HEARINGS, Vol. 2. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Major topics--land-us e regulation, building codes and technology, urban desi gn, governing metropolitan areas , housing l ow-income famili e s. Inde xed, 493 pp. HEARINGS, Vol 3. Denver, Atlanta, Houston, Fort Worth-Arlington-Dallas, Miami. Major topics--metropolitan housing patterns, public housing, new housing subsidi es, zoni ng , building and housing codes, urban finance, government consolidation. Indexed, 386 pp. Research Report No. 1, IMPACT OF THE PROPERTY TA X, by Dick Netzer. Measures the ta x burden on housing, examines intrametropolitan tax differentials that stimulat e exclusionary practices and unsound development; scores faulty assessment practices; proposes reforms and alternatives; 62 pp. Research Re port No. 2, PROBLEMS OF ZONING AND LAND-USE REGULATION, by the American Societ y of Planning Officials. Finds land-use controls often exclude low-income minority families from certain urban areas; claims zoning ma y exert less inf lue nce on development ra.tterns than utility extensions, land speculation, highwa y locations; includes views of 28 experts; 80 pp. Research Report No. 3, THE CHALLENGE OF AMERICA'S METROPOLITAN POPULATION OUTLOOK--1960 TO 19 85, by Patricia Leavey Hodge and Philip M. Hauser. Projects urban expansion wi th biggest growth in suburban rings; further racial concentration of whites in suburbs and nonwhites in central cities; marked increase in growth of yo un g labor force (ages 15-44); 90 pp. (Commission supply exhausted, Praeger, 111 4th Ave., N.Y., N.Y., reprinting for sale. Government may reprint,) Research Report No. 4, THE LARGE POOR FAMILY--A HOUSING GAP, by Walter Smart, Wal ter Rybeck, Howard E. Shuman. Stud y of seven cities (Washington, Philadelphia, New Orleans, St. Louis, Richmond, Denver, San Francisco) finds poor families of five or more persons neglected in public programs; measures shortage; cites re strictions inhibiting supply of larger dwelling units; 28 pp. NAME ORGANIZATION STREET CITY, STATE, ZIP 231008-, �