Public Housing and Slum Clearance in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, 1935–1965
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The War on Slums in the Southwest In the series Urban Life, Landscape, and Policy, edited by Zane L. Miller, David Stradling, and Larry Bennett Also in this series: Carlton Wade Basmajian, Atlanta Unbound: Enabling Sprawl through Policy and Planning Scott Larson, “Building Like Moses with Jacobs in Mind”: Contemporary Planning in New York City Gary Rivlin, Fire on the Prairie: Harold Washington, Chicago Politics, and the Roots of the Obama Presidency William Issel, Church and State in the City: Catholics and Politics in Twentieth-Century San Francisco Julia L. Foulkes, To the City: Urban Photographs of the New Deal William Issel, For Both Cross and Flag: Catholic Action, Anti-Catholicism, and National Security Politics in World War II San Francisco Lisa Hoffman, Patriotic Professionalism in Urban China: Fostering Talent John D. Fairfield, The Public and Its Possibilities: Triumphs and Tragedies in the American City Andrew Hurley, Beyond Preservation: Using Public History to Revitalize Inner Cities The War on Slums in the Southwest Public Housing and Slum Clearance in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, 1935–1965 ROBERT B. FAIRBANKS TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS PHILADELPHIA TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 www.temple.edu/tempress Copyright © 2014 by Temple University All rights reserved Published 2014 All reasonable attempts were made to locate the copyright holders for the illustrations pub- lished in this book. If you believe you may be one of them, please contact Temple University Press, and the publisher will include appropriate acknowledgment in subsequent editions of the book. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fairbanks, Robert B. (Robert Bruce), 1950– The war on slums in the Southwest : public housing and slum clearance in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, 1935–1965 / Robert B. Fairbanks. pages cm. — (Urban life, landscape, and policy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4399-1115-0 (hardback : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4399-1117-4 (e-book) 1. Public housing—Texas. 2. Public housing—Arizona 3. Public housing—New Mexico. 4. Slums—Texas. 5. Slums—Arizona. 6. Slums—New Mexico. 7. Housing policy— Texas. 8. Housing policy—Arizona 9. Housing policy—New Mexico. I. Title. HD7303.T4 F35 2014 307.3'36409790904—dc23 2014003980 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992 Printed in the United States of America 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 For J. David Fairbanks and Ruth Fairbanks Joseph Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 Cities in the Southwest or Southwestern Cities? 9 2 The Public Housing Movement in the Southwest: Cities Battle the Slums before 1937 26 3 Southwestern Cities, Slum Clearance, and the First Permanent Public Housing Program 47 4 From World War II to the Housing Act of 1949: A Moratorium on Slum Clearance and Public Housing for Low-Income Citizens 72 5 The Solution Becomes a Problem: The Decline of the Public Housing Movement after the Housing Act of 1949 91 6 From Urban Redevelopment to Urban Renewal in the Southwest 117 Epilogue: Our War on Poverty, Not Yours on Slums 160 Appendix A: Social Scientists and the Changing Discourse on Slums and Poverty: A Brief Note 167 Appendix B: Public Housing Built in San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, and Dallas, 1935–1965 173 viii Contents Appendix C: Occupation of Initial Tenants of Cuney Homes Public Housing in Houston 177 Appendix D: Total Number of Public Housing Units Built by Selected Cities by 1967 179 Notes 181 Index 231 Acknowledgments efore I started this project, I often wondered why so few comparative studies had been done by urban historians. After spending more than B ten years researching and writing this book, I better understand the answer to that question. Obviously, a project of this breadth means I have a number of people to thank for their help. I visited various archives in all five cities, as well as hous- ing authorities and other government agencies. My research efforts clearly benefited from the excellent help I received in finding materials. I particularly thank Robert H. McLaughlin, manager of Albuquerque Housing Services, who not only shared his research papers on the public housing movement in Albuquerque but also provided me with hard-to-access city documents. The late Lou Walters Caldwell of the San Antonio Housing Authority also took time from her busy schedule to drive me around that city’s public housing projects during an early stage of my research. Staff members at the Houston Metropolitan Research Center and the Special Collections at the University of Texas, San Antonio, were particularly helpful. Jean A. Reynolds also guided me to important collections in Phoenix. I also thank Diane Wood for giving me permission to access the late Howard Rabinowitz’s manuscript on Albu- querque and Judy Morely for arranging to get it to me. The Interlibrary Loan Office at the University of Texas (UT), Arlington, also helped me secure hard- to-get materials. In addition, I profited from sessions at the Planning and Urban History Conferences that not only allowed me to present my research findings but also gave me a chance to interact with many scholars researching public housing and urban renewal. I have learned much from them and value their friendship. x Acknowledgments On the basis of what I have heard and read lately, I can say that urban history is alive and well, and the outlook for its future is promising. This book has benefited tremendously from two of the editors of this series, Zane L. Miller and David Stradling. Zane helped me through several drafts of this manuscript and pushed me to clarify arguments and rethink ideas. Those who know his work will see his deep influence on this book. He has mentored me my entire academic life and has demonstrated what it means to be a scholar and a teacher. Words simply cannot express my gratitude for his help with this project and the deep influence he has had on my life. The late Henry P. Shapiro introduced me to the social construct of regions long ago in my first graduate seminar at the University of Cincinnati and is partly responsible for my decision to tackle this topic the way I did. David Stradling gave the book a careful reading and provided encouragement and help in finalizing the manuscript. Two anon- ymous referees provided a thoughtful critique that clearly improved the final product. I also appreciate the support provided by Micah Kleit, executive editor at Temple University Press, and the excellent copyediting job by Susan Deeks. My research benefited from significant support from UT Arlington, includ- ing annual Provost Travel Awards from 2003 to 2009 and travel expenses from the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies and the History of Cartography. In addition, the center provided me with several research assistants in the early stages of research. I particularly thank the center directors, Richard Francavi- glia and Sam Haynes, for their valuable support. A Faculty Development leave in 2003 helped me start the project, and a semester research leave granted for the fall semester of 2011, after I stepped down as department chair, allowed me to complete the project. I thank Dean Beth Wright and Provost Don Bobbitt, who were instrumental in that leave. Don Kyle, former department chair, and Marvin Dulaney, the present chair, also provided financial and moral support for this project. My lovely wife, Emily, and our daughters, Amy, Julia, and Car- olyn, enriched my life in so many ways. I am so thankful that they have been such an important part of my life. I grew up in a family of educators. My older sister and brother, Ruth Fair- banks Joseph and J. David Fairbanks, went on to earn doctorates in medi- eval literature and political science, respectively. I watched as they navigated the world of graduate school and decided the life of an academic was prob- ably more promising than my dream of becoming the catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Thanks to them, it seems it was my destiny that I would end up in gradu- ate school and the profession. I do not know whether my brother and sister have any idea how much they influenced me, or how much I have looked up to them. Both taught me a lot about what life in academics offered, but even more important, they taught me why it is important to be a decent, thoughtful, and compassionate human being. In appreciation of their gifts to me, I dedicate this book to them. The War on Slums in the Southwest Introduction It is apparent that the slum is more than an economic phenomenon. The slum is a sociological phenomenon as well. Based upon a segregation within the economic process, it nevertheless displays characteristic attitudes, characteristic social patterns which differentiate it from adjoining areas. And it is this aspect of slum life that is especially significant from the standpoint of community organization. The slum sets its mark upon those who dwell in it, gives them attitude and behavior problems peculiar to itself. Harvey W. Zorbaugh, The Gold Coast and the Slum Most of the social problems found in slums cannot be traced to the area itself. Undoubtedly, some people live in slums because they have problems or unacceptable behavior patterns. But economic and social conditions, rather than the slum itself, have caused these. Herbert J. Gans, The Urban Villagers t may be surprising to learn that, in a region of the country notorious for its rugged individualism and suspicion of meddling federal government, I most large cities embraced public housing to the applause of civic leaders committed to federally sponsored slum clearance and urban redevelopment.