United States Housing Act of 1937
This page analyzes a single policy using structured scoring, historical evidence, source quality, and measurable outcomes.
Summary
Created the United States Housing Authority and provided federal support for low-income housing and slum clearance, but administration through local authorities often reproduced segregation and unequal access.
How to Read This Record
Impact Reading
Very high documented impact
Evidence Base
Moderate evidence from Government sources.
Data Completeness
Good record with 2 sources and 0 metrics.
Outcome Summary
The law expanded the federal role in housing, but public-housing development and slum-clearance policy were frequently implemented within segregated local systems that limited equitable benefit for Black communities.
Categories
Impact Scores
This score is a structured measure of how directly and materially this policy affected Black communities, weighted by evidence, durability, and equity. Harm offset reduces the total score.
Total Impact Score
24
Directness
2
How explicitly the policy targeted or affected Black communities.
Material Impact
4
The practical real-world effect on conditions, rights, or outcomes.
Evidence
4
Strength of sourcing and historical support for the assessment.
Durability
5
How lasting the effects of the policy were over time.
Equity
2
Whether the policy advanced fairness, inclusion, or equal access.
Harm Offset
1
Any offsetting harms, limitations, exclusions, or contradictory effects that reduce the total.
Scoring Notes: Important federal housing legislation whose practical effects for Black communities were constrained by segregated administration.
Metrics
No metrics added yet.
Suggested Relationships
These policies may be related based on shared categories, era, and proximity in time.
1935 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 2
1934 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 3
1933 • Program • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 4
1944 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era • Mixed
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 7
1956 • Law • Republican Party
Civil Rights Era • Negative
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 19
1964 • Law • Democratic Party
Civil Rights Era • Positive
Shared Categories: 2 • Year Distance: 27
1938 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 1
1935 • Law • Democratic Party
Jim Crow and Disenfranchisement • Mixed
Shared Categories: 1 • Year Distance: 2
Sources
United States Housing Act of 1937
GovInfo • Government
Published: Sep 1, 1937
Statute compilation for the Wagner-Steagall Act creating the United States Housing Authority.
View sourceSummary of Major Legislation, 1933-1940
GovInfo • Government
Historical congressional compilation identifying the Act and the federal housing authority it created.
View source