The Great Society was President Lyndon Johnson's idea for reforming the nation, though it was not called that until 1964. Two of Johnson's main goals were to eliminate poverty and racial injustice.
There were many parts to Johnson's Great Society; one of those was to renew urban areas. Since the end of WWII, there had been a shortage of decent, affordable housing in cities. With the changing economy and the suburbanization, many businesses were moving out of the cites, a shift that was only catalyzed by the increase in urban riots. As a result of this, the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 established the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This also extended the funding for public housing. Aid was also provided to cities to improve the conditions of some run-down areas.
The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 also added new programs to the ones that had gained funding. These included providing rent subsidies to the elderly and disabled, grants to poor homeowners, and ways for veterans to obtain mortgages for very low down-payments among other things. It also required cities to enact a code specifying the minimum standards for housing before being allowed to participate.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was obviously a great success as it is still around today.
I really didn't find this all that interesting. I do think it was good that money was given to help rebuild cities as well as the other things.
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Fun Fact (from here): The department's first head, Robert Weaver, was also the first African American cabinet member in US history!
--I thought I'd share that as i thought it was really cool.=)
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Well done!!