So we see, as we look back, 30 years of effort to improve the housing condi tions of our population that can most aptly be described as too little and too late. How many more years will go by before we embark on the vast and imaginative program required to make a reality of the 1949 declaration of housing policy: "*** a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family."

The National Urban League commends the administration for proposing a housing act

1. That would increase the number of public housing units by utilizing some 100,000 vacant units in the existing supply;

2. That combines ingenuity and imagination in meeting some of the problems that have cropped up in the public housing and urban renewal programs; 3. That would substantially ease the burden of many elderly persons in urban renewal areas; and

4. That would extend service and protection to purchasers of FHA- and VA-insured homes.

However, the league would point out that our past efforts to solve the housing needs of the American people have been traditionally too little and too late. The league would call on the President and the Congress of this administration, to here and now resolve to fulfill the dream of all Americans for a decent home, by initiating the unconditional war on poverty with a vastly expanded and urgently executed housing program to satisfy the housing needs of the lowand middle-income group, the elderly, the nonwhite, the migrating, and the new families we anticipate.

Low-rent public housing is the most essential element of our country's housing program. It is the only program which can effectively meet the needs of 20 percent of our country's families by providing decent and adequate units at rents that these low-income families can afford. Moreover, urban renewal, school construction, and other public improvements will be severely handicapped and frequently do grind to a complete halt unless low-rent public housing is available to house the low-income families displaced by such programs.

Let's look at America's public housing need and the possibilities of meeting it. The 1960 census reports there were a total of 13.9 million families, some 31 percent, with incomes under $4,000 a year. Eighty-one percent, or 11.3 million were white families. Six and a third million million, or 45 percent of the 13.9 million were living in substandard housing. White families were approximately 69 percent, or 4.4 million, and nonwhites were approximately 30 percent, or 1.9 million families. At the proposed allocation of 60,000 public housing units a year, it will take us about 100 years to house these families adequately.

Let's look at one State's public housing need and the possibilities of meeting it. The New York State Temporary Commission on Low-Income Housing recently estimated New York's public housing need as 220,000 units. As New York usually gets 15 percent of the Federal public housing authorization, it can expect under the proposal approximately 9,000 units a year. At this rate, it will take approximately 25 years for New York State to meet its currently estimated public housing need.

Let's look at the nonwhite public housing need. The nonwhite population, according to the 1960 census, is approximately 20.5 million persons, or some 11 percent of the population. About 10.3 million, or a little more than one-half of the total nonwhite population are city dwellers. In the total nonwhite population, there are approximately $5.2 million households. And the median nonwhite family income is $3,987.

Approximately 20 percent, or 628,494 nonwhite families were living in dilapidated rented dwellings. Some 74 percent of the nonwhite renter families were living in buildings constructed in 1939 or earlier. About 17 percent, or 547,191 nonwhite renter families were living in seriously overcrowded dwellings. And 234,848, or about 12 percent nonwhite owners were living in dilapidated dwellings. About 9 percent or 175,942 nonwhite owners were living in seriously overcrowded dwellings.

On the basis of income, we can estimate that approximately 2 million nonwhite families are in need of low-rent public housing. Perhaps a more conservative estimate would be the families in dilapidated units, a total of about 860,000. However, if we adjust this by adding the overcrowded families in deteriorating dwellings, we arrive at an estimate of 1,055,000, rounded to an estimated 1 million nonwhite families in need of low-rent public housing. At the proposed levels it will take another 30 years before the currently estimated nonwhite public housing need is met.

In recent months we have witnessed in America a new kind of ferment, "the rent strike," occurring in a number of cities and threatened in a number of others. Rent strikes are a way for many low-income families to take action against the substandard and dilapidated housing they are forced to occupy. Such strikes are a way of forcing repair of the dilapidated buildings in which they are forced to live because of an inadequate supply of decent, safe, and sanitary housing. Rent strikes dramatize the suffering and discontent of poor families who are tired of waiting for repairs; waiting for private enterprise or governmental action to improve their housing conditions; waiting for an adequate supply of decent, safe, and sanitary housing.

Rent strikes testify most dramatically to the need for more low-rent housing, for expediting the efforts of Federal, State, and city governments to solve the inadequate housing conditions our people have lived with for more than 30 years, and for this Congress to abandon tokenism and to authorize a tremendously expanded public housing, urban renewal, and middle-income program that could truly initiate an unconditional war on poverty. The signs are there for all of us to see; demonstrations are becoming a popular method for the disadvantaged to express their discontent. Our affluent country and society could become embroiled in embarrassing, dangerous, and difficult-to-control demonstrations by the so-called invisible poor, seeking more adequate housing for their families.

Next to public housing, probably the most pressing need for adequate housing is the so-called middle-income group that earns between $4,000 and $6,000 a year. This group, which contains some 23 percent of our American families, find themselves earning too much to be eligible for public housing and too little to afford new housing adequate for their needs. All too frequently families in this group are forced to resort to substandard or badly deteriorating housing. Such families present quite a problem for local urban renewal officials, as too often they find insufficient and inadequate housing to meet this group's need in the existing supply and great difficulty in trying to construct or find new units at low enough room costs. To illustrate the dimensions of this problem, in one urban renewal program, 98 out of the 392 families to be displaced have incomes between $4,000 and $6,000. A multifamily middle-income development is to be constructed in the renewal area. Based on the proposed rents and maximum incomes, 30 of the 98 families will be able to afford the new housing. Put another way, 58 of the famiiles, or about 70 percent of these families will be extremely difficult to relocate in the existing market.

In spite of the census reports to the effect that the housing problems of nonwhites improved somewhat between 1950 and 1960, the nonwhite homeseeker faces an almost impossible job of providing an adequate dwelling for his family. The New York Times on Sunday, February 16, 1964, reported the bombing of the home of an urban league executive in Warren, Ohio, because he had the temerity to move into a previously all-white community. "No vacancy" or "not for sale" is still the usual answer to the average nonwhite middle-income homeseeker, as attested all too frequently by news reports from the "Levitt" style developments. Some 188,000 nonwhite families in 21 metropolitan areas throughout the country have incomes in excess of $6,000 a year. One study (HHFA) reported that nonwhites with incomes between $7,000 and $10,000 made a potential market of approximately 45,000 units.

Several studies, as well as the experiences of builders, have demonstrated that where there are no racial barriers nonwhite families tend to disperse throughout the community. Thereby, demonstrating that where there are no restrictive racial barriers, communities are not in danger of inundation. The key, then, to this longstanding myth, is the availability of a large volume and variety of adequate and competitively priced housing, without racial restrictions as to sales and occupancy. Within this frame of reference the nonwhite homeseeker will make his decision on the same basis as others-good schools, decent community, and the size of his bankroll.

Slightly over a year ago, President Kennedy signed the Executive order on equal opportunity in housing. Prior to and subsequent to this order there was much consternation in some quarters based on fears that implementation of the order would destroy the homebuilding industry and make ghettos out of every suburban community. Now we know that these fears were unfounded. building industry was not destroyed. Some previously all white communities are now integrated by one or two nonwhite families. The anticipated suburban ghettos did not materialize.

The

In fact, now even Mr. Levitt is urging that the Executive order be extended to conventional builders. Indeed, this is the same process that has occurred in

New York and other States where antibias laws originally covered publicly assisted housing, but have been extended to cover private housing, often at the urging of the builders.

Instead of a mass uprising of indignant and threatened white homeowners, geared to protest, we have witnessed the spontaneous creation of voluntary citizens groups, composed of white homeowners, working positively to integrate and stabilize their communities. In the last few years, more than 400 such fair housing committees have organized and are working diligently to achieve integrated housing in their community. Successful efforts are being reported from Washington, D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Madison, Wis., Cleveland, New York State, California, New Jersey, and many more areas in our country. One recent report estimates that there are currently over 45 Negro families living in Levittown, N.J.

"While we cannot hope to eliminate man's inhumanity to man, we can do more than just mourn," said Whitney M. Young, Jr., executive director of the National Urban League, in a recent speech to leaders of the United Funds and Councils of America. He went on to say, "We have an opportunity and an obligation to strike off in new directions. To consider the Negro's struggle not just as a battle between black and white, but as the more basic conflict between good and evil; between decent people who care and want to help, and evil people who are indifferent or want to destroy." I would add that the real significance of the contemporary civil rights demonstration is the impatience of the Negro and other minorities with the status quo after 100 years of unfulfilled promises and their determination to achieve equality, as well as better jobs, better education, and better housing. The National Urban League has therefore called for a "domestic Marshall plan"-an expanded program by Government, as well as private business, to provide special assistance to the economically and culturally deprived, in order to correct current inequities and expedite equal participation in America's dynamic democracy by the Negro, the elderly, and the poor.

The National Urban League would urge this subcommittee and the Congress to approve in principle the proposed Housing and Community Development Act of 1964.

The National Urban League would urge this subcommittee and the Congress to increase the authorization for low-income units to 400,000 annually for the next 5 years.

The National Urban League would urge this subcommittee, the Congress, and the Housing and Home Finance Agency to devise new and imaginative ways to increase the production of rental and sales housing geared for the economic and shelter needs of 10.5 million American families that earn between $4,000 and $6,000.

The National Urban League would urge the President to expand the Executive order on equal opportunity in housing to cover all conventionally financed housing.

The National Urban League would urge this subcommittee and the Congress to increase the budget of the President's Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing to provide adeqaute staff for the Committee to perform effectively its responsibilities of education and enforcement.

Senator CLARK. The next witness is Homer Hoyt, president of Homer Hoyt Associates.

Mr. Hoyt, I note that your statement is pretty short. Do you want to read it or would you rather summarize it?

STATEMENT OF HOMER HOYT, PRESIDENT, HOMER HOYT ASSOCIATES, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. HoYT. I will summarize it to save time.

Senator CLARK. Fine. We will have it printed in full in the record then.

Mr. HOYT. During my experience in planning and real estate the last 40 years I think this is the most constructive bill that I have ever heard of.

I am a member of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers and Lambda Alpha, formerly a director of research, Chicago Plan

Commission, and the New York Regional Plan Association and I have been making surveys throughout the United States.

I want to emphasize just one point on community development and one matter in regard to that, Federal Government loans for sewer and water systems.

Now, at the annual rate of 2 million dwelling units a year that are necessary to take care of population growth and replacing wornout houses there would be 74 million houses built between now and the year 2000, enough to rebuild America. The question is: Will that take place in urban sprawl or in planned communities?

Heretofore, in or around any city, as soon as the sewer and water is extended, those areas become densely built up, and the land becomes very high, very expensive. There is no room for recreation or playgrounds because the land is too high priced.

Now, the first step in a national program, I think, the President should set up a committee to determine where new communities should be built, because houses are not on wheels, and if you build them where there are no jobs you have established a permanent pauper colony.

But considering all the areas of the country that have the opportunity for employment, where should these new communities be established?

Now, the indispensable requisite, in my opinion, for new communities is a central sewer system and supply of pure water. There are areas all over the United States, and I know of one in which I have a personal interest 15 miles from here, in the great Pohick Valley in Fairfax County, where only a few people live at present, and where the sewers would empty into the Potomac below the water intake. Yet it is undeveloped and vacant. And when there are no people there it is impossible to finance a sewer bond issue.

Now, which comes first? The sewer or the people?

A Government guarantee of bonds for a sewer system or a loan for a sewer system would immediately enable those communities to develop. But this guarantee or loan would always be conditioned on the adoption of a master plan for that community, and it would allocate the space and would also make available much greater areas of land for development than are available now. It would not cost the Federal Government a penny nor add a dollar to the national debt, because the mere guarantee or loan would be sufficient to enable the sewers to be built, because everybody everywhere pays in one form or another, in rent or cost of houses, for the sewer and water systems. They pay interest and amortization on the sewer bonds.

So the only problem is to get the thing started.

Now, the manner in which this development should take place, I believe, would be in the form of clusters. That is, all of the land could be developed, but some areas with better soil conditions, better topography would have more intense development, but that would be determined by master plan with which all the owners would be glad to conform because without it they cannot develop their property at all.

Already we have developments like Reston, 6,800 acres, and Carl Freeman's and Edward Carr's communities where one organization owning large tracts of land can develop ideal communities.

This bill would permit all these suburban areas to develop in ideal communities, because all the different owners could conform to this master plan.

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I have, 10 years ago, with Mr. Joseph Intermaggio, developed such a plan for Fairfax County, Va., a copy of which is attached to my statement. This is just a generalized plan. It was just the idea. The actual plan, of course, will be different because the planning commission will find out what areas are suitable to development, which are

not.

But my plan of 10 years ago shows a series of clusters with the open areas in between. Some would be parks. Some would be estates. All the land would be used in varying degrees of density. It would not be developed in a helter-skelter hodgepodge but according to a systematic, orderly plan.

Now, this bill, if enacted into law, would make possible the rebuilding of the whole United States, because as many additional houses will be built by the year 2000 as now exist. And the question is: Can we have these orderly communities all over the country?

I speak of Fairfax County, but I have been all over the United States, as well as all around Washington. It applies to counties around here; to Philadelphia; Suffolk County, N.Y.; California; every city and community in the country has the opportunity to develop these model communities which I think should be in the form of clusters or communities in which there would be places of employment, saving the journey to work, shopping centers, schools, everything complete, although some, of course, would be commuting.

They would be located on belt highways. They would have transportation.

That is the greatest hope that I can possible conceive of. And this bill is a means for doing it. That is why I voluntarily appear here as an individual, as a private consultant, in support of this bill.

Senator CLARK. Thank you very much, Mr. Hoyt.

Senator Tower.

Senator TOWER. Mr. Hoyt, I am sorry I am not too familiar with your organization. Would you tell me the nature of it, what it does? Mr. Hort. The organization, Homer Hoyt Associates, makes market surveys all over the United States and in Canada and in Puerto Rico for shopping centers, for apartments, for determining the economic feasibility. I make appraisals of large areas of land, some in the Indian Claims Commission cases as much as 51 million acres. I made the market survey for the 20th Century-Fox Film Corp., of Century City, in Los Angeles, a complex of office buildings, apartments, a hotel, and shopping center.

I make private individual surveys. I am supported by fees paid by my clients for determining the economic feasibility of these projects.

I have made surveys for all the counties in the Washington area 10 years ago. I was employed by the counties to make the surveys for the best uses of their land.

I made an economic survey for the State of New Jersey. I have applied principles that I developed as a professor, in books that I have written. I am coauthor of a textbook on the principles of real estate. And I have worked consistently with planning commissions for a better development of the land in the United States, a more livable, more workable patterns, as a private individual, as a consultant, that performs these functions I described.

Senator TOWER. Thank you.