DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN 



DEVELOPMENT 



Submitted by Raymond J. Struyk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research! and Demonstration 



HUD'S Mission 



The year of 1977 has been one of searching reex- 

 amination of the historic roles and missions of the 

 Department of Housing and Urban Development 

 (HUD). Our communities have suffered years of 

 neglect, and many are edging close to fiscal disas- 

 ter. Housing costs have climbed more rapidly than 

 incomes and now owner-occupancy is no longer 

 feasible for many ordinary families. Overt and 

 subtle forms of discrimination continue to limit the 

 neighborhood and housing choices of many fami- 

 lies, and aid to the housing-poor has undergone 

 stop-and-go turmoil. 



In the face of this challenge, HUD's new leaders 

 have rededicated the Department to its urban serv- 

 ice role, with the following major mission objec- 

 tives: 



Revitalization of the Nation's urban areas. HUD 

 seeks to revitalize the Nation's urban areas by: 



• Preserving existing neighborhoods, using sub- 

 sidies for existing housing, urban homestead- 

 ing, rehabilitation programs, and new con- 

 struction 



• Providing incentives for middle income citi- 

 zens to return to or remain in central cities 



• Providing subsidized housing for low and 

 moderate income persons who wish to stay in 

 central cities 



• Coordinating economic development with 

 urban development initiatives and encourag- 

 ing reinvestment in the neighborhoods, link- 

 ing lenders, neighborhoods, and city govern- 

 ments. 



Use of housing programs as aid to revitalization 

 and to provide necessary shelter for all citizens. 

 Through the use of housing programs, HUD seeks 

 to: 



• Expand supplies of housing for low and mod- 

 erate income persons without regard to vola- 

 tile economic changes 



• Maintain existing housing supplies through 

 major rehabilitation efforts; provide incen- 

 tives for creation of an expanded rehabilita- 

 tion industry 



• Provide sufficient support services — social, 

 commercial, and recreational — to ensure that 

 subsidized housing is an integral part of revi- 

 talization effort 



• Utilize housing assistance plans to their full 

 potential as tools for using housing in revitali- 

 zation efforts 



• Use HUD inventory in imaginative ways to 

 house the poor and aid revitalization. 



Provision of freedom of choice in housing for all 

 persons. HUD seeks to provide freedom of choice 

 in housing in order to: 



• Provide meaningful choices, i.e., establish 

 different program options for different types 

 of consumers 



• Involve communities in suburban areas with 

 interagency coordination to rationalize exist- 

 ing programs for sewers, water, mass transit, 

 and jobs 



• Advise people on the range of choices availa- 

 ble and the concurrent responsibilities of such 

 choices (counseling, technical services) 



• Ensure that all people of all races and income 

 levels have the opportunity to live where they 

 choose — not just in cities, but suburbs and 

 rural areas as well 



• Coordinate various Federal housing programs 

 in Farmers Home Administration, Veterans 

 Administration, and HUD. 



Increase in the capability of communities and 

 neighborhoods to achieve revitalization. HUD seeks 

 to help communities and neighborhoods in their 

 revitalization efforts by: 



• Facilitating the exchange of imaginative ap- 

 proaches and related knowledge 



• Providing management expertise to aid com- 

 munities in efficiently using State, local. Fed- 

 eral, and private funds 



• Helping neighborhood groups to deal with the 

 complexities of using available resources in 

 revitalization and stabilization efforts. 



HUD's research program is intended to provide 

 the analytic capability to help the Department's 

 top managers carry out these objectives. The de- 

 velopment of effective operating programs and the 

 selection of the best alternative among competing 



HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT 117 



