Housing Act of 1949, Pub. L. 81-171, 63 Stat. 413 (July 15, 1949)

The federal statute under which local agencies were paid to clear land. Section 2 declares the goal of “the elimination of substandard and other inadequate housing through the clearance of slums and blighted areas, and the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.” Title I lets the Administrator lend to local public agencies for “the assembly, clearance, preparation, and sale and lease of land for redevelopment,” and limits a local agency’s aggregate capital grants to two-thirds of the aggregate net project costs of its projects (Sec. 103(a); net project cost per Sec. 110(f) is gross project cost less land sale prices and imputed lease values), with local grants-in-aid of at least one-third of net project cost. This record does not establish what any Philadelphia project did with that money; it establishes the instrument.