Abstract
Throughout the twentieth century, government agencies played a powerful role in creating and sustaining racially separate and segregated housing in Dade County, Florida. This pattern of housing segregation initially was imposed early through official policies of "racial zoning," During the New Deal era of lhe 1930s, federal housing policies were implemented at the local level to maintain legally segregated housing and neighborhoods. Such policies included the appraisal system established by the federal Home Owners Loan Corporation, which helped to create the discriminatory lending system known as "redlining." In addition, under the New Deal's federally sponsored public housing program, local housing authorities established segregated public housing projects. In the post-World War II years, old agendas for racial segregation continued to be carried out under still newer government programs, including the minority housing programs of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, the urban redevelopment and urban renewal programs of the federal housing acts of 1949 and 1954, and the vast interstate highway program. Local decision-making and implementation of all these programs perpetuated the racial segregation of Dade County neighborhoods and public housing projects.
Recommended Citation
Mohl, Raymond A.
(2000)
"Whitening Miami: Race, Housing, and Government Policy in Twentieth-Century Dade County,"
Florida Historical Quarterly: Vol. 79:
No.
3, Article 6.
Available at:
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/fhq/vol79/iss3/6
