In 1929, America entered the Great Depression, with around 50% of housing loans in default and unemployment rates nearing 25%, leading to a collapse of the real estate industry.
Wealthy people began fleeing city centers, once-prosperous districts became flooded with sewage, houses fell into disrepair due to age, and the lack of clean water sources and infrastructure made living conditions extremely poor.
Against this backdrop, housing authorities were established all over the country, enacting relevant acts and undertaking the improvement of urban residential environments in hopes of eliminating slums in the cities.
After World War II, America experienced a trend of suburbanization, with the white middle class who once lived in city centers moving en masse to safer, cleaner, and more accessible suburban satellite towns, leaving the city centers to be increasingly occupied by Black people, as slums reemerged.
