Housing Retrospective

HOUSING RETROSPECTIVE
A chronology of community development and housing for the State of Delaware and nationally.

Please help us to add to and improve this chronology.


DELAWARE		NATIONALLY

The Dutch establish the colony of Zwaanendael near present-day Lewes.	1631

Fort Christina in present-day Wilmington becomes the first settlement of the colony of New Sweden.	1638

Eighteenth Century

Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the Constitution.	1787

	1795	Thomas Paine publishes Agrarian Justice, a critique of landed property and a proposal for a 'national fund' for a guaranteed basic income.





Nineteenth Century

	1825	The Erie Canal is completed, providing a water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.

	1827	Introduction of steam-powered locomotive to the U.S.

WSFS Founded.	1832
City of Wilmington chartered.

	1859	The oil industry is born with the drilling of the first commercial well at Titusville, Crawford County, PA.

	1862	The Homestead Act is signed into law by President Lincoln.

	1869	Transcontinental Railroad is completed.

Part of the Settlement House Movement of the late 1880s, the Italian (later West End) Neighborhood House, is founded by Emily Bissell.	1880s
The Christian Endeavor Society of Wilmington begins a housing program to supplement their outreach to homeless men, later to become the Sunday Breakfast Mission.	1894
Twentieth Century

	1908	Henry Ford introduces the Model T.

	1914	'Martha', the last know passenger pigeon, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.

The Neighborhood House begins serving residents of South Wilmington.	1927

	1929	Stock Market Crash

	1933	The Banking Act of 1933, known as the Glass–Steagall Act, establishes the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and introduces banking reforms, some of which are designed to control speculation.

	1934	The National Housing Act of 1934 creates the Federal Housing Administration. Mortgages terms are extended and down payment requirements are reduced. Discrimination in lending and redlining are condoned.

	1937	U.S. Housing Act of 1937, sometimes called the Wagner-Steagall Act, calling for "decent, safe, and sanitary housing" for all Americans, provides for low-income housing subsidies and the creation of PHAs.
Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) is established.	1938

Construction begins on Wilmington's first housing public housing project in the Eastlake community.	1942

	1944	President Roosevelt signs into law the G.I. Bill of Rights, including the enactment of VA Loan Program.

	1947	William Levitt begins the first Levittown, a planned community on Long Island in Nassau County, New York, helping to provide the template for the suburbanization of the nation.

Leon N. Weiner begins building homes.	1949	The American Housing Act of 1949, adding the word "affordable" to the 1937 act language, expands the federal role in mortgage insurance, public housing, "urban renewal," and rural homeownership.

National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor establishes the NCALL Research Fund.	1955

	1956	Interstate Highway Act begins the subsidization of suburban life, calling for 41,000 miles of new highways.

The Delaware Turnpike opens, extending Interstate 95 which cuts through the neighborhoods of Wilmington.	1963

	1965	Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 creates HUD as cabinet-level agency.

	1966	The Model Cities Program is enacted as part of President Johnson's War on Poverty and Great Society initiatives.

The Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) is created as a public corporation within the Delaware State Department of Housing.	1968	Riots in major cities follow assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Governor Charles Terry deploys the National Guard in Wilmington, where they remain until the end of his term in January 1969.		Civil Rights Act of 1968 (also known as the Fair Housing Act) passed.
		Housing Act of 1968 establishes Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae).

	1969	George C. Romney, HUD Secretary under President Nixon

DSHA becomes part of the Department of Community Affairs	1970	Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 introduces Federal Experimental Housing Allowance Program, Community Development Corporation, and support for new towns.

	1971	The U. S. leaves the the Bretton Woods Accord going off the Gold Exchange Standard.

Better Homes of Seaford builds Chandler Heights I.	1972	Pruitt-Igoe public housing buildings in St. Louis are demolished.
	1973	1973 Oil Crisis .
		President Nixon declares moratorium on housing and community development assistance.

	1974	Housing and Community Development Act consolidates programs into Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
		Section 8 tenant-based certificates increase low-income tenants' choice of housing.

	1975	Home Mortgage Disclosure Act is passed, requiring banks to disclose demographic data on home purchasing and lending.
		New Jersey Supreme Court issues the Mount Laurel decision, mandating affirmative municipal zoning that provides for production of affordable housing in the state's townships.

Milford Housing Development Corporation (MHDC) begins.	1977	Patricia R. Harris, HUD Secretary under President James Carter.
The Ministry of Caring is established.		Urban Development Action Grants (UDAG) give distressed communities funds for residential or nonresidential use.
		Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) passed.

	1979	Inflation hits 19 percent, seriously impacting homebuying and home mortgage loans.
		1979 Energy Crisis

The State Council for People with Disabilities (SCPD) is formed by state law.	1980	Depository Institutions' Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 changes rules governing thrift institutions, expands alternative mortgages.


	1981	Samuel R. Pierce Jr., HUD Secretary under President Ronald Reagan
		Interest rates for FHA-insured mortgages peak at 15.17 percent (up from 7 percent in 1972).

The Delaware Housing Coalition (DHC) is incorporated.	1983	Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 begins Housing Development Action Grant and Rental Rehabilitation programs.

Connections CSP begins providing community-based housing, health care, and employment to poor and homeless..	1985
DHC gets state housing code passed.

Housing Development Fund (HDF) Commission reports	1986	The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC is created under the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

DSHA becomes part of the Delaware Economic Development Office.	1987	Stewart B. McKinney Act sets up programs to help communities deal with homelessness.
Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council (DCRAC) is founded after a study of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data reveals that African Americans are more than seven times more likely to be denied home mortgages than white Americans.
Delaware CRA Protests result in multi-million dollar mortgage & assistance pledges and initiate housing counseling in earnest in the state.

"Homelessness in Delaware" (UD/Urban Affairs & The Salvation Army) released.	1988	Indian Housing Act gives HUD new responsibilities for housing needs of Native Americans and Alaskan Indians.

		Housing and Community Development Act allows sale of public housing to resident management Corporations.
		Fair Housing Amendments Act makes it easier for victims of discrimination to sue, stiffens penalties for offenders.

	1989	Jack F. Kemp, HUD Secretary under President George H. W. Bush.
		National March for Housing Now!
		Financial Institutions' Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act bails out failing thrift institutions.

The Delaware HIV Consortium is formed.	1990	Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act emphasizes homeownership and tenant-based assistance, launches HOME housing block grant.
		The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becomes law.
		The AIDS Housing Opportunity Act of 1990 is passed.
		Low-Income Housing Preservation and Residential Homeownership Act of 1990 fortifies Federal commitment to preservation of -assisted low-income, multifamily housing.

	1992	Federal Housing Enterprises' Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 creates HUD Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to provide public oversight of FNMA and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).

	1993	Henry G. Cisneros, HUD Secretary under President William Clinton.
		Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Community program becomes law as part of Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.

	1995	Blueprint for Reinvention of HUD proposes sweeping changes in public housing reform and FHA, consolidation of other programs into three block grants.

"Homelessness in Delaware Revisited" (UD/Urban Affairs) released.	1996	Homeownership totals 66.3 million American households, the largest number ever.
Delaware Rural Housing Consortium forms.		The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Clinton Welfare Reform) is enacted.

The Delaware Apartment Association (DAA) is formed.	1997	Andrew M. Cuomo, HUD Secretary under President William Clinton

DSHA becomes an independent authority with a cabinet-level standing.	1998	The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA) is passed, aiming to encourage poverty deconcentration, transition from welfare to work, and merging and reforming Section 8 certificate and voucher programs.
Eastlake Hope VI Project funded by HUD.		HUD opens Enforcement Center to take action against HUD-assisted multifamily property owners and other HUD fund recipients who violate laws and regulations.
The Homeless Planning Council of Delaware (HPC) is established.		Congress approves Public Housing reforms to reduce segregation by race and income, encourage and reward work, bring more working families into public housing, and increase the availability of subsidized housing for very poor families.

Delaware Valley Development Company is formed.	1999	The Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act effectively repeals Glass-Steagall provisions that prohibit a bank holding company from owning other financial companies and removes the separation that previously existed between Wall Street investment banks and depository banks

Cornerstone West CDC is created.	2000	America's homeownership rate reaches a new record-high of 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000. A total of 71.6 million American families own their homes - more than at any time in American history.
.		Mel Martinez, HUD Secretary under President George W. Bush
Twenty-First Century

	2001

Manufactured Housing Communities Act passed.	2003

	2004	Alphonso Jackson, HUD Secretary under President George W. Bush

Delaware Rural Housing Consortium disbands.	2005

Diamond State CLT is formed.	2006

Village of Eastlake (HOPE VI) completed.	2007	Financial Crisis and Great Recession
Release of Delaware’s Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness And Reduce Long-Term Homelessness


Interfaith Community Housing Delaware results from merger of Community Housing Inc. (CHI) and Interfaith Housing of Delaware.	2008	The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) creates the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and other recovery initiatives.

Minquadale Village becomes the first resident owned manufactured home community (ROC) in Delaware.	2009	Shaun Donovan, HUD Secretary under President Barack Obama.

		The HEARTH Act reauthorizes McKinney-Vento.
		The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides $787 billion in stimulus funds including money for homelessness and foreclosure prevention.

Foreclosure filings reach an annual record total of 6,400 in Delaware.	2010



Sources: www.hud.gov James Howard Kunstler, The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape (Simon & Schuster, 1993) Florence Wagman Roisman, “End Residential Racial Segregation: Build Communities That Look Like America,” Harvard Law and Policy Review Online, (2008) Shelterforce Magazine, www.nhi.org wikipedia