Evening star., 1932-08-07
SLUM ELIMINATION
MAPPED BY CITIES.
New York, Newark, CIeve-
land and Philadelphia Have
Best Plans.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. August 6-New York,
Newark Cleveland and Philadelphia
appear to have most definite plans for
reclamation of sluns or blighted areas,
a survey of major cities indicates.
Senator Robert p. Wagner of New
York, has suggested the use of $780,
100000 from the recently established
Government relief funds for the slum
clearance in New York, where several
plans for improvement are extant, and
announced Thursday that he expected
New York City officials to seek a loan
from the Reconstruction Finance Cor
poration for this purpose.
New York has accumulated extern
sive areas of dwellings, inhabitants Of
which live below the minimum require
mentS of health and decency. Other
cities, less old, are in better condition,
but it is an undoubted fact, says Presi-
dent Hoover's conference on home
building and ownership, that millions
of Americans in cities and industrial
villages live below the minimum.
1860 in Single Block.
There is single block in New York
City tenanted by 1850 persons, ac-
cording to the Regional Plan Associa-
as congeSted as the slun1S Of Shanghai.
A City Council Committee in Cleve-
land has made some progress. There
are six blighted areas or slums under
consideration for improvement.
These areas have a total population
Of 5000, and embrace a belt 2-miles
wide around the business district. Re-
habilitation would involve an expendi-
ture of about $160,000,000.
The City Plan Commission, city man
Ager and City Council of Cincinnati are
cooperating in making a survey of the
city, and public ownership is being con-
sidered to concentrate all property in
a given district for improvement.
Indefinite Ideas Cited.
While rather indefinite ideas for
reclamation in Chicago have been pro-
posed, the Chicago Plan Commission
knows of no general plans to reclaim
slum areas.
The major slum area of Chicago in
cludes. roughly. square miles jmme-
diately to the north, west and south of
the city's 'Loop"-a territory which
coast" Now it is populated by some
325,00J persons, many Of whom are Ne
groes.
The Architects Club of Chicago has
recommended slum rehabilitation as a
major objective. 1t favors organiza-
ton of a funded housing trust estate.
In Philadelphia. plans to modernize
old homes into apartments, which may
be rented for as little as Sc per room,
are under way. This work is in private
hands.
Insurance Firm Active
In Newark, a life insurance company
has acquired an entire block of tene-
ments. 1t proposes to sell back to the
city the interior of the block, to be
made into a public park, while itself
building quality dwellings around the
outer edge of the block
st Louis has no definite or compre-
hensive plans although an association
has estimated that about 5000. 900 or
S6,0o0.U00 would be required to re-
habiIitate tenementS for the 100000
persons in st. Louis living in them.
Other cities. somewhat bothered with
the slum problem, have not yet found il
serious enough for detailed and definite
consideration
DR. Edith Elmer Wood, member Of
the Presidents Conference. estimated
more than a third Of the American
people are badly housed. The confer
ence believes at least 10 per cent OF
the population lives in slum conditions