The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1942-04-17

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ers. From a production standpoint,
a city OF 100000 or So where there
Is available power, transportation
and proximity to not only raw ma
terials but also to the final assem-
bly, plants, is chosen. The purely
manufacturing aspects having been
settled, the labor supply problem
comes next and right with it, the
problem of sheltering workers. This
Is where the fun begins.
First, the labor force must be
analysed for skills. How many ma
chtnists, machine operators, semi
skilled workers, common laborers,
men and women, married and
single, will be needed? What win
their pay be? Pay scales determine
the amount workers can pay for
rent or towards purchase Of home
of their own.
1901 QUESTIONS
The next step is TO look at the
local labor supply. How many are
unemployed now? Say 1000. How
many have the right skills to work
in this new 5000-man plant? say
1000. That will leave 1000 in
migrants to be supplied.
How many Of these 1000 in
migrants can be sheltered in exist
ing dwellings, How many vacancies
are there - houses, apartments,
rooms-for sale or for rent--and
how many are suitable for these
new citizens? Assume 1000 vacant
housing units are revealed in tins
survey. That would leave 5000 20
be supplied.
How permanent is this plant to
be2 VIII 1t keep going after Tie
war, win 1t cut down so per cent,
or Is 1t purely defense plant tina:
will shut down completely the day
peace comes? The answer is I'M
portant, for 1t will determine
whether this new housing is to be
permanent or temporary construc-
/ ton.
Then comes survey OF the local
building and real estate circles.
How much housing can private
capital supply? viii the local banks
help finance new housing? Real
Estate Board and Builders Ex-
change have to figure on this, too.
Maybe they'll do 1t all, and maybe
they'll balk at the whole idea, fig-
uring this new const ruction will
over-build the community, driving
rents down after the war is over.
BATTLE OF LOCATIONS
In most cases, private building
interests can handle part of the
job, usually providing houses and
apartments that will rent to higher
paid workers. For low income
groups, government subsidized hous-
Ing often has to provide the smell
ter. Suppose the split Is $3.50.
That means the government must
provide in this typical, mythical
case some 1860 units, per haps half
to be permanent, half to be tenn
porary some dormitories for single
workers, the rest family units.
Then comes the battle of Local
tons. Where will the city permit
the new housing to go up so that
it won't compete with housing al
ready available? If the location is
on the other side of the tracks,
what about public utilities-sewers,
streets, schools, hospitals, shopping
facilities? The municipality may
be broke and taxpayers unwilling
to assume another bond issue. The
federal government has to foot the
bill in that case.
All these housing headaches are
no exaggeration. Every defense or
war housing project must by law
be approved by the President. Get
ting all this data ready for sub
mission to the White House means
that the Federal Public Housing
Authority must prepare careful
analyses ard surveys with their rec
concentrations. These are known
technically as LPR's-Local Project
Reports. There's one for every de-
tense critical area in the country.