Model Cities Program

The Model Cities Program was an element of United States President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and War on Poverty. The ambitious federal urban aid program ultimately fell short of its goals.

Authorized November 3, 1966 by the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966, the program ended in 1974. Model Cities originated in response to several concerns of the mid-1960s. Widespread urban violence, disillusionment with existing urban renewal programmes, and bureaucratic difficulties in the first years of the War on Poverty led to calls for reform of federal programmes. The Model Cities initiative created a new program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) intended to improve coordination of existing urban programs. Several still troubled cities including Detroit, Oakland, Newark and Camden received funding. The program's initial goals emphasized comprehensive planning, involving not just rebuilding but also rehabilitation, social service delivery, and citizen participation. In 1969 the Nixon administration officially changed course; however in the majority of cities, citizen participation mechanisms continued to play an important role in local decision-making.

Smithville, Tennessee (in DeKalb County), the smallest city to receive such funding, is an example of a city that benefited from the Model Cities Project. Congressman Joe L. Evins secured his hometown's inclusion in the project. Several buildings in downtown Smithville, such as the Dekalb County Court House and the Smithville City Hall, were built from funds from the Model Cities Project. They are still in use as of 2008 and make up a good portion of the downtown landscape.

Pikeville, Kentucky was the location of one of the biggest Model Cities projects. The Pikeville Cut-Through is 1,300 feet (0.40 km) wide, 3,700 feet (1.1 km) long, and is 523 feet (0.159 km) deep.^[1] The project was completed in 1987 following 14 years of work at a cost of $77.6 million. The cut-through provides a path for a four-lane highway, a CSX railroad line, and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River, which snaked through the downtown area, to eliminate almost yearly flooding. The river bed then was reclaimed by depositing fill from the cut-through into the old riverbed, significantly increasing the available space for development within the city.^[2]

McAlester, Oklahoma, represented by Speaker of the House Carl Albert, was another Model Cities site. There, the program was instrumental in acquiring the land for a regional hospital, among other projects.

References

1. ^ http://www.pikecountychamber.org/index.php?n=11&id=51 Cut-Through page on Pike Co. Chamber of Commerce site
2. ^ http://www.pikecountychamber.org/index.php?n=11&id=51 Cut-Through page on Pike Co. Chamber of Commerce site