The Housing Problem: Social Work Roles In the Development, Implementation, and Evolution of Public Housing In the 20th Century

Background & Purpose: Public housing became a cornerstone of U.S. social welfare policy during the 1930s and remains an important social safety net for millions of low-income families. Social workers played important roles in shaping public housing policy to address the housing problem – the widespread shortage of affordable housing characterized by overcrowding, high rents, and substandard living conditions. However, the contributions of social workers to public housing policy remain largely unknown. This study addressed these knowledge gaps by examining the following research question: 1) What roles did social workers play in the development, implementation, and evolution of public housing policies during the 20th century?

Methods: This study utilized historical research methods, including archival data collection and document analysis. Primary archival data were collected from the Social Welfare History Archives at the University of Minnesota and the National Conference on Social Welfare Proceedings at the University of Michigan. Source materials included: 1) National Housing Conference Records, 2) National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers Records, and 3) United Neighborhood Houses of New York Records. Collectively, these materials included critical documentation of the intersections between social work and public housing policy in the U.S.

Results: Analysis suggests that social workers were leaders at the forefront of public housing policy in the U.S. during the early 20^th century. Social workers documented poor living conditions and advocated for housing reform, particularly through the work of the Charity Organization Society (COS) and Settlement House Movement (SMH). These organizations were instrumental in transforming housing issues from private troubles into public concerns throughout the Progressive Era. Two prominent social workers, Mary Kingsbury Simkhovitch (1867-1951) and Edith Elmer Wood (1871-1945), significantly influenced public housing policy. In the 1920s, they emerged as leaders of an influential advocacy group, The Housers, which pushed for a national government-subsidized public housing program. Simkhovitch founded the Public Housing Conference (PHC) in 1932, the first coalition of organizations focused on addressing housing issues through public policy. Simkhovitch served as the PHC's first president (1932-1943), while Wood served as vice president and director (1932-1945). They acted as connectors between disparate advocacy groups to create a unified public housing movement. Their collective efforts led to the passage of the first national public housing legislation, including the Housing Act of 1937 (established the public housing program) and the landmark Housing Act of 1949 (slum clearance, public housing expansion, urban renewal). Following these policy changes, social workers largely shifted their attention from legislative advocacy to policy implementation, taking on administrative and program-delivery roles within newly established Public Housing Authorities (PHAs). The decline of social workers’ involvement in public housing policy has remained remarkably stable despite renewed focus on new manifestations of the housing problem.

Conclusions & Implications: Findings suggest that social workers once occupied a central role in the housing policy arena, which began receding in the 1950s. Recent calls to reimagine affordable housing should prompt the profession to reflect on the past for lessons to inform future housing policy that improves living conditions for marginalized populations.