Housing and Community Development Act of 1974

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When Congress passed the HCD Act of 1974, it broke down the barriers of prevailing practice - where under separate categorical programs, the Federal Government had made the decisions about every community development project undertaken by cities. The HCD Act departed from this model by creating the CDBG program. CDBG merged 7 categorical programs into a block of flexible community development funds distributed each year by a formula that considers population and measures of distress including poverty, age of housing, housing overcrowding, and growth lag. Grantees now determine what activities they will fund as long as certain requirements are met, including that each activity is eligible and will meet one of the three broad national objectives of the program.

HUD-701 Comprehensive Planning Assistance Grant Program was one of the components and was ammended from its original form in the Housing Act of 1954.

Date: 
June, 1974
Image: 
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