findings and purpose

findings and purpose Sec. 710. (a) The Congress finds that this Nation is likely to experience during the remaining years of this century a population increase of about seventy-five million persons. (b) The Congress further finds that continuation of established patterns of urban development, together with the anticipated increase in population, will result in (1) inefficient and wasteful use of land resources which are of national economic and environmental importance; (2) destruction of irreplaceable natural and recreational resources and increasing pollution of air and water; (3) diminished opportunity for the private homebuilding industry to operate at its highest potential capacity in providing good housing needed to serve the expanding population and to replace substandard housing; (4) costly and inefficient public facilities and services at all levels of government; (5) unduly limited options for many of our people as to where they may live, and the types of housing and environment in which they may live; (6) failure to make the most economic use of present and potential resources of many of the Nation’s smaller cities and towns, including those in rural and economically depressed areas, and decreasing employment and business opportunities for their 84 Stat. 1794residents; (7) further lessening of employment and business opportunities for the residents of central cities and of the ability of such cities to retain a tax base adequate to support vital services for all their citizens, particularly the poor and disadvantaged; (8) further separation of people within metropolitan areas by income and by race; (9) further increases in the distances between the places where people live and where they work and find recreation; and (10) increased cost and decreased effectiveness of public and private facilities for urban transportation. (c) The Congress further finds that better patterns of urban development and revitalization are essential to accommodate future population growth; to prevent further deterioration of the Nation’s physical and social environment; and to make positive contributions to improving the overall quality of life within the Nation. (d) The Congress further finds that the national welfare requires the encouragement of well-planned, diversified, and economically sound new communities, including major additions to existing communities, as one of several essential elements of a consistent national program for lettering patterns of development and renewal. (e) The Congress further finds that desirable new community development on a significant national scale has been prevented by difficulties in (1) obtaining adequate financing at moderate cost for enterprises which involve large initial capital investment, extensive periods before investment can be returned, and irregular patterns of return; (2) the timely assembly of sufficiently large sites in economically favorable locations at reasonable cost; and (3) making necessary arrangements, among all private and public organizations involved, for providing site and related improvements (including streets, sewer and water facilities, and other public and community facilities) in a timely and coordinated manner. (f) It is, therefore, the purpose of this part to provide private developers and State and local public bodies and agencies (including regional or metropolitan public bodies and agencies) with financial and other assistance necessary for encouraging the orderly development of well-planned, diversified, and economically sound new communities, including major additions to existing communities, and to do so in a manner which will rely to the maximum extent on private enterprise; strengthen the capacity of State and local governments to deal with local problems; preserve and enhance both the natural and urban environment; increase for all persons, particularly members of minority groups, the available choices of locations for living and working, thereby providing a more just economic and social environment; encourage the fullest utilization of the economic potential of older central cities, smaller towns, and rural communities; assist in the efficient production of a steady supply of residential, commercial, and industrial building sites at reasonable cost; increase the capability of all segments of the home-building industry, including both small and large producers, to utilize improved technology in producing the large volume of well-designed, inexpensive housing needed to accommodate population growth; help create neighborhoods designed for easier access between the places where people live and the places where they work and find recreation; and encourage desirable innovation in meeting domestic problems whether physical, economic, or social. It is also the purpose of this part to improve the organizational capacity of the Federal Government to carry out programs of assistance for the development of new communities and the revitalization of the Nation’s urban areas.