A photograph of the New York City Housing Authoritys exhibition at the 1939-40 Worlds Fair provides a reference to the central role exhibitions have played in promoting housing policies. A 1949 propaganda film with the uncanny title “For the Living” features Mayor Robert F. Wagner holding forth on the need for slum clearance and public housing. A mimeographed letter template outlines options for replacement housing meant for residents of those “slums.” A 1975 flyer “Stop Racism in Forest Hills. Join the fight for decent housing for ALL People” illustrates a contentious effort to integrate housing in Queens. A model of Richard Meiers 1971 Twin Parks Northeast in the Bronx sits nearby SHoPs Domino Sugar Factory, currently under construction in Brooklyn. And Andrew Moores large-format photographs bring to life “affordable housing” today. This wealth of diverse material, rounded out by interactive features like the Center for Urban Pedagogys digital “What is Affordable Housing” toolkit and the Citizens Housing and Planning Councils “Inside the Rent” app, manage to convey not only why government is involved in affordable housing (because the private sector alone cant, or wont, provide it), but who that housing is for (a wide spectrum of individuals who otherwise wouldnt have a place to live).
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