Housing Act of 1949 is adopted in Washington, D.C.

Signed by President Harry Truman, the law’s Title 1 creates the urban renewal program in Boston and other cities by making $500 million available to Local Public Authorities (LPAs) to acquire, clear, and assemble large parcels of property in blighted areas for residential urban redevelopment. The law is expanded in the Housing Acts of 1954* and 1961.*