BiggerPockets Daily A Short History of Public Housing
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Dec 14, 2025 Discover the fascinating history of public housing, tracing its roots from ancient Egypt and Roman times to medieval labor systems. Uncover the impacts of the Industrial Revolution that sparked debates on urban living. Explore early European housing experiments and the failures of Soviet mass housing designs. Learn about the evolution of U.S. public housing from the New Deal to the rise of high-rises. Delve into the shift towards Section 8 and the ongoing debate about housing concentration versus dispersion, while considering future paths for affordable living.
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Public Housing Roots Stretch Back Centuries
- Public housing ideas date back to ancient societies like Egypt and Rome where authorities provided shelter for workers.
- Early forms focused on keeping labor close to work, not on social welfare or democratic input.
Industrialization Forced Housing Reform
- The Industrial Revolution created dense, unsanitary urban slums that pressured governments to act on housing.
- Early responses combined private charity and later government interventions driven by labor activism.
Soviet Mass Housing As A Cautionary Tale
- The Soviet Union built massive, rapid apartment blocks (Khrushchev-era) as a universal housing solution.
- Matt Mir describes them as utilitarian and soul-crushing examples of an intended utopia gone wrong.