Urban Impact Assessment: An Update and Commentary

In bill urban policy speech of March 27, 1978, President Carter promised to establish new procedures to require federal agencies to identify potential impacts of their proposed action on America's cities before decisions on those actions are made. This policy was announced because it had become apparent that some federal programs designed to help segments of the population were inadvertently having negative effects on other segments, especially the urban areas. For example, the federal highway program provided a convenient transporation link between the cities and the suburbs. The resulting abandonment of the older cities as a place of residence may be viewed as an unintended negative effect of these programs, insofar as it contributed to the present depressed nature of many of the country's older cities.