Public housing is a program, introduced at the federal level in 1937, that provides low-cost housing through public financing through publicly owned and operated multifamily developments. Several cities began providing publicly financed housing before the introduction of the Housing Act of 1937 through their own local programs. Furthermore, it was these types of local programs that helped shape the federal program model. Although there are multiple themes and topics related to public construction, this article will focus exclusively on 6 themes that are fundamental to understanding the history and development of public construction. These issues concern the intended population, financing, the federal public housing authority, local public housing authorities, planning and urban renewal. Public housing was not originally aimed at providing housing for the “extreme” lower class, but was in fact aimed at selected members of the working class. More specifically, the original public housing project was intended to meet the needs of the industrial middle class, who were temporarily unemployed or without adequate employment during the Great Depression. After the conclusion of World War II, many individuals and members of the working class were able to purchase their own homes using low-interest mortgages through the VA and FHA. However, discriminatory practices have taken place through these benefits. In their study, sociologists Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton demonstrate the discriminatory nature of these practices. These benefits were targeted, for the most part, at non-Hispanic whites and consequently helped move non-Hispanic whites to the suburbs while simultaneously keeping blacks. This was done especially in... middle of paper... the infamous issue of the deserving poor was raised and low-income individuals and families had to adapt to certain regulations in order to be allowed to live in public housing. Public housing has also faced many financial difficulties at the federal level due to difficulties with Congress and presidential administrations. Financial problems were also present at the local level and were reflected in bad housing authorities, rising rents and reduced services. The very design of these public housing units also proved problematic, and its most problematic feature was perhaps the segregation between them and the resulting violence. Overall, public housing has failed to be as successful as originally intended, because in practice it has suffered from overcrowding, racial tensions, violence, mismanagement, and financial problems..