B. PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF NEGRO HOUSING
The purpose of this section of the report is to describe by a selection of types the physical condition of houses occupied as residences by Negroes. This description includes the structure, age, repair, upkeep, and other factors directly affecting the appearance, sanitation, and comfort of dwellings available for Negro use.
In 1909 the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy included Negro housing in a series of general housing studies. This study was confined to the two largest areas of Negro residence, those on the South and West sides. Both of these were studied generally, and in each a selected area, of four blocks in one case and three blocks in the other, was studied intensively.
The South Side area included parts of the Second, Third, and Thirteenth wards between Fifteenth and Fifty-fifth streets, with State Street as the main thoroughfare. The four blocks bounded by Dearborn Street, Twenty-seventh Street, Armour Avenue, and Thirty-second Street were intensively studied. It was found that within these four blocks 94 per cent of the heads of families were Negroes. The buildings were one- and two-story, with a considerable amount of vacant space in the lots. Half the lots had less than 50 per cent of their space covered. The houses were for the most part intended for single families but had been converted into two-flat buildings. Rooms were poorly lighted and ventilated, the sanitation bad, and the alley and grounds about the houses covered with rubbish and refuse.
Comparisons with other districts studied showed the following: Of houses in a Polish district, 71 per cent were in good repair; in a Bohemian district, 57 per cent; Stock Yards district, 54 per cent; Jewish and South Chicago districts, 28 per cent; and in the Negro district, 26 per cent. A study made three years later by the School of Civics covering the same area showed a decrease of 16 per cent of buildings in good repair. Five buildings had been closed by the Department of Health as no longer fit for habitation. There were leaks in the roofs, sinks, and windows of five-sixths of the dwellings. In describing a typical house in this area, the report said:
There was no gutter and the roof leaked in two places, the sink drain in the basement leaked, keeping it continually damp, the opening of the chimney let the rain come down there, the windowpane in front rattled from lack of putty. The conditions in these houses are typical; almost every tenant tells of rain coming in through roof, chimney or windows, and cases of fallen plaster and windows without putty were too common to be noted. One aspect of the situation that should not be overlooked is the impossibility of putting these old houses in good condition. Leaks may be repaired, plaster may be replaced, windows may be made tight, and these things would certainly improve most of the houses, but when all were done it would not alter the fact that these are old houses, poorly built, through which the wind can blow at will.
TYPES OF NEGRO HOUSING
Lack of repairs to the houses in the "Black Belt" is accounted for by the fact that owners do not regard the buildings as worth repairing, and that tenants can always be found, even though it is necessary to reduce rents somewhat. This reduction is indeed notable. The School of Civics found that while in 1909 50 per cent of the houses examined on the South Side rented for as much as $16 a month, in 1917 only 13 per cent could command as high a rental as that; that in 1909 the prevailing rents were $15 and $16 as against $10 and $12 in 1917.
On the West Side the area studied generally was that bounded by Lake Street, Ashland, Austin, and Western avenues. Here the situation was little better. One-third of the families visited in the three selected blocks bounded by Fulton and Paulina streets, Carroll Avenue and Robey Street were Negroes. The remaining two-thirds represented sixteen nationalities. It was reported that the white residents could get advantages and improvements for their houses that a Negro could not. While 35 per cent of the houses were reported in good repair, 31 per cent were described as "absolutely dilapidated" and in a worse state of repair than those in any other districts studied except the Jewish district. The report said:
Broken-down doors, unsteady flooring, and general dilapidation were met by the investigators at every side. Windowpanes were out, doors hanging on single hinges or entirely fallen off, and roofs rotting and leaking. Colored tenants reported that they found it impossible to persuade their landlords either to make the necessary repairs or to release them from their contracts; and that it was so hard to find better places in which to live that they were forced either to make the repairs themselves, which they could rarely afford to do, or to endure the conditions as best they might. Several tenants ascribed cases of severe and prolonged illness to the unhealthful condition of the houses in which they were living.
That there was a continuing demand even for the shacks and shanties of the "Black Belt" is evidenced in a report made by the Urban League of Chicago in 1917 that only one out of every thirteen Negro applicants for houses to rent could be supplied. At the height of the demand applications for houses were coming in at the rate of 460 to 600 a day, and only ninety-nine were available for renting purposes. This was due, of course, to the growing stream of Negroes arriving daily from the South.
Covering the same area on the South Side as that studied by the School of Civics in 1917 a canvass was also made in 1917 by Caswell W. Crews, a student at the University of Chicago. He found that tenants had remained in these dwellings in some instances as long as twenty years after their unfitness had become evident, because the rent was low and they could find nowhere else to go. He mentioned the mass of migrants from the South who, because of their ignorance of conditions in Chicago as to what was desirable and what was to be had for a given sum, fell an easy prey to unscrupulous owners and agents. Mr. Crew's description said:
With the exception of two or three the houses are frame, and paint with them is a dim reminiscence. There is one rather modern seven-room flat building of stone front, the flats renting at $22.50 a month and offering the best in the way of accommodations to be found there. There is another makeshift flat building situated above a saloon and pool hall, consisting of six six-room flats, renting at $12 per month, but in a very poor condition of repair. Toilets and baths were found to be in no condition for use and the plumbing in such a state as to constantly menace health. Practically all of the houses have been so reconstructed as to serve as flats, accommodating two and sometimes three families. As a rule there are four, five, and sometimes six rooms in each flat, there being but five instances when there were more than six. It is often the case that of these rooms not all can be used because of dampness, leaking roofs, or defective toilets overhead.
The owners are in most instances scarcely better off than their tenants and can ill afford to make repairs. One house in the rear of another on Federal Street near Twenty-seventh had every door off its hinges, water covering the floor from a defective sink, and windowpanes out. A cleaning of the house had been attempted, and the cleaners had torn loose what paper yielded readily and proceeded to whitewash over the adhering portion which constituted the majority of the paper. There were four such rooms and for them the family paid $7 a month.
In 1920 a cursory examination by investigators from the Commission showed that the only change in the situation was further deterioration in the physical state of the dwellings.
The movement of the Negro population across State Street eastward into the area once occupied by wealthy whites began as early as 1910. Wabash Avenue was the first street into which they moved. Gradually they scattered farther east toward Lake Michigan. Following the migration from the South the Negro area east of State Street expanded to the lake and pushed southward. The houses which they found in the new territory, although from twenty to forty years old, were a vast improvement over those they had left west of State Street. These houses do not permit of any general classification, for some are very bad while others, though not new, are in a state of good repair, largely according to the care taken by previous occupants. Along with descriptions of Negro homes must be considered the tendency among those Negroes who were able to move away from the congested areas of Negro residence. Some of the best houses occupied by Negroes in 1920 were in districts until recently wholly white.
A rough classification of Negro housing according to types, ranging from the best, designated as "Type A," to the poorest, designated as "Type D," was made by the Commission on the basis of a block survey comprising 238 blocks, covering all the main areas of Negro residence, and data concerning 274 families, scattered through these 238 blocks, one or two to a block, whose histories and housing experiences were intensively studied by the Commission's investigators. Approximately 5 per cent of Chicago's Negro population live in "Type A" houses, 10 per cent in "Type B," 40 per cent in "Type C," and 45 per cent in the poorest, "Type D."
I. "TYPE A" HOUSES
Type A houses, with those of the other types, were not concentrated wholly in any one section but were found widely scattered; there were none, however, in the areas which in 1910 held practically the whole Negro population. Examples of Type A were found on South Park Avenue between Thirty-third and Thirty-fifth streets, where some Negroes had lived for six years; on Grand Boulevard between Thirty-fifth and Thirty-eighth streets, where a few had lived for three years; on Champlain, Evans, Vincennes, and Langley avenues, between Forty-third and Forty-seventh streets, where some Negroes had lived four and five years; and on Wabash Avenue between Fifty-first and Fifty-third streets. In Woodlawn there are a few of recent occupancy, one of which was built by its Negro owner.
Most of the Type A dwellings are of substantial construction, principally of brick and stone. Some are old family residences in formerly high-class neighborhoods, built to withstand the test of years. Consequently, although they have been subject to the usual deterioration, they still afford a fairly high standard of comfort and convenience. Some are large and exceptionally well equipped with luxurious fittings and adornments installed by former owners. Most of these houses were built and owned by people of wealth who abandoned them. Many of them have since passed through several stages of occupancy. Somewhat less permanent in their physical aspects perhaps are the Type A houses in Woodlawn. Many of the houses in this district are of frame structure, and they are not as commodious as those in the formerly fashionable white districts. But they provide a desirable measure of comfort, with less waste space and superfluous rooms.
Comforts and conveniences.—Type A dwellings are fitted with all the conveniences required by well-to-do whites. Some of them have more than the customary one bathroom, have electricity and gas, and are well heated by steam or hot-air furnaces. One example of Type A housing is a three-story, stone-front, ten-room house on South Park Avenue owned and occupied by a lawyer and his family. There is a garage, and the place is kept in good condition. A twelve-room house, also on South Park Avenue, owned and occupied by a physician and his family, has two bathrooms, steam heat, and electricity, and is in excellent repair. Another physician on the same street owns a three-story brown-stone house, with a garage. It contains ten rooms and two bathrooms, has steam heat and electric lights, and is in good condition. For this property he paid $35,000. A three-story brick house on Vernon Avenue is owned and occupied by a business man. In addition to other modern conveniences there are lavatories in four of the bedrooms. The house is in excellent condition. A nine-room house on Langley Avenue, in good repair, owned by another business man, has gas, furnace heat, and a bathroom.
The occupants.—Although these buildings are occupied by the wealthier Negroes, business or professional men, it often happens that others secure and occupy such houses. High wages during the war and immediately afterward permitted some Negroes who arrived in Chicago during the migration to live in the best class of housing available for Negroes. For example, an undertaker owns such a house on Langley Avenue, with seven rooms, with gas, a bathroom, electricity, and hot-water heat. This building is ornate and in excellent repair. A postal clerk who has been in Chicago since 1897 owns a seven-room house on Champlain Avenue south of Sixty-sixth Street, where he lives with his wife and child. In the block south of Forty-third Street on Prairie Avenue is a nine-room house occupied by an employee of the American Express Company. In order to help pay the rent, four lodgers are taken, who together pay $20 a week. The house, which includes a bathroom, is furnace-heated and lighted by electricity. A transfer man pays $65 a month rent for an eight-room house of this class on Bowen Avenue. He earns $35 a week, and two lodgers pay $50 a month. The house has bath, electricity, and furnace. A railroad porter, who has been a doctor's assistant and has lived in Chicago since 1886, owns a house on Rhodes Avenue near Sixty-sixth Street. It has seven rooms and is provided with a furnace, gas, bathroom, and electricity.
Neighborhood conditions.—Surroundings of Type A houses are generally far more pleasant than those in areas where the majority of Negroes live. The streets and alleys are usually clean, except where Type A houses are in neighborhoods surrounded by poorer houses. The premises are generally well kept. This is especially true where the occupants are owners. When space permits, there is a lawn or a garden that shows signs of pride and attention. One block was noted, however, where the residents reported that the street was watered twice a day until Negroes moved in, after which it received no such attention.
II. "TYPE B" HOUSES
Type B designates a class of houses which have not the size, durability, permanence, architectural embellishments, or general standard of comfort and convenience of those classed as Type A. They are usually flat buildings, whether originally intended for that purpose or not. Frequently dwellings are rearranged by landlords, when Negroes are given occupancy, to accommodate two or more families in place of the one for which they were built. Type B houses have less floor space, the average number of rooms is fewer, and they have, as a rule, fewer modern conveniences. Still, they are good houses and much superior to the habitations in which Negroes are most often found.
Occupants of Type B houses are frequently found to be clerical workers, postal clerks, railway mail clerks, small tradesmen, artisans, and better-paid workers in steel mills and Stock Yards.
HOMES OWNED BY NEGROES ON SOUTH PARK AVENUE
Classified in text as "Type A."
AN ABANDONED RESIDENCE IN THE PRAIRIE AVENUE BLOCK WITH A FACTORY IN THE REAR
Most of the houses in the part of Woodlawn inhabited by Negroes are of Type B. Another district in which this type of house is found extends from Fortieth to Forty-seventh streets on Langley, Evans, Champlain, Vincennes, and St. Lawrence avenues. Although in this area a few dwellings are of Type A, the greater part of them fall under Type B. About 5 per cent of the dwellings occupied by Negroes on the West Side—for example, some of those on Oakley and Washington boulevards—might also be classed as Type B. Brick or stone dwellings predominate in the districts where this type is found. For example, the block survey made by the Commission covered twelve blocks in the Negro residence in Woodlawn on which there were 190 brick or stone and 119 frame houses. Practically all the Type B dwellings are one- and two-family houses, and the majority are two-family houses. The Commission's study shows that these dwellings are not overcrowded and house their families comfortably. Many of the occupants own their homes.
Comforts and conveniences.—Most of these houses have baths, electric lights, steam, hot-water or hot-air heating, and gas for cooking. Only a few are heated by stoves or lack electrical fixtures. They were found to be in good repair, well kept and clean. Special pride is taken by home owners of this class in keeping the property presentable and preventing rapid deterioration. Family histories reveal that most of the Woodlawn residents are long-time residents of Chicago.
Neighborhood conditions.—In the neighborhoods where Type B houses were found, no uniform standard of cleanliness was evident in streets and alleys or in adjoining properties. They were as frequently unkempt as tidy. Although the premises of Type B houses were generally kept neat, surrounding untidiness often detracted from their appearance. But a block containing a majority of this type usually had an appearance of being better kept, whether the surrounding property was occupied by whites or Negroes. In the Woodlawn area the surroundings of the houses were well cared for, and sanitary measures were commonly observed. In some blocks in the Langley Avenue neighborhood carelessness and neglect were evident. Vacant lots were no more littered with rubbish than in white areas of a similar grade.
III. "TYPE C" HOUSES
Type C houses are the most common in areas of Negro residence. In this classification are included about 50 per cent of the houses on the South Side east of State Street, most of those in the North Side area, about 60 per cent of those in the West Side area, practically all those in the Ogden Park area, and many dwellings in the little Lake Park district.
Heads of families occupying Type C houses were usually unskilled wage-earners, or in personal service. Their incomes were such that they could rarely afford more than $20 a month rent.
Types of houses.—Eleven blocks on the North Side were included in the Commission's block survey. In these blocks 146 of the buildings were of brick or stone, and 123 frame. Fifteen were single houses, four were double, and 167 housed three or more families, the largest proportion of such buildings in any district examined. There were also four rows of houses. They were in a fair state of repair. Four-room houses or flats predominated among the fourteen families whose histories were taken. In one instance seven persons were living in four rooms, in another nine persons were living in seven rooms, in another eleven persons were living in seven rooms. The dwellings were mainly one- and two-story buildings, with a few three- and six-flat buildings.
A large proportion of buildings housing three or more families was found also in Ogden Park. In eleven blocks there were 109 such buildings. There were also sixty-eight single and no double houses. The frame buildings numbered 189, and brick or stone forty-eight. Most of the houses were one- and two-story frame buildings. The majority were in good or fair repair, though one block showed gross neglect of repairs to exteriors, and practically all needed painting. Five-room dwellings predominated among the fifteen families whose histories were recorded. Overcrowding was frequent. In one instance eleven persons lived in five rooms; in another nine persons in five rooms.
In the part of the South Side area east of State Street and between Twenty-second and Thirty-first streets forty-two blocks were surveyed. Michigan, Indiana, and Prairie avenues have excellent dwellings, practically all of which are still occupied by whites. Until a few years ago these were fashionable residential streets, and the buildings are large, well built, and often ornate. Surrounding them, however, are hundreds of houses, old and difficult to keep in repair. In these forty-two blocks there were 767 buildings of which 163 were frame and 604 brick. About 37 per cent of these are of Type C.
The surroundings of these buildings appear in brief comments on some of these blocks, taken from investigator's notes, as follows:
Property has been allowed to run down.
Five vacant houses; yards full of rubbish; lodgers transient; families do not move.
Vacant lot dirty.
Two vacant lots; yards well kept.
Garbage piled up on vacant lot; Negroes moving in.
Roomers move often; one poolroom; empty church building.
Vacant lot used as dump; yards well kept.
Two vacant houses robbed of plumbing fixtures.
Yards poorly kept; whites moved out three years ago, except one family.
Vacant lot used as dump; one poolroom, two hotels; yards well kept; Negroes moving in.
Yards unkempt; mostly renters.
Formerly questionable houses for whites.
Mostly newcomers; property run down.
Yards well kept; boarding-houses.
People move in because they can't find anything better.
Between Thirty-first and Thirty-ninth streets east of State Street seventy-eight blocks were surveyed. There were seventy-eight frame and 1,523 brick and stone buildings, 620 single houses, 559 double, 254 accommodating three or more families, and nine apartment houses. Of this group 51 per cent were of Type C. The property and general surroundings showed age and the beginning of rapid deterioration everywhere; in some cases there had been attempts to care for the premises and in some cases neglect was obvious. The streets, except Michigan Avenue and South Park Boulevard, showed much neglect, and the alleys generally were dirty. Many of these houses were occupied by their Negro owners. Negroes were found to occupy about 40 per cent of these Type C houses.
Conveniences.—In these two parts of the South Side area conveniences and ordinary sanitary facilities are often absent. Gas is the common form of lighting, and often it is not used. Family-history data revealed that there were about as many homes without as with bathrooms. In a large number of buildings families were obliged to use common toilets located in halls or back yards. The dwellings were out of repair in some respects in nearly every instance. Defects of this kind were often in the plumbing. Leaky toilets or water pipes were common complaints. Some toilets did not flush. Some sinks were leaky, as were some of the roofs. In some houses windows or doors were broken, loose, or sagging. Some houses were very dirty.
On the West Side a situation not essentially different was found among the Type C dwellings. Possibly baths were a little more frequent. Occasionally there was a furnace, though stove heat was most common. Gas was the usual means of lighting. The situation as to toilets was about the same, and the buildings, being chiefly old, were usually out of repair in some respect. The number of brick and frame dwellings was about equal. There were more double houses in proportion to the single ones, and none that had three or more families. Five-room dwellings were most numerous, and there was little indication of overcrowding.
Neighborhood conditions.—Only two blocks in the West Side area were rated as merely "fair," four in the North Side area were dirty, while only one in the Ogden Park area was not cleaned. In the North Side and Ogden Park areas distinct efforts were observed to keep yards clean. Premises showed signs of care and attention, though an occasional vacant lot showed use for dumping. Alleys in all three districts gave evidence of neglect. Some were badly littered with garbage and rubbish.
IV. "TYPE D" HOUSES
Type D housing is the least habitable of all. The houses were usually dilapidated, and in many cases extremely so. Most of the buildings are among the oldest in the city. They were occupied only by Negroes at the foot of the economic scale, many families living from hand to mouth, frequently in extreme poverty.
This class of houses predominates in those parts of the South Side area from Twelfth to Twenty-second Street along State Street and Wabash Avenue, and from Twelfth to Thirty-ninth streets and Wentworth Avenue. Many Negro dwellings in the North Side area and about 35 or 40 per cent of those in the West Side area were of Type D. Even in the area of the South Side between State Street and Lake Michigan many of the older frame and brick buildings fall into this classification. It is safe to say that 43 per cent of the housing for Negroes is of this type.
Most of these dwellings were frail, flimsy, tottering, unkempt, and some of them literally falling apart. Little repairing is done from year to year. Consequently their state grows progressively worse, and they are now even less habitable than when the surveys quoted at the beginning of this section were made. The surroundings in these localities were in a condition of extreme neglect, with little apparent effort to observe the laws of sanitation. Streets, alleys, and vacant lots contained garbage, rubbish, and litter of all kinds. It is difficult to enforce health regulations.
Although there has been protest by Negroes against the necessity of living in places so uncomfortable and unhealthful, improvement comes slowly. Contentment with such insanitary conditions is usually due to ignorance of better living. For the poorest buildings low rents are offered to encourage continued occupancy and to forestall requests for repairs. Prompt vacating of many of these houses usually follows when a family can secure better accommodations in a better neighborhood.[23]
V. NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS
Among the more intelligent Negroes neighborhood organizations were found similar to those of white people. Dissatisfaction with local conditions, failure of authorities to sweep and sprinkle streets or to provide adequate street lighting, corner signs, and similar equipment usually prompt these efforts. Three or four such societies have been instituted by Negroes in Chicago. One example is the Middlesex Improvement Club, organized following the riots of 1919 in a neighborhood including three blocks on Dearborn Street near Fiftieth. Among other things it seeks to promote a friendly spirit among the people of both races in a neighborhood which was turbulent during the riots. It has extended some financial aid to its members when required. It is financed by Negro business men with some help from white business men of the locality.
Woodlawn has a community organization which reflects the friendly attitude between the races in that district. Both whites and Negroes are members, with a common community interest. This organization goes somewhat beyond the usual neighborhood improvement association in scope and purpose. While it embodies the usual purposes, it also seeks to induce full use by all the people of the district of all public and semi-public institutions that contribute to good citizenship. One of the notices sent out by the association urged attendance at night sessions of public schools. It briefly set forth the advantages for both young and older people, suggesting that their usefulness to the community might thus be enlarged, that they might be trained for profitable employment, and incidentally that young people could be kept off the streets and away from demoralizing places. Attention was drawn to the fact that "business men of the city are seeking young people, both colored and white, for positions as stenographers, clerks, and trades people." The notice closed thus:
We are desirous that you use your influence to maintain a spirit of friendliness and good will among all citizens, white and black, and especially among the school children, paying especial attention to the conduct of pupils to and from school. We earnestly seek your co-operation in these matters.
In the neighborhood of Fifty-sixth Street and Wabash Avenue is another of these neighborhood leagues; all the members are Negroes. Meetings take place periodically at the houses of members, and special attention is given to such matters as the condition of their premises, care of lawns, etc.
VI. EFFORTS OF SOCIAL AGENCIES
Social agencies likewise have given considerable attention to the instruction and encouragement of Negroes in better living. While this effort has been directed mainly to the newer arrivals from the South, it has also had an effect on many who have lived in the city for some time but have not yet adjusted themselves to city life and more rigid standards of sanitation and deportment.
One of these agencies is the Urban League. Among other activities it issued placards to be kept in sight in Negro homes, graphically contrasting good and bad habits of living. Pictures showed the front porch of a Negro family as it should and should not be used, with the pointed question, "Which?" underneath. Then followed a sort of pledge of conduct:
I realize that our soldiers have learned new habits of self-respect and cleanliness.
I desire to help bring about a new order of living in this community.
I will attend to the neatness of my personal appearance on the street or when sitting in front doorways.
I will refrain from wearing dust caps, bungalow aprons, house clothing, and bedroom shoes out of doors.
I will arrange my toilet within doors and not on the front porch.
I will insist upon the use of rear entrances for coal dealers, hucksters, etc.
I will refrain from loud talking and objectionable deportment on street cars and in public places.
I will do my best to prevent defacement of property either by children or adults.
The guidance and instruction given by the South Side Community Service, pastors of churches and Negro newspapers have stimulated the Negro population to efforts at improvement of their property. One newspaper, for example, conducted a column containing hints on cleanliness, sanitation, and deportment. It printed items concerning objectionable conditions at given addresses and warned offenders that they were being watched by the neighborhood organization, which might take action against them if they did not improve their conduct.
Another way in which Negroes have been led to understand that habits of orderliness and cleanliness are expected of them in Chicago has been through a "Clean-up Week" in the spring of each year, when concerted efforts are made to collect and dispose of tin cans and other rubbish on vacant lots and yards. A "Tin Can Contest" was conducted by the Wabash Avenue Y.M.C.A., which offered prizes to the children collecting the greatest number of tin cans beyond 300. The 1,000 youngsters who participated in the Second Ward were divided into eight regiments. The eleven-year-old Negro girl who collected the greatest number of tin cans had a total of 6,840 to her credit. Next in order was Hyman Friedman, whose total was 5,347. More than 100,000 tin cans in all were obtained.
VII. EFFORTS OF INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDERS
Individual householders, especially those owning their homes, were found to be trying to keep their premises presentable often in the face of discouraging odds. Throughout the family histories appear repeated protests by tenants at the failure of landlords to maintain a decent state of repairs and improvements.
None of the houses occupied by Negroes are of as high a standard, generally speaking, as those occupied by whites of a similar economic status.
Negroes rarely live in new houses. Virtually all live in neighborhoods where the housing is old. Negro houses, even of the best class, were built from twenty to forty years ago. Conditions in these old neighborhoods do not make for high standards of sanitation and cleanliness, nor the best habits of living generally; and Negroes labor under a handicap in striving to attain such standards.
Less attention is paid by public authorities to the condition of streets and alleys in such neighborhoods than in localities where the housing is of a higher grade. The streets are not cleaned and sprinkled as often and the alleys are more likely to be dirty, unpaved, and generally uncared for.
In most of the localities where Negroes live, buildings that have not already reached a state of great dilapidation are deteriorating rapidly because of the failure of owners to make repairs and improvements.
Escape from undesirable housing conditions is difficult for any Negroes, and for the vast majority it is practically impossible, particularly during a period of acute general housing shortage.
HOMES OCCUPIED AND IN PART OWNED BY NEGROES
Classified in the text as "Type B."