Some food for thought on the legacy of the federal urban renewal program that by virtue of providing money to cities influenced development patterns of the time between 1949 and 1974 (this date is debatable, but I'm going with it, b/c Robert Caro used it and Bob Beauregard seem to overlap on it and I trust their judgement).
From Robert Beauregard's When America Became Suburban:
"Cities used urban renewal to eliminate obsolete buildings, create large-scale real-estate projects with critical mass to keep existing businesses from leaving and attracting new businesses into the downtown." (2006)
"Urban renewal and public housing were linked." The slums targeted by the public housing program were often adjacent to the main commercial districts, and their condemnation and demolition were central to the vision of the renewed downtown. Multiple mid-to-high-rise buildings set amid lawns and playgrounds replaced slums." (2006)
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