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involvement in the field of housing. II. Trends in Housing Inspection Historically, local provisions for the inspection of housing have been completely inadequate. Usually the function has been split among two or more agencies, and the pertinent code sections have been spread among several local ordinances. Following the work of C.E.A. Winslow, minimum code standards were made available and resulted in the passing of housing codes. This consolidation of housing requirements resulted in the field of housing inspection. Originally much of the work was devoted to complaint and referral inspections. A. Complaint and Referral Inspections In most communities the housing inspectors are expected to center their efforts primarily on complaint and referral inspections. This approach satisfied the persons making the complaints and referrals and helps improve some of the municipality's substandard housing. However, it does little to bring about general improvements in any section of the community and actually constitutes an inefficient way of using the available inspection manpower because the men have to spend so much time traveling from one area to another. Many supervisors and inspectors realize this unsystematic method not only wastes time but also is an ineffective way of upgrading housing and curbing blight. First, on complaint inspections the inspectors are usually instructed to confine their investigations to the dwelling unit specifically involved unless the general conditions are so bad that an inspection of the entire building is deemed necessary. This means most complaint inspections are piecemeal and do not ordinarily bring entire dwellings up to code standards. Second, even though numerous complaints are unwarranted, inspectors are often given so many to check each day that they do not have time to inspect other obviously substandard houses in the vicinity of those complained about. Consequently, these "rotten apples" are left to spoil the block, while the house that has been improved stands alone. Too often inspection agencies have found they did not have enough facts on hand about the extent and distribution of the substandard housing in their communities. Thus, they were unable to convince their superiors and the public about the inadequacy of complaint inspections as the major method of uncovering violations and checking residential blight in neighborhoods. It is the consensus of housing officials that area inspections are the most effective way of doing both. Fortunately, in the 1960's, as one city after another began developing the comprehensive community renewal plans provided for in the Housing Act of 1959, this information finally started to become available. It verified the need for systematic inspections 5