pf_03007 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

violations, then it is obvious that something or someone or both have caused the neighborhood to deteriorate. Any effort that does not also eliminate the cause for deterioration can only be a token effort and frequently a wasted effort. Unless a housing program evaluates the total neighborhood for both housing violations and for environmental stresses within the neighborhood that may have caused the deterioration of the housing, then the inspection effort has not been complete. What then are these "environmental stresses"? Environmental stresses are the elements within a neighborhood that influence the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the occupants. They include items such as noise, glare, excessive land covering, nonresidential land uses, and extensive traffic problems. If a housing program is to be complete, these stresses must be identified and assessed. Then efforts must be made in conjunction with other departments within the city to program capital improvement budgets to alleviate or minimize these stresses. These two types of inspection are the field involvement of the housing inspector. He must inspect not only the houses for violations but also the neighborhoods for environmental stresses. This will provide him with knowledge of physical conditions within the neighborhood. As mentioned previously, however, this is not the whole problem in most neighborhoods. Generally, the very difficult problem of the human element is involved. Many buildings and neighborhoods deteriorate because of apathy on the part of the neighborhood inhabitants. In summary then, a housing inspection effort should be made up of three parts: First, a neighborhood or area-wide housing inspection procedure: second, a neighborhood analysis procedure to identify, assess and eventually control environmental stresses; and third, a program of motivational training for slum dwellers to raise the living standards of the neighborhood. III. Role of Health Agencies in Housing Several kinds of governmental action are required. These include: 1) adoption of minimum health standards in housing, 2) conduct of a program to achieve and maintain these standards, 3) periodic evaluation of the standards to ensure their current adequacy, and 4) monitoring of the standards enforcement effort to guarantee that public health values are provided. Health agencies, in order to meet their responsibilities, must accept the role of either stimulating or carrying out these four required kinds of governmental action. In communities that have neither standards nor program, the health agency has the responsibility of initiating both by stimulating the required governmental action. Stimulation may be direct, through elected or appointed officials, or indirect, by generating public support that will trigger official action. 7