Passed during the Great Depression, the Housing Act of 1937 introduced what we know as Section 8 housing, Section 8 referring to the section of the bill.

The law originally proposed projects of federally funded housing for low- and middle-income people in order to clear slums. They were constructed as row houses, high rises, or apartments with open spaces, and were originally racially segregated.


New York Magazine

Over the course of the 20th century, racial and economic inequality, coupled with under-funding and neglect, meant the projects came to house primarily Black and immigrant communities. Concentrated poverty forced some residents of the projects to turn to crime, drugs, and violence. This gave projects, as a term and place, the reputation as dangerous and undesirable.

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