When expressways run through a major city, large numbers of people and many businesses are displaced. Unfortunately, the expressways are frequently routed through the least desirable sections of the city, and those who are displaced are the poor, the aged, and those who are least able to take care of themselves, and there is little likelihood that many of them will use the expressway that displaces them. It is important, therefore, that all possible assistance be given to these people so that they will not have to shoulder the cost of the expressway. In theory, relocation assistance is simple. In practice, it is difficult, complicated, and time-consuming. Frequently, successful relocation depends on solving personal problems, both financial and social, in addition to finding replacement property. Baltimore's relocation specialists, who are drawn from fields of both real estate and social work, must work with all public welfare resources as a part of successful relocation. Examples of relocation problems are plentiful. Some can be solved, but others remain as the price of highway progress. The recently passed federal-aid highway act of 1968 has finally recognized the government's responsibility to relocatees in highway construction and provides adequately for them. While this is a step in the right direction, much remains to be done in order to make the program truly effective.
Samenvatting