As the distinctions between rural and urban life have blurred, esp. with the develop. of suburbs, some have questioned the need for the separate rural housing (RH) programs that were first created in the mid-1930s to stimulate the rural economy and assist needy rural families. This report describes: the condition of today's RH and rural households' access to affordable housing credit; the RH prog. offered by the USDA RH Service (RHS), and the ways in which RHS' programs have adapted to changes in the level of Fed. housing assist.; any overlap between RHS' prog. and the prog. of HUD and other Fed., state, and private org.; and options for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Fed. role in RH. Illustrated.

This book is about decent and affordable shelter in rural America, a little known and often overlooked issue in housing policy. The rural poor and their housing conditions are not widely discussed or examined within the professional literature. It explores decent and affordable shelter in rural areas, an often overlooked issue in housing policy.