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The University of Texas at Austin

Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs


Conference Paper

Urban Policy in the 21st Century: Legacies of the Johnson Administration


Robert H. Wilson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Research, Mike Hogg Professor in Urban Policy

Robert H. Wilson
Associate Dean for
Academic Affairs,
Mike Hogg Professor
in Urban Policy

Co-authored by Norman J. Glickman , Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University

Lyndon Johnson brought a dedication to eradicating poverty, particularly urban poverty, to his presidency. He passed a breathtaking array of programs to reduce poverty and hunger, build better housing, improve education and urban infrastructure, and create jobs. Despite the overarching successes of his legislative agenda, Johnson would certainly find that few Great Society initiatives remained for long. In examining the Johnson record and the evolution of urban policy in subsequent administrations, important lessons for urban policymakers can be drawn and we find that federal roles in cities established during the Johnson era continue. He brought a broader and more activist role for the federal government than that of his predecessors and those who followed. He attempted to accomplish his goals by restructuring the federalist system. Johnson also championed the role of community-based organizations and other nonprofit groups in designing and implementing many of his initiatives. We also believe that many of Johnson’s policies, though well intentioned, did not provide solutions to many difficult problems facing cities and the poor. Many of Johnson’s programs were abandoned or slashed by subsequent governments, either on the grounds that they were ineffective or because more conservative presidents opposed the philosophy of activist government central to the Great Society. Despite attempts to tear down the Great Society, Johnson’s legacy—like LBJ himself—looms large. To conclude, we offer President-elect Barack Obama a set of recommendations for addressing the urban challenges that face the nation in the new century.

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