It’s February, 1946. World War II ended just five months ago with the Japanese surrender, but the end of the war has not brought peace to Pittsburgh.

In fact, the end of the war has created many problems for our city. The war provided jobs, but now those jobs are drying up. During the war, we put aside our differences to focus on the war effort, but now old racial and economic tensions are rising to the surface.

With deteriorating neighborhoods, growing slums, aging housing, and rampant pollution, we face an urban crisis.

This Historic Decisions issue guide, published by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, is based on research done in collaboration with the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. Historic Decisions issue guides foster the development of deliberative democratic skills through examining the difficult choices Americans faced in the past. The actions presented in these issue guides are based on ideas or proposals actively considered at the time the historic decision was made and do not reflect the views of the foundation, its directors, or its officers.