During 1966 the federal government moved toward the establishment of a full-fledged nationwide depressed areas program. Title V of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 authorized the designation of large multi-state sections of the country that were lagging economically behind other sections as "economic development regions." It also authorized the establishment of joint federal-state "regional commissions" to advance the development of such depressed areas. By the end of 1966, four such regions had been designated and one more designation was imminent.
The present program follows the lead of the effort in Appalachia. The potentialities inherent in the Appalachian regional program—with its $1.1 billion authorization—had not been lost on members of Congress from other regions whose growth has not been as impressive as that of the nation as a whole. Appalachia continues to be a highly visible prototype in the minds of political leaders in the Title V regions.
The four regions designated during 1966 (in March) were New England, covering the six states; Upper Great Lakes, the upper two thirds of the states of Minnesota Wisconsin, and Michigan; Ozarks, about a third of southwestern Missouri, northwestern Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma; and Four Corners, most of the states of Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. The other region soon to be designated is South Atlantic Seat Coast, portions of the states of North and South Carolina, and Georgia from the Piedmont plateau to the coast line.
Before a program can be mounted in any of these areas, a regional commission must be formed. The, commission is to be composed of the governors of the affected status and a Presidential appointee, designated the "Federal Co-chairman." By the end of 1966, only two of the regional commissions had been established, for New England and the Ozarks. It is anticipated that the others will be formed in the near future.
According to "program guidelines" prepared within the Department of Commerce, the major work of the regional commissions, after appropriate analysis of the problems and potentialities of their areas, should be to develop a comprehensive program of public investment as a tool for stimulating economic development. Thus, for the initial year or two, the regional commissions' main task will planning: analyzing problems, setting goals in cooperation with the major groups in the region, establishing priorities, developing programs, identifying projects, and evaluating activities under way. Operating within regions where hundreds of federal, state, local, as well as private agencies are engaged in "planning," the regional commissions will somehow have to carve out a distinct and useful role for themselves.
Whatever the bureaucratic problems, it is clear that the United States is deep in the depressed-areas business.
A version of this article appeared in print in the January 1967 issue of Resources magazine.
