Statement by the President on the Message Recommending a Pro- gram for Cities and Metropolitan Areas.

TODAY, I have placed before the Congress and before you, the people of America, a new way of answering an ancient dream. That dream is of cities of promise, cities of hope, where it could truly be said, to every man his chance, to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining golden opportunity, to every man the right to live and to work and to be himself and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him.

The new way of answering that ancient dream is this: --to rebuild where there is hopeless blight; --to renew where there is decay and ugliness;

--to refresh the spirit of men and women that are growing weary with jobless anxiety;

--to restore old communities and to bring forth new ones where children will be proud to say, "This is my home."

What I have offered is a massive program, involving everything that we know about building homes and schools and parks and streets that are safe from fear.

This is a program of cooperation. The cities, private enterprise, the Federal Government, all together will commit this Nation to the planning and the building and the teaching and the caring that alone will bring about a rebirth in our cities.

For 2 years now the best minds that we could enlist in this effort have worked together with Secretary Weaver to bring forth this program. I believe that our people, in great cities and in small towns, are now ready to dedicate themselves to this effort. I believe this great Congress will make this possible.

So let us begin begin now, this year--so that a decade from now our cities may be what we have dreamed them to be--the masterpiece of our civilization.