The Sanitary Improvement District as a Mechanism for Urban Development

The history of the Sanitary Improvement District (SID) in Nebraska is closely tied to the history of urban development in the Omaha Metropolitan Area. The end of World War II freed the pent-up demand for new dwelling units in Nebraska as well as in the rest of the nation. Omaha\u27s stock of platted lots was rapidly used up in the late 40\u27s and pressures were great for opening up new areas. To meet the demand, new dwellings began to spring up on the fringes of the City, but altogether too many of these were served only by wells and septic tanks. As the housing boom developed it became clear that such utilities could not satisfactorily accommodate large concentrations of suburban populations. Yet the City found it difficult to extend water, sewer and other utilities to the new areas, partly because many existing areas of the City were not provided with such services and political necessity demanded that these needs be met first. Consequently, neither the developers nor the City had the organizational capacities or the financial resources to urbanize these fringe areas properly