Downtown development, made possible at the expense of low-income neighborhoods, was becoming a political issue.
In November 1954, the White House recommended creating a non-profit publicity and research organization to promote these policies.
[2] ACTION was then founded in a 15 November 1954 announcement by Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Mayflower Hotel.
It featured prominent land developers on its board of directors including Andrew Heiskell of Time-Life and Richard King Mellon.
The same year, former FHA employee and mortgage banker James Rouse became president after promoting the nationally marketed privatized urban renewal project, The Baltimore Plan.