In the 1950s, real estate companies and building developers rigorously encouraged white people to flee from cities in order to be able to buy real estate for very cheap, then rent to low-income, mostly black tenants. This manipulation tactic is known as blockbusting and was widely used in Chicago, Philadelphia and Brooklyn, especially Bed-Stuy. As non Black people moved out en masse, infrastructure rapidly declined, public services were nowhere to be found and intense poverty was more and more concentrated. Though some white residents were persuaded into quickly selling at a loss, suburbs on the outskirts of Brooklyn were ready to sell them a caucasian-only haven. The aforementioned G.I. bill allowed white families to purchase homes with government help and as years passed, families could afford larger and larger houses thanks to tax deductions rising with the price and size of the house. Average house sizes went from 800 square feet in 1950 to 1,200 square feet in 1970; and 2,100 square feet in 1990. At around $81 billion in 1994, the mansion subsidy is still larger than the annual budget of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Levittown, one of the most popular suburbs post WWII located east of Brooklyn, clearly spelled out in their terms that solely white people would be allowed to lease. White nuclear families living in the suburbs quickly became the face of the country, giving white men the responsibility to buy as much as they could, as the rise of capitalism and consumerism meant purchasing American goods was a patriotic duty.