Tennessee Code Title 13. Public Planning and Housing § 13-13-102

(a) It is hereby found and declared that the state has certain communities which persistently suffer from the debilitating problems of chronic unemployment, below average educational attainment, low household income, and limited economic opportunity, that these problems may be assuaged with the proper and concentrated application of personnel and resources, that many of such debilitating conditions may be best addressed at the community level, and that existing community organizations often lack the requisite funding and expertise to implement necessary programs.

(b) Therefore, it is found that it is in the public interest of the state to promote the prosperity and general welfare of the citizens within such communities, a public purpose for which public money may be expended, to provide technical and economic assistance to neighborhoods, and that the creation of local neighborhood development corporations will assist in serving this public purpose.