Common Causes

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros is pushing a plan to set up learning centers in public-housing units. The idea is part of a program that provides federal aid to tear down aging housing projects and build new communities outfitted with various services.

Cisneros is encouraging cities involved to include "communities of learning" that would offer education and child-care programs and would wire apartments so residents could use personal computers for self-paced learning.

A new report details early lessons from a project that taps neighborhood resources to...