Post-WWII Urban Flight and the Birth of the Suburbs
While the FHA was certainly responsible for increasing homeownership in the United States. However, the benefits of this programming and development did not extend to all Americans—in fact, the FHA was explicitly made exclusively for white families only, and with the emphasis on conformity created by Levitt, Black couples and families were barred from residency in these neighborhoods. This exclusion took many forms, from bureaucratic and political policies such as redlining and access to loans to physical violence. The FHA’s deliberately racist policies were largely responsible for constraining Black individuals and families in communities with limited education, resources, and opportunities for employment . From the beginning, the creation of the suburbs was founded upon racist and discriminatory policies, the repercussions of which still sustain significant inequality in the housing landscape today.