ML: "It's a Promise"
1 media/MLadd_thumb.jpeg 2022-11-22T16:46:21-08:00 Andy Schocket 278555063cc66428c8eadf42f48d412091c5aaf9 41237 1 General Electric advertisement depicting a US soldier and his wife dreaming of a home. Image courtesy of State Museum of Pennsylvania plain 2022-11-22T16:46:21-08:00 Andy Schocket 278555063cc66428c8eadf42f48d412091c5aaf9This page is referenced by:
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Post-WWII Urban Flight and the Birth of the Suburbs
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Housing Discrimination in Suburban America
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2022-12-06T18:05:28-08:00
Post-World War II America saw a revolutionary change in habitation. A country healing from the devastation of the Great Depression bookended by two wars, Americans faced a national average income decrease of more than 50%, leading to foreclosures on businesses and homes alike . In response to this crisis, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the FHA, or the Federal Housing Administration, as part of the New Deal, which provided federal loans and aid to increase homeownership . This began the national trend of the migration of American families out of cities and into new developments of more affordably-constructed homes, giving birth to a new habitat: the suburbs, which today make up the majority of American household developments .
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. -
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ML: Suburban Beginnings
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2022-12-05T22:22:22-08:00
SUBURBAN BEGINNINGS
Responding to the desires of Americans to live “beyond the noise, pollution, overcrowding, and disease of the city, while still close enough to enjoy the benefits of its industrial and cultural vitality” which had pervaded societies throughout the history of civilization , architect Frank Lloyd Wright began mapping out his personal vision for a new standard of living by 1910.[2] He envisioned an efficient and affordable home which was large enough to accommodate the ‘average’ American family at the time, and with his architectural expertise he designed a plan that would create maximum benefits to the homeowner. He first published this proposal in the Ladies Home Journal in July of 1901.
In the decades that followed, neighborhood development boomed, and the identity of “suburbanite” American moved toward the majority. “Consequently, the postwar exodus to the suburbs was part of a vast reorganization of power and money that affected American industry, race relations, and gender roles.”[3] The development of the suburbs can largely be contributed to William Levitt, who “revolutionized the way Americans live and ushered in an age of suburbia by providing inexpensive housing outside the city.”[4] Levitt applied the post-industrial standard of mass production to housing development and established formulaic approach to the construction of homes in the ‘cookie-cutter’ style, building multiple homes following the same floor plan at a rate that reached 36 homes constructed per day within a year of the plan’s implementation.[5]
Many historical accounts will paint a picture of white picket fences, kept lawns, and families who were pioneers, looking to build a better life for themselves and their children:
Levittown: A Living History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHrXIx4GrM0
Throughout this short documentary, which chronicles the reflections of a founding suburb’s first residents, many of which still reside there, the now-elderly people who share their stories are painted as brave forerunners who blazed the trail for a better way of living in America. Suburban development was instrumental during the ‘baby boom,’ in which families reunited with returned veteran WWII soldiers provided a massive increase in births and increased family size.[6] With larger families, homeownership provided necessary space for comfortable living. These neighborhoods seemed to be a shining example of progress and the path to achieving the American Dream, even for minorities, who for some had indeed seen a limited post-war upward mobility in economic status and moving into the middle class.[7] However, not only did the ‘cookie-cutter’ style of American suburbs emphasize a conformity that reinforced restrictive gender roles for women, restrictive covenants barred most African American and Asian American families from living in suburban neighborhoods at all.[8]
The brutal history of segregation and exclusion in the suburbs can be seen in two prominent case studies: The development of Trumbull Park in South Deering, Chicago, and Levittown, of which there were three (New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey).[1] Galyean, Crystal, “Levittown: The Imperfect Rise of the American Suburbs,” US History Scene. Accessed Oct. 2022. https://ushistoryscene.com/article/levittown/.[2] “An Untimely History of Architecture and Real Estate,” House Housing, Columbia University, 2022. Accessed Oct. 2022. https://househousing.buellcenter.columbia.edu/#1910-Frank-Lloyd-Wright-Sells-His-Vision-for-Suburbanizing-AmericaBerlin-Based-Publication-Establishes-Architects-Reputation-in-Europe.[3] Elliot, Kimberly Kutz, “The growth of suburbia,” in “The postwar era, 1945-1950,” Khan Academy, 2022. Accessed Sept. 2022. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/postwar-era/a/the-growth-of-suburbia[4] “53b. Suburban Growth,” U.S. History, 2008-2022. Accessed Oct. 2022. https://www.ushistory.org/us/53b.asp#:~:text=Suburbia,Americans%20to%20flee%20to%20suburbia.[5] Ibid.[6] Elliot, Kimberly Kutz, “The growth of suburbia.”[7] Corbett, P. Scott et al, “Post-War Prosperity and Cold War Fears, 1945-1960,” U.S. History, OpenStax, Rice University, 28.3: “The American Dream.” Accessed Oct. 2022. https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/28-3-the-american-dream.[8] Elliot, Kimberly Kutz, “The dark side of suburbia,” “The postwar era, 1945-1950,” Khan Academy, 2022. Accessed Sept. 2022. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/postwarera/postwar-era/a/the-growth-of-suburbia.