Housing Inequality in AmericaMain MenuThe Generational Illusion: An EssayAn Essay by Collin AndrewsEnvironmental Racism: How Residential Segregation Shapes Environmental InequalityHistoric Preservation Coast to CoastTitle PageNative American Housing: How Poor Housing Harms Indigenous HealthHow Poor Housing Harms Indigenous HealthPets & Housing: It's "Ruff" by Katie ClineHow NIMBYism Exacerbates Housing InequalityWhere's the Wealth!How Housing Discrimination has led to racial wealth inequality in the United StatesImmigrant Housing Inequality in AmericaIswat JinadSurveillance InequalityAn investigation into how poor communities are oversurveilled creating a cycle of more targeted and aggressive forms of surveillance for them and those around them.Post-WWII Urban Flight and the Birth of the SuburbsHousing Discrimination in Suburban AmericaRace, Repressive State Apparatus, and Homelessness: From Colonialism to COVID-19Tina NandiHousing Inequality and Access to Quality EducationMQ: Title PageVisualizing racial housing discriminationSplash page for path that includes interactive resources regarding racial housing discriminationProject information and creditsAndy Schocket278555063cc66428c8eadf42f48d412091c5aaf9Melissa Laddab8653014603439710b65435181f2130cee53400Andrew Bartelc9a57442f34fea7858b734ce98f4ec79bd5565b0Collin Andrewsf69afa6ae7fb0f33058b9e0cb476f7451a667cefTina Nandi6e38643c2c1510534cce4e954f0eeb8108bce699Iswat Jinad196dd805bf51f7a46fbf2d94ab069e97fc004d75Marcus Harris7e23857364c2363b25872718aea81323bdd37773James Cousinoe9398a1542d344c824ddaaf967819ae589cd2b61Katie Cline512add1943f75cbd770d4788dcdea90b706922c4Trisha A Bonham7fa13b399c9331700d719225b96f3bf9e54c4570Rene Oswald Ayalac01cc7385c24c3926f2f03a40860f6a4f703f410Kristine Ketel826fdfc33a24cff2c1e0ab79396dd2ae2bae3ed9Morgan Quinleyc8a47798c223cced64347bc9a7d80f6a64402e45
ML: Note 5
12022-12-05T22:22:05-08:00Melissa Laddab8653014603439710b65435181f2130cee53400412371plain2022-12-05T22:22:06-08:00Melissa Laddab8653014603439710b65435181f2130cee53400Galyean, Crystal, “Levittown: The Imperfect Rise of the American Suburbs,” US History Scene. Accessed Oct. 2022. https://ushistoryscene.com/article/levittown/.
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12022-12-05T22:22:22-08:00Suburban Beginnings15plain2022-12-12T13:35:28-08:00Responding 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. 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.” 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. ” 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.
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:
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. 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. 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.
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).