On January 6, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress with a speech outlining the four freedoms that every American should have. In context, one must realize that this was before World War II - before the attack on Pearl Harbor that would occur in December of that year. His speech said that as Americans, we each should expect to have by right - freedom of speech; freedom to worship God in any way we choose; freedom from want - that is, the necessities of life such as food and shelter; and freedom from fear. The speech so moved artist Norman Rockwell that he went on to paint his famous series known as the "Four Freedoms." Rockwell's paintings would later be used to help in the war effort by advertising the sale of war bonds. The rhetoric of the day made Americans feel a responsibility to his or her country. When war broke, Americans were eager to help. Many left the comfort of their parents' homes to fight in the war effort. They left with the images of Rockwell and words of FDR fresh in their minds. In 1945, nine million American servicemen and women came home from war. No longer were they children - living in their parents' home - but young men and women eager to build their lives. Between 1946 and 1964 over seventy-six million baby boomers were born. There was a tremendous need for housing. People such as William Levitt understood that need. In 1947, he broke ground on the first of three towns he would build. He bought one thousand acres of potato farms on New York's Long Island and started building. Eventually he built 17,000 affordable homes in what became known as Levittown, New York.

"The Rancher - A New House in Levittown - Special Introductory Price - $8,990 - $57 a month! No cash required from veterans!" Photo borrowed from Levittown, 2002.

Levittown was the beginning of the mass migration to the suburbs, however, the idea dates to the 1930's with Roosevelt's "New Deal in the Suburbs" (Christensen, 1986, p. 72). The Greenbelt Program was designed to develop urban areas into garden cities. Not only would this model program show that a city could develop urban planning to incorporate ideals and alleviate housing problems of the day, but would translate into much needed jobs. This "New Deal" never really materialized. The program was plagued with problems and eventually only three of the nine towns were ever built. The houses in Levittown reflected the rhetoric of the 1950's. Kitchens were moved to the front of the house to make it easier for women to answer the door while they were cooking dinner. Nobody ever stopped to ask if the woman wanted to answer the door, or even if she wanted to be in the kitchen - it was expected of her. Levitt used the term "wall of windows" to describe the view from the back of the house. One could look out to the common green areas and watch birds sing and children play. This brought the feel of a garden in the house. Privacy was assured by putting the large windows in the back of the house.

Photo borrowed from Levittown, 2002.

In the late 1940's and early 1950's, Levitt's modern Utopia attracted people with its affordability. Houses sold for a mere $7,995. It was the true American dream - a little house to raise a family, some garden space to plant a few tomatoes and maybe a barbecue in the backyard on Sunday - except that this dream was only available to white homeowners. Persons of color were unable to buy into Levitt's communities. Beyond overt racism, the CCR's (codes, covenants, and restrictions) in Levittown were strict in other ways too. Laundry could not be hung outside on Sunday and no fences were allowed - lending itself to a feel of the common green of a New England town. William Levitt himself would cruise the neighborhoods and send gardeners to those not keeping the grass mowed or the hedges trimmed - a bill would arrive in the mail for this service. In many ways, this kind of social control was mirrored decades later in the city-building plans of Walt Disney and his dream of EPCOT Center.

Over thirteen million homes were built in the United States between 1948 - 1958. Perhaps it was an inevitability - the country's population was increasing in record numbers. The suburbs, once thought to be the modern Utopia, were paving over prime agricultural land in increasing numbers. This truly brought the machine into the garden. As Joel Garreau (1991) writes, "This vision of progress became especially prevalent in the years after World War II, when more and newer homes for all Americans seemed beyond question a social good" (p. 368). As I think anyone commuting in the Bay Area will attest, the problems with traffic jams, inadequate public transportation, gang violence, drugs and any number of so-called urban crimes are alive and well in the suburbs of America. In contrast, most people can recall from their youth the vast orchards on Blossom Hill. Subdivision after subdivision has sprung up on what was once considered some of the best agricultural land in the country. The problems of housing in the suburbs will not go away anytime soon. If anything, the problems will become worse as time goes by and the population continues to increase and we lose our ability to separate ourselves from urban traumas.

References

Garreau, J. (1991). Edge city: Life on the new frontier. Doubleday: New York.

National Archives and Records Administration. (1998, August 10 [updated]). Power of persuasion - World War II posters. Available online: http://www.nara.gov/exhall/powers/powers.html

Newsday. (2000, February [downloaded]). Levittown at fifty - William J. Levitt. Available online: http://www.lihistory.com/specsec/levmain.htm.

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