1. HIST206 U.S. History Since 1865
Answers:
The suburbs are one of the most successful inventions of the modern era as well one of the
most unloved ones. While many factors fueled the rise of the suburbs as the more desired
place to live, a new shift has been marked in recent times that has been helping cities to
expand and establish new suburban areas (Niedt). In the United States, these new suburbs
were established during the post-war era, when more citizens wanted to move away from
the chaos of the cities to a calmer and more peaceful countryside. These new suburbs
offered low prices for the lands and in more recent times, the needs to restructure these
new suburbs have become increasingly more important than ever before (Kneebone,
Elizabeth and Berube).
These new suburbs have seen a new idea and desire to sprout for the residential areas. the
change in the dynamics involves many factors including downsizing, young professionals
seeking more space and the need to accommodate the millennials, who are now adults and
are looking for places to stay. The suburbs first started to expand from a political need:
political segregation to ensure that small municipalities would manage the localities, and
take the pressure off the government to some extent, sprouted the suburban areas (Grant et
al.). However, the current needs for the development of the new suburbs are entirely
because of personal and individual reasons that are now slowly becoming apparent.
The need to restructure the entire suburban areas comes from the desire of most young
adults who want to live alone in single-family homes. This aspect has been bringing in
millions of dollars of investment to make sure that the suburbs fulfil the emerging needs of
the new buyers. A standardized architectural pattern made it easier for the houses to be
built quicker, making mass production of the houses possible (Archer et al.). This facilitated
the suburbs to expand rapidly. Along with these, financial deals and other benefits to the
customers enabled them to afford houses without much problem.
As a result, to all of these new views and architectural developments, the housing sector
experienced a massive boom in the 1950s. on the other hand, the housing boom also fueled
neighborhood segregation and the poorer black communities were made to live in specific
parts of the new communities, that were often referred to as the “new ghettos”. Taking a
2. hint from the Victorian era, the houses were built that emphasized on privacy and yet made
the inhabitants feel like they were part of a bigger community with the open windows.
One of the biggest drivers of the housing boom was caused by the evangelical revival that
found new followings during the post-World War era America. The evangelists resurfaced
with their religious slogans and sentiments that attracted a lot of Americans and gave them
a reason to want to stay as a community and these new age evangelists also spread ideas
about living a simple, quiet life, away from the hustle of the metropolitans and in the
solitary countryside (Young). This was a major reason why many new families and young
couples sought to live in a small house in the countryside where they could have a simple
life that was also abundant in other ways.
A chronological way of explaining the housing boom of the 20th century can be adapted that
could be helpful in making it easier to understand the events and conditions that ensued. In
the early 20th century, most people lived in crammed apartments, sharing space with many
other inhabitants and often whole families were forced to live under the same roof. The
health factors were a problem and overall urban health parameters were much below rural
indicators. After the traumatizing experience the American soldiers had all over the world,
during the Great War and after the massive impact of the Great Depression, everyone was
looking for a life that would be peaceful and would help the society to recover (Archer et
al.). These, coupled with the evangelical aspects, made the citizens want to move away from
the cities and move to calmer places. New architectures and changed societal requirements
pushed the housing industry to gain rapid speed and the low prices only acted as the
catalyst.
The housing systems that were currently widespread and inhabited by the Americans, had
some of the worst livable conditions in the western countries. It was unsanitary and was
seen as the breeding ground for social immorality by middle-class social reformers (Hall).
The religious revival took this opportunity to preach the needs for a purer lifestyle and
spread messages about how can a better life be achieved if people lived in the countryside,
rather than the decadent city conditions.
The Tenement House Act of 1901 directed the builders and building owners to add
additional windows, develop the conditions of the bathrooms, add fire escapes and make
sure that the hallways were given more lights (Archer).
The Act was aimed at trying to decrease the number of diseases by making sure airborne
bacteria did not foster anymore, or at least deceases (Kneebone, Elizabeth and Berube).
Moreover, this period saw a high number of people from all around the world to immigrate
to the US, which further made it necessary to build houses which were cheap and
affordable.
The white people fled the city to the suburbs, leaving the city behind with its poorly
3. constructed unhealthy buildings. This made it a necessity to start large scale
reconstructions in the cities as well, which were now inhabited by poorer, and often of
colored skin, people (Archer et al.). The 1950s saw the cities of the country getting
revamped and massive development projects were being done.
During the late 20th century, views about homes had changed again. The average size of the
houses had doubled, compared to the 1950s, most owners started seeing their homes as an
investment rather than just a place to stay (Kneebone, Elizabeth and Nadeau). The house
prices jumped higher every year and by the 1980s, many people sold their homes for almost
triple their original price. This was one of the major causes that resulted in the housing
sector collapse in the early 21st century.
References
Archer, John, et al. Making Suburbia: New Histories of Everyday America. University of
Minnesota Press, 2015.
Archer, John, et al. Making Suburbia: New Histories of Everyday America. University of
Minnesota Press, 2015.
Grant, Jill L., et al. "The future of the suburbs. Suburbs in transition/The resettlement of
America's suburbs/Suburbs in global context: the challenges of continued growth and
retrofitting/Suburban urbanity: re-envisioning indigenous settlement practices/Toward a
new suburban America: will we catch the wave?/Optimistic and pessimistic perspectives on
the evolution of the North American suburb/Response: Suburbs in transition." Planning
Theory & Practice 14.3 (2013): 391-415.
Hall, Peter. Cities of tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning and design since
1880. John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Alan Berube. Confronting suburban poverty in America. Brookings
Institution Press, 2013.
Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Carey Anne Nadeau. "The Resurgence of Concentrated Poverty in
America: Metropolitan Trends in the 2000s." The New American Suburb: Poverty, Race and
the Economic Crisis (2016): 15.
Niedt, Christopher. Social justice in diverse suburbs: History, politics, and prospects. Temple
University Press, 2013.
Young, Victoria M. "The Suburban Church: Modernism and Community in Postwar America
by Gretchen Buggeln." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture
Forum. Vol. 24. No. 1. University of Minnesota Press, 2017.
