HISTORY 7B Lecture 22: Lecture 22 _ Suburbs - History 7B
Document Summary
Greenbelt, maryland (1937)-- self sufficient cooperative community. Levitt was to housing what ford was to automobiles. Posted that they simplified the process of buying a house. So many babies were born in these towns that they became known as fertility valley". 1950s: firm expanded -- build a big firm in pennsylvania. Everyone who lived in levittowns were similar in age, occupation, etc. Young couples under 30, with children under 5 years old. Even after 1960, levittowns screened african americans. If families wanted to sell their houses, they could not sell it to anyone that wasn"t caucasian -- targeted african americans. First california freeway was the arroyo seco parkway (pasadena freeway) Built shopping centers -- hurt downtown businesses. Freeways came first and then suburban development. Federal government would pay 90% of the cost. Truckers, road building firms, state highway administration, suburban developers -- were all in favor.
