For Tuesday, summarize the reading on Levittown, identifying the article’s main points in 100-200 words. Cut-and-paste your summary as a response to this message.
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For Tuesday, summarize the reading on Levittown, identifying the article’s main points in 100-200 words. Cut-and-paste your summary as a response to this message.
“Levittown: The Archetype for Suburban Development” starts off by reminding the reader about the type of people the suburbia was intended for – young veterans, middle class citizens, first time home buyers, Caucasians. Levitt & Sons saw the opportunity to create affordable houses and sell them fast – and took it. By creating an efficient and swift building process, Levitt & Sons were able to whip out houses in just 16 minutes. Along with cheap homes, the success of Levittown came in the mass amounts of advertisements the Company sent out to magazines and newspapers. But Levittown’s high success came critics, stating the suburbia was full of poorly made, monochromatic homes that would draw a classless group of people, thus bringing down surrounding housing markets. Other critics attacked the racial segregation placed on the community: Levitt & Sons’ financial backers refused to allow the homes to be sold to blacks. Lastly, the article highlights that with the swift rise of the suburbia came its swift fall in the late 1960s due to many residents moving away to swankier locations with better opportunity.
In 1951, almost 17,500 brand new houses had just been built in a new type of community—suburbia. Originally named Island Trees, Levittown was built in Long Island as a postwar means of housing. Levitt & Sons jumped at the nation’s prime conditions to create a new development. It was after the war, and American vets wanted to purchase homes of their own. With a financial climate favoring their pursuits—low interest loans and prime deals with the GI bill—it was a great time to buy. Although Levittown was famous simply for what it was, many complaints came along with the new neighborhood. African Americans were barred from purchasing these new homes, and many other Long Island residents in swankier neighborhoods worried that the new suburban area would lower the value of their own homes. Amidst the pros and cons of Americas first suburbia, it is without question that Levittown was the beginning of a phenomenon that still permeates throughout every state in this nation today.
Levittown marked somewhat of a turning point in the landscape of American living as the hard line between the rural in the urban was blurred by sprawling suburbia. The rise of Levittown and areas like it emphasized a lot that was going well in post World War II America as the growing affordability of homes improved greatly improved the average standard of living and the GI bill caused a boom in the housing market. Not everything about Levittown was a beacon of progress through, the neighborhood was entirely white and fought hard to remain as such even after the ruling in Shelley vs. Kraemer. The company maintained the defense of their actions that it was “Their white clients’ attitude, not theirs.” The increase in neighborhoods like Levittown made residents of existing affluent neighborhoods worry about the “type” of people that’d be moving near them. Originally Levittown homes only consisted of four and a half rooms, all exactly the same allowing the Levittown home builders to manage to produce another house every 16 minutes, but today homes that were bought for four figures have been renovated and have an average worth of $400,000, 60 years later, leaving Levittown scarcely recognizable.
Levittown was a symbol of the “American Dream” in post war America. From the outside looking in, this housing development provided an equal and uniform opportunity for veterans and other Americans to access affordable housing. It became known as a prime exhibit of suburbia in America, characterized by identical housing and affordability. But while Levittown provided for a common need of people who needed affordable housing in America, it was also defined by poor urban planning and monotony. Joshua Ruff described the uniformity as “inescapable”. While Levittown did break some international barriers- Jews, Italians, Irish and Poles lived together in virtual harmony- it failed to incorporate blacks into the community. The creators of Levittown intentionally kept blacks from buying homes within the community based on “social custom”, meaning they were conforming to institutional racism to keep the whites in Levittown happy. One thing that kept coming to mind while I was reading the article was the ideas of Durkheim. It seems to me that Levittown combined the principles of Gemeinschaft and Gesellenschaft. It seems that while the size of the community isn’t as small as a village, it is more in line with Gemeinschaft. However, the people were not working towards a common goal, but instead driven by materialism and capitalism, which created disunity within the community.
Living on Long Island for the past seventeen years made reading “Levittown” hit much closer to home than expected. The argument that small town suburbs have vastly changed over the years is completely accurate. People moved away from the big cities to have enough room for a backyard, a family, and more stability, yet nowadays suberbs are more of the same. “You feel in fact that you can be anywhere…” is a perfect example of towns on Long Island today. They blend into each other so easily that it is hard to have a sense of community when it is so spread out and boundless. The perfect Levittown dream is somewhat of a reality today. The idea has spread all over the country, creating houses for the retired veterans and filling up America’s blank spaces, yet with no individuality. With building a house in sixteen seconds, there is no time to spare for uniqueness; it is the same monotonous lifestyle across the United States. That is what is so unappealing about suburbs. Inside of them are the same family structures, day-to-day dramatics, and overall blandness that is not found is bustling cities.
Testing
Joshua Ruff’s article, “Levittown: The Archetype for Suburban Development,” describes the town’s history and its social progression from the end of World War II to present day. Once the war ended, the baby boom began, and families grew in size, there was a high demand for places to live among the returning veterans. Abraham Levitt and his sons, William and Alfred, decided to work together and form the Levitt & Sons real estate development company to turn the farming land of Hempstead, New York, into homogenous homes for the community. The affordability and rapid purchasing of the homes made the suburb gain its notable popularity; however, the town was criticized for its lack of tolerance towards minorities, especially African Americans. Despite laws banning discriminatory acts in housing, de facto segregation continued and blacks were hindered from buying houses by certain tactics, such as redlining and steering. At the start of the 1960s, the property value in Levittown increased and job opportunities presented themselves in other places, so more people decided to move away to cheaper houses that possessed the same quality. Even though Levittown has adapted to the present day, it still holds its prestigious reputation as an ideal suburb.
Levittown seemed to solve the housing problem that plagued America in the 1950’s, but it ended up being the breading ground for racial insensitivity. From the outside, Levittown looked like the idillic suburban community with homes that looked the same, Chevrolet sedans parked in the driveway, and BBQ grills in the backyard. The 17,000+ homes were put up for sale for a price around $7,000. However, even with an affordable price and a mix of ethnic and religious backgrounds, Levittown still would not allow African Americans to live in their community. Levitt & Sons claimed that it was the opinion of their residents to keep the African American community out. Levitt was charged with a discrimination lawsuit in the 1960. To avoid public hearings, Levitt agreed to desegregate his newest housing community. In today’s market, the original Levittown homes would be valued at about $400,000. Few homes that haven’t had major work done on them still stand. However, Levittown will still stand in America’s history as the first major suburban development (that just so happened to be plagued by racial insensitivity).
“Levittown” represents the birthplace of modern suburbia in America. Just after the end of WWII, the real estate company Levitt and Sons saw an opportunity to capitalize on a booming postwar economy and a great horde of working class individuals who desired homes of their own. By coming up with newer, more affordable, and more efficient ways to construct homes, Levitt and Sons was able to construct nearly 18000 homes outside of Long Island, New York. These houses were not magnificent, only 4 and 1/2 rooms, but they were a dream come true for many post-war veterans. The advent of Levittown did not come without its critics however. Architects, authors, and even wealthy long island neighbors all criticized this suburban sprawl. Levittown was a neighborhood of diversity, which included people from all different nationalities and backgrounds, except for African Americans. Nowadays the property of Levittown still remains, but it is a far cry from its post-war glory days, yet Levittown remains a vital image of American history. For in its image are interwoven the horrors of racial segregation, the fulfillment of a dream for hard-working Americans, and the birth of suburban America.
In 1951, a new suburbia emerged that promised higher standard of living at an affordable price. The Levittown development arose as groundbreaking feat that received national recognition for its ingenuity. Neighboring towns were worried what walks of life community of identical houses would attract. Even though Levittown had a relatively ethnically diverse population consisting of Italians, Jews, and many other minorities, the African American population was not allowed access due to the demands of the projects financial benefactors and the residents of the community (Ruff). Legal restrictions were placed against the African American population and further bred the homogeneity and racism that is seemingly typical of suburbia’s. Even though the legal restrictions have since been dropped, Levittown possess a “white only” attitude to this day. By the late 1960’s the community of Levittown’s property taxes rose steeply as did the real estate prices. Levittown was one of the first developments of its kind and sparked a rise in suburbia across America; a type of suburbia that embodies both a better life and segregation.
The initial purpose of Levittown was to provide low cost housing in large quantities to veterans and other people who could not afford to live in the cities. Because they were cheap and small, homeowners in the surrounding areas feared that their home values would go down due to a variety of people moving in. Levittown encouraged racism in not allowing anyone who was not Caucasian to buy or rent a home. The combination of racism and increasing prices led to a great number of people leaving. While some people remained in Levittown, the prices are higher and a part of history was made.
In 1951, Levittown, New York, became the most popular suburban area of its time. By cutting out the middleman and mass-producing the housing, Levitt and Sons were able to produce over 17,000 houses and sell them almost immediately. Levittown became the most popular postwar place to live. However, as its popularity grew, so did its opposition. Many people would try to tear down the reputation of these Levittown by spreading rumors about the quality of the houses. Also, African Americans started deciding they also wanted to live in these affordable houses. Like everything else in the fifties, there were intense racial divides and segregation. Many African Americans struggled to find housing in Levittown and the neighbors would often pay more to keep them out. Levitt addressed the issue once by admitting that the popularity of Levittown could have decreased the racial divide if he had accepted African Americans there, but then his houses wouldn’t have been as successful and there was no way to have both in that time. Levittown still thrives today with residents of all backgrounds and stages of life, and the houses have been remodeled and are more than fifty times more valuable.
John Cougar Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen both craft well-written pieces of music describing their respective opinions about life in a small town. While Springsteen sings an edgy piece that does a great injustice to small town living, Mellencamp more accurately captures the full essence and beauty of life in a small town. Mellencamp’s major theme is small town community; the fellowship that comes from living together in a small town. Mellencamp warmly concludes his first verse with “Oh, those small communities”. He goes on to sing “All my friends are so small town”, and he further continues with the theme of friendship and community when he belts “I cannot forget the people who love me.” The theme of community threads through the entire work. Mellencamp cherished and understood just how unique and special those small town relationships truly are. Springsteen has no such appreciation for these relationships nor does he even hesitate to mention anything about small town community. His song is riddled with lust and restlessness, and he completely neglects the best thing about life in a small town. He is so anxious to leave with his girlfriend that he never takes the time to appreciate the true beauty of small town community. Living in a small town forges relationships that simply do not exist in big cities. Mellencamp humbly admits this truth when he sings “No I cannot forget where it is that I come from.” Small town life dominates American literature in novels such as The Little House on the Praire, A River Runs Through It, and many more. All these novels celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of small town community. Mellencamp captures the essence of small town life, but Springsteen misses the point.
The article on the, at the time, revolutionary development community of Levittown describes its history, its founders and its effect on the people and their opinions of it. Starting in the early 1940s racial conflict was an issue from the start and the results of that can still be seen today with “less than 1%” of the population of Levittown being African American. Consequently the article focuses a great deal of attention on the racial issues and history of Levittown. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling in 1948 of Shelly v. Kramer (Cited in Article) that made racial covenants unconstitutional “African Americans were unable to enter this melting pot.” They were driven away by the residents of the town and by the owners, Levitt and Sons, and forced to form other communities along with others unable to live in Levittown. Racial discrimination was a huge issue to the founders and residents of Levittown but it was by far not their only criticism. As it was a revolutionary concept of streamline production of houses and communities, criticism by architects, lawyers and homeowners was inevitable. Wealthy merchants in the Long island area worried about the property value declining due to the nearness of the “cookie cutter” community, architects claimed that the “sameness” of the housing was wrong and the speed at which the production method was pumping out houses could not possibly be producing architecturally sound. The article cites several counter arguments to these criticisms. While the community of Levittown and the appearance has changes greatly over the years, nearly beyond recognition, it is still hailed by the author as a mark of history and is looked on by historians and public figures with nostalgia as the intention of the “picture perfect American dream” life and community advertised in the 1960s to the white population (see “A Blueprint for the middle class by Sally Edelstein)
The article on Levittown provides the reader with a brief history of the suburbia, and displays the controversy surrounding the sprawling suburban developments. The housing development was completed in 1951 by a real estate development company known as Levitt & Sons. Soon afterwards more and more Levittowns started popping up across America. These post-war towns served as homes to ex-GIs and their families and to anyone looking to move out of the city offering small, affordable housing. Unfortunately, Levittown faced a darker reality than it appeared in its brochures. Levittown restricted housing to African Americans causing conflict between the Caucasian residents of Levittown and the African Americans wanting to move there. Even after the decision in Shelley v. Kraemer William Levitt kept the policy of only renting to whites in practice, even though it was longer written in the contracts, as well as continuing for years to battle court rulings. Looking at where Levittown once stood one could not tell it was ever there. If there is anything that Levittowns have taught us it is that large scale federal housing and racial exclusion never succeed in real estate development.
The author of “Levittown: The Archetype for Suburban Development” consistently focuses on three main points throughout the article: the importance of the federal government supporting housing on a large-scale, the racial exclusion in these communities, and working-class people fulfilling their dreams. Ruff starts off the article with a semi-satirical paragraph to help one visualize how Levittown was depicted in the media. Throughout the rest of the article, he demystifies this image but revealing some of the ugly truths that exist in these suburban communities, specifically Levittown.
Levittown, Long Island was the first community to be considered suburbia. It was made to fulfill the needs of many families searching for homes, whether it is to escape the city or for a post-war veteran that hadn’t been settled in America in recent years. The federal government had a large role in allowing the growth of suburbia to take place when the 1948 Housing Bill allowed anyone to buy a home with 5 percent down and allowed m ortgage terms to last 30 years, which opened the door to many people who couldn’t originally afford to buy a home.
One of the main problems was that Levittown was the biggest fan of letting ‘anyone’ purchase a home. They had restrictions against blacks moving into Levittown, and even after the government placed regulations on this, they did what they could to prevent blacks from moving in until 1968 when the Civil Rights’ Fair Housing Act criminalized racial covenants. To this day, the black population of Levittown is only about 1 percent of the total population.
Levittown was what got many working-class people in the door to achieve the American dream of that era. As stated previously, the government had put things in place to help them afford houses; and once someone owns a house rather than renting an apartment, they have more room to grow and prosper. This led to even nicer suburban communities, which many Levittown residents would move to once they became more established. This was the first time ‘moving up’ became an extremely common thing, and in my opinion it is still a common thing today. Not many married couples move into their first house and claim that they will live there forever.
Levittown was very important in shaping American culture as it is today. Suburban communities continue to be churned out in growing towns, and suburbia is still the go-to option for many newlyweds deciding that they one day want to start a family. Although the history of suburbia as a whole is tainted with racism and class division, I could not imagine America without its existence.
In the article, Ruff gives a detailed description of Levittown over the years and brings up points, both good and bad, about the intriguing city. It was created by Mr. Levitt and the real estate company that he ran with his two sons. They created a city from scratch that eventually amounted to over 7,000 houses and middle class people, especially veterans, flocked to the area to buy houses for cheap. Levittown embodied the American ideal of a simple life and it appealed to many people. The people that lived there wanted to make it look good to the outside world and tried to give it a good reputation. However, Levittown had bad aspects as well, The community barred African Americans from living there, mainly because of mainstream ideals at the time and because Mr. Levitt believed that black residents lowered the value of the community as a whole. As time passed, Levittown became what all fads eventually become, a thing of the past. People moved on to more popular and more affordable areas and the market for Levittown was instantly changed. Houses doubled and tripled in cost and people swarmed elsewhere leaving only the memory of Levittown’s now gone popularity, or lack-there-of, behind.
Levittown: As men were coming home from the war, they found themselves with nowhere to live. William Levittown cashed out on this tragedy. He began building suburbs, with what seem to be, cookie-cutter homes. They were all well-built, but they were small and identical. This became the post-war housing market. We also learn that this housing development became a prominent point of racial tension. The Levitt’s did not want to sell to African Americans and went as far as to fight it in court even though this kind of discrimination was ruled unconstitutional. This was the new America.
In the late 1940s, real- estate developers Levitt & Sons converted a potato field into a postwar suburbia called Levittown in Long Island, NY. Levittown, formerly called “Island Trees,” attracted young working- class ex- GI’s and their families mainly for its affordable prices in the late 1940s and early 1950s. In 1941, the Levitt family won a wartime contract with the navy to build 2,300 homes in Norfolk, VA, a project that was split into 27 separate steps. At one point, Levitt & Sons could build a home in 16 minutes with the help of specialized crews. Almost identical Cape Cods began selling in 1949 for $6,990 for one year, and $60 a month, selling out before crews were finished building them. Although criticized for its architectural sameness, Levittown’s inhabitants were highly pleased with their homes. “Outsiders” were afraid of the new families moving in, worried about property values and a “decline in prestige.” Although considered a melting pot, Levittown was racially exclusive, refusing to sell homes to blacks despite the 1948 U.S. Supreme Ct. decision in Shelley vs. Kraemer. Residents eventually left Levittown, either to expand to larger houses, or to escape the high property taxes and real- estate prices.
The year is 1948 and the place is Hempstead, New York. If one were to ask who they would receive the name Levitt & Sons. Why? World War II is at its close and the Depression is that of a threatening memory. Money is scarce and housing even more so. Millions of veterans return from Europe and are ready to slow down their pace of life. Most hunt for jobs which put them in the working class like most who stayed in the homeland. So back to the question of who. Levitt & Sons were real estate developers in New York who chased the dream of feeding the hunger for a new kind of housing development. They called their success Levittown. By the year 1951, more than seventeen thousand homes could be found in this town. Each house was the same, small, and affordable. The perfect practical solution to the cramped apartment living which were the best cities could offer to the majority. Working class whites rushed into Levittown prepared for a quiet suburban lifestyle perfect for starting families. Though there were controversies, including segregation in Levittown, this inspired areas across the country to adopt similar neighborhoods which launched the movement to the suburbs and a growing middle class.
In the post-war and Post-depression era, millions of families were in desperate need of homes, and the new Housing Bill of 1948 and separate low-interest loans for veterans gave people the chance to live in houses of their own. At the same time, land was going cheap, Levitt & Sons, a real estate development company, took the chance of cheap Long Island farmland and created the postwar poster child for suburbia. That is how Levittown, the most famous American suburban development, came to be.
Even though criticism against Levittown was strong and prevalent, for the ones who were part of the community the experience was positive and the people were impressed by how the houses were built in a very short amount of time, but to a high standard of quality. However, the largest and most influential housing development of its time was also an image-conscious place, which did not only mean small homes which all looked exactly the same, but also that African Americans were excluded from the suburb even after the exclusion was deemed unconstitutional, which for many, ruined the ideal of the American dream, an ideal many of the working class people moving into Levittown sought after when leaving the urban areas.
Throughout the 1900s, suburbs were mainly attracting white, middle-class to wealthy families. There was one developer in 1949 who changed the whole game: Levitt and Sons. There idea was to buy cheap farmland and transform it into affordable family-style homes. The timing of the complex couldn’t have been better because the baby boom was on the rise. The glamour of being able to raise a family without the stress of the crime and commotion of the city attracted everyone. Many critics did not feel the same way as the Levittown residents. They resented the lack of uniqueness per house, and instantly degraded any resident. Every resident in Levittown was Caucasian per the contract to buy the house allowed nothing other than that. Until 1955, Thurston Gaines, an African American doctor, mixed the melting pot up a little more. He became a resident of a house in Levittown from 1955-1961. He never considered it a home where he could feel comfortable in though. Although Levittown had many faults, the overall purpose of the community was a positive one that sparked an entire generation of suburbanites.