Land+of+Suburbia

//Alex Finkle Emma Corbett Emmy W** //
 * Amelia French

G.I Bill made it possible for veterans from WW2 to go to college and buy homes. After they graduated college, they moved to neighborhoods made up of identical homes. These homes,located on the outskirts of cities, were called the suburbs.

Levittown:

William Levitt built Levittown, one of the first suburban communities. He applied Henry Ford’s mass-production idea to housing. From the beginning of Levittown, the development was segregated. The original rental agreement stated that houses could not be rented or sold to anyone other than white people. It wasn't until after the 1954 racial integration decisions, which included Brown v. Board of Education, that Levittown became integrated. Still, even in the 1960 census, only a small part of Levittown was not white.

In the suburbs, there was no mass transportation so cars were essential. Because people were not living in cities anymore, they were less likely to get involved with politics or join a union because they would be too busy taking care of their new homes. They spent time mowing the lawn and watching television. Wives spent time cleaning and cooking and they were not usually employed. Cars weren't made to accustom people's needs and were made to accustom style.

In the suburbs 1 out of every 20 families had a fallout shelter. A fallout shelter is a thick-walled building, usually under the ground. It was built so that  people were protected from the possible nuclear bombs.

Suburbia was stereotyped a lot. For example in a perfect community, women wouldn’t work. They would stay at home and dads would go to work everyday and come home at night. Everyone made the same income, because the houses were exactly the same. If they made more income they moved to a fancier and more expensive suburb. Magazine ads tried to establish this picture, but the truth is women were bored and didn’t have much to do, dads didn’t like the commuting and the highway traffic that they had to deal with to go to their jobs and kids missed their grandparents and other older relatives. This was because older people didn’t usually live in the same neighborhood as younger couples. Racial issues were also a problem; blacks weren’t allowed in this “perfect” community.