suburbia
The Decaying of Pleasantville
Since the 1940’s, there has been a mass movement by Americans to live in the suburbs. They were searching for a sense of security, community, and open space that the city lacked. Suburbia was the answer to America’s discontent. It promoted the ideal community; with less crime and congestion. Suburbanites wanted to raise their families away from the cities in a wholesome, controlled, idealistic neighborhood. Suburbia became this romanticized idea.
The suburbs became a fixture in American’s lives after World War II due to the GI Bill. The government was appreciative of the soldiers who had fought in the war, and felt that they could repay the veterans by giving them a chance to rebuild their lives through owning a home. In Keats book, ” The Crack in the Picture Window”, he says veterans were given the opportunity of receiving “low-interest mortgages” on homes. Though unbeknownst to the veterans Keats reveals that the “bankers could recover a certain guaranteed sum from the government in event of the veteran’s default”. The idea of owning a home continued to flourish through various advertisements such as radio, print and from television shows that portrayed the illusion of suburbia.
During this time, the so-called baby boom was in full effect. Due to this fact, the housing market soared and suburbia was well on its way. Communities were developed by companies such as The Irvine Company and American Nevada Corporation. Just like in the series “Weeds”, the suburbs are the product of this demand. The developers masterminded cookie cutter homes that looked alike in every aspect and catered to single family dwellers. These types of residences were “well-manicured developments…”(Guterson 158) that David Guterson talks about in his paper, "No Place Like Home.”
These homes were evenly spaced and sized lots that aren’t just separated by measurements but by something else as well, “Each development inhabits a planned
socioeconomic niche…” (Guterson 189). Finance is an important part of the buying process, but it limits the type of people that are able to buy a house. It creates rows and rows of the same type of person and family throughout the neighborhood instead of individuality. Keats comments on this in his book saying, “people whose age, income, number of children, problems, habits, conservation, dress, possessions and perhaps even blood type are also precisely like yours.” People feel safe in these environments; they have a sense of security from knowing that they live in homes with people that have the same upbringing, vices and ideals.
There is a lack of connection and communication between the people that live in the suburbs. The knowledge of one’s neighbors was a common attribute of a good neighbor during the beginning movements to suburbia. Today it has become an unknown acclimation. Taking the place of kindness and familiarity is the new disconnection between life and work. We have become people that have a life that is separate from our home base. We leave in order to have one. One of the main aspects that the suburbs promoted was the increased sense of community. These developments were created with
Homes in these types of developments continue to sell because suburbanites continue to search for a secure environment that is well manicured and appealing to the eye. As Brian Greenspun states “Americans … moved to the suburbs in search of escape from the more undesirable aspects of the city and from undesirable people in particular” (Guterson 160). Regardless of trying to leave those issues behind, and with no way of preventing them from taking place, the same problems plagued the “new cities” and followed them right into suburbia.
Overbuilding has finally taken its toll. Along with personal overspending and the subprime mortgage crises, homes have been lost due to a flood of foreclosures and the so-called American dream has left families destroyed and in financial ruin. People have been forced out of their homes and houses have been left abandoned. Picturesque suburbia slowly has deteriorated. This has left the fellow homeowner in these neighborhoods to keep up the appearance of a perfect community. With residences empty, crime rates have risen. Homeless vagrants and drug activity have encroached the residences. Items such as copper piping, door handles and lighting fixture are constantly stolen out of these homes. The picture perfect image that is ingrained into our brains was merely a figment of our imagination.
Christopher Leinberger writes in his article The Next Slum that, “today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons why this will continue”. Urban life has become a part of the modern lifestyle. Homes on the outskirts of town have become a thing of the past. Families are being started later in the lives of millenniums. The new trend is to live in the city. This has now created a market for urban living. In correlation, developers have built lofts and condo complexes to accommodate this new fad. They have added small shops, restaurants, art galleries and office spaces to attract the urbanite. Everything is within walking distance. For example, downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach have started to develop these kinds of homes to entice the younger generations to these once loved cities.
To summarize, the image of suburbia was one of idealism that helped create the atmosphere of content and security. The future helped bring out the flaws of the system that was created. Suburbia was built with families in mind but in reality, disconnected the meaning of any sense of community. I tend to ask why we can be so fooled about this notion of a perfect family life when there has never been anything of the sort. Maybe it’s the claim that there might be some day and we better make sure that we make every effort to see it. In conclusion, the past is one of the best story tellers of the future.
Since the 1940’s, there has been a mass movement by Americans to live in the suburbs. They were searching for a sense of security, community, and open space that the city lacked. Suburbia was the answer to America’s discontent. It promoted the ideal community; with less crime and congestion. Suburbanites wanted to raise their families away from the cities in a wholesome, controlled, idealistic neighborhood. Suburbia became this romanticized idea.
The suburbs became a fixture in American’s lives after World War II due to the GI Bill. The government was appreciative of the soldiers who had fought in the war, and felt that they could repay the veterans by giving them a chance to rebuild their lives through owning a home. In Keats book, ” The Crack in the Picture Window”, he says veterans were given the opportunity of receiving “low-interest mortgages” on homes. Though unbeknownst to the veterans Keats reveals that the “bankers could recover a certain guaranteed sum from the government in event of the veteran’s default”. The idea of owning a home continued to flourish through various advertisements such as radio, print and from television shows that portrayed the illusion of suburbia.
During this time, the so-called baby boom was in full effect. Due to this fact, the housing market soared and suburbia was well on its way. Communities were developed by companies such as The Irvine Company and American Nevada Corporation. Just like in the series “Weeds”, the suburbs are the product of this demand. The developers masterminded cookie cutter homes that looked alike in every aspect and catered to single family dwellers. These types of residences were “well-manicured developments…”(Guterson 158) that David Guterson talks about in his paper, "No Place Like Home.”
These homes were evenly spaced and sized lots that aren’t just separated by measurements but by something else as well, “Each development inhabits a planned
socioeconomic niche…” (Guterson 189). Finance is an important part of the buying process, but it limits the type of people that are able to buy a house. It creates rows and rows of the same type of person and family throughout the neighborhood instead of individuality. Keats comments on this in his book saying, “people whose age, income, number of children, problems, habits, conservation, dress, possessions and perhaps even blood type are also precisely like yours.” People feel safe in these environments; they have a sense of security from knowing that they live in homes with people that have the same upbringing, vices and ideals.
There is a lack of connection and communication between the people that live in the suburbs. The knowledge of one’s neighbors was a common attribute of a good neighbor during the beginning movements to suburbia. Today it has become an unknown acclimation. Taking the place of kindness and familiarity is the new disconnection between life and work. We have become people that have a life that is separate from our home base. We leave in order to have one. One of the main aspects that the suburbs promoted was the increased sense of community. These developments were created with
Homes in these types of developments continue to sell because suburbanites continue to search for a secure environment that is well manicured and appealing to the eye. As Brian Greenspun states “Americans … moved to the suburbs in search of escape from the more undesirable aspects of the city and from undesirable people in particular” (Guterson 160). Regardless of trying to leave those issues behind, and with no way of preventing them from taking place, the same problems plagued the “new cities” and followed them right into suburbia.
Overbuilding has finally taken its toll. Along with personal overspending and the subprime mortgage crises, homes have been lost due to a flood of foreclosures and the so-called American dream has left families destroyed and in financial ruin. People have been forced out of their homes and houses have been left abandoned. Picturesque suburbia slowly has deteriorated. This has left the fellow homeowner in these neighborhoods to keep up the appearance of a perfect community. With residences empty, crime rates have risen. Homeless vagrants and drug activity have encroached the residences. Items such as copper piping, door handles and lighting fixture are constantly stolen out of these homes. The picture perfect image that is ingrained into our brains was merely a figment of our imagination.
Christopher Leinberger writes in his article The Next Slum that, “today the pendulum is swinging back toward urban living, and there are many reasons why this will continue”. Urban life has become a part of the modern lifestyle. Homes on the outskirts of town have become a thing of the past. Families are being started later in the lives of millenniums. The new trend is to live in the city. This has now created a market for urban living. In correlation, developers have built lofts and condo complexes to accommodate this new fad. They have added small shops, restaurants, art galleries and office spaces to attract the urbanite. Everything is within walking distance. For example, downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach have started to develop these kinds of homes to entice the younger generations to these once loved cities.
To summarize, the image of suburbia was one of idealism that helped create the atmosphere of content and security. The future helped bring out the flaws of the system that was created. Suburbia was built with families in mind but in reality, disconnected the meaning of any sense of community. I tend to ask why we can be so fooled about this notion of a perfect family life when there has never been anything of the sort. Maybe it’s the claim that there might be some day and we better make sure that we make every effort to see it. In conclusion, the past is one of the best story tellers of the future.