1.1 expansion of the suburbs

what percentage of americans lived in suburbs in 1920?

17%

growth - after - when - out of - homes built between - and - were in suburbs

growth accelerated after the mid 40s when 11 million out of 13 million homes built between 1948 and 1958 were in the suburbs

what percentage of americans were suburbanites by 1960?

33%

features of a suburban home

ranch houses with double garages, 2 bathrooms and large lawns

why was there a post war house shortage?

little house building in the 30s and ww2

how intense was the house shortage?

250 old streetcars were sold to be used as homes in chicago

what encouraged builders to build more homes?

house shortage and easily available mortgages

FHA and VA

federal housing administration and veteran administration

FHA and VA mortgages

up to 90% of the value of a home and up to 30 years to pay them off at a low interest rate 4 - 4.5%

what percentage of all new mortgages did the FHA and VA provide by 1955

41%

what was the percentage of owner occupied homes in 1960

61%

reason for suburbs 1

land and houses were cheaper in the suburbs

reason for suburbs 2

increase in car ownership - interstate highway made it easier for people to commute to work

reason for suburbs 3

spacious, comfortable, racially and economically homogeneous neighbourhoods rather than populations of poorer black and white people, higher tax rates, noise and congestion

middle class exit from inner city

‘white flight’

most famous builders in the suburbs

levitt brothers

rules that residents were expected to conform to

weekly lawn mowing, no fences and no washing out on weekends

how popular were levittowns?

when houses went up for sale, people queued to buy them

what were Levittown homes priced at?

around $8000 which was two and a half times the average family income

example of how levittowns were racially exclusive

in 1957 rocks were thrown at a black family that bought a house in the Pennsylvania levittown and the authorities had to intervene

when was the first levittown house sold to a black family in new jersey

1960

what did william levitt say about black exclusion?

he defended it because he said that if they sold houses to black people ‘90-95% of white customers will not buy into the community ‘ - ‘that is their attitude not ours’