The Growth Of The Suburbs

53b. Suburban Growth

Convenience and colour were two hallmarks of the 1950s kitchen. Pink refrigerators and new pre-sweetened cereals such as Sugar Pops were introduced to America early in the decade.

For many generations and many decades, the American Dream has promised an egalitarian society and textile prosperity. For many, the notion of prosperity remained just a dream.

But for millions of Americans in the 1950s, the American Dream became a reality. Within their achieve was the hazard to have a house on their ain land, a car, a dog, and 2.3 kids.

Postwar affluence redefined the American Dream. Gone was the poverty borne of the Smashing Low, and the years of wartime sacrifice were over.

Plans for Levitt homes
William Levitt offered v different versions of each type of home, but all had the same flooring programme.

Automobiles over again rolled off the associates lines of the Big Three: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. The Interstate Highway Human activity authorized the construction of thousands of miles of high-speed roads that fabricated living farther from work a possibility.

Families that had delayed having additional children for years no longer waited, and the nation enjoyed a postwar infant blast.

Suburbia

William Levitt revolutionized the way Americans live and ushered in an age of suburbia past providing inexpensive housing outside the city.

Racial fears, affordable housing, and the desire to leave decomposable cities were all factors that prompted many white Americans to abscond to suburbia. And no individual promoted suburban growth more than William Levitt.

Contracted past the federal regime during the state of war to apace build housing for military personnel, Levitt applied the techniques of mass production to construction. In 1947, he set out to erect the largest planned-living customs in the United States on farmland he had purchased on Long Island, New York. Levitt identified 27 different steps to build a firm. Therefore, 27 dissimilar teams of builders were hired to construct the homes.

Each house had ii bedrooms, ane bath, and no basement. The kitchen was situated near the back of the business firm and then mothers could go along an center on their children in the backyard. Within i year, Levitt was building 36 houses per day. His assembly-line approach made the houses extremely affordable. At first, the homes were available simply to veterans. Eventually, though, Levittown was open to others too.

Keeping Up with the Joneses

With the ability to own a detached home, thousands of Americans presently surpassed the standard of living enjoyed by their parents. Nevertheless, the movement was not without its critics. Architects called Levitt's designs and emphasis on conformity an abomination.

The first McDonald's
Every bit suburbia grew, fast nutrient restaurants began to pop up all over the country. Ray Kroc bought a single burger joint called McDonald's and paved the way for the fast food giant. Pictured above is Kroc's first new restaurant, which opened in 1955.

Because little multifariousness was expressed in the construction, homeowners struggled to keep their communities looking uniform. Residents had to pledge to mow their lawns on a weekly basis. African Americans were excluded by practice. The irrational demand to "keep up with the Joneses" was born in the American suburb.

Despite such criticism, a generation of Americans loved the take chances to avoid rent and the dirtiness of the metropolis to alive in their own homes on their ain land. Soon, shopping centers and fast food restaurants added to the convenience of suburban life. Thousands and thousands migrated to suburbia.

America and the American Dream would never be the aforementioned.