Essay: The Evolution and Impact of the New Suburbia

This essay provides a historical analysis of the new suburbia, tracing its origins and evolution from the post-war era to the present day. It examines the factors that fueled the rise of suburban areas, including political segregation, the desire for single-family homes, and the influence of religious revivals. The essay explores the housing boom of the 1950s, standardized architectural patterns, and financial incentives that facilitated rapid suburban expansion. It also addresses the social implications of suburban development, such as neighborhood segregation and changing views on homeownership. The essay references various historical events, including the Great Depression and the Tenement House Act of 1901, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the forces that shaped the new suburbia and its ongoing transformation. The essay references multiple sources to support its claims and provides a chronological overview of the key developments in suburban history.

Running head: THE NEW SUBURBIA
THE NEW SUBURBIA
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Author Note:

1THE NEW SUBURBIA
The suburbs are one of the most successful inventions of the modern era as well one of
the most unloved ones. While many factors fueled the rise of the suburbs as the more desired
place to live, a new shift has been marked in recent times that has been helping cities to expand
and establish new suburban areas (Niedt). In the United States, these new suburbs were
established during the post-war era, when more citizens wanted to move away from the chaos of
the cities to a calmer and more peaceful countryside. These new suburbs offered low prices for
the lands and in more recent times, the needs to restructure these new suburbs have become
increasingly more important than ever before (Kneebone, Elizabeth and Berube).
These new suburbs have seen a new idea and desire to sprout for the residential areas. the
change in the dynamics involves many factors including downsizing, young professionals
seeking more space and the need to accommodate the millennials, who are now adults and are
looking for places to stay. The suburbs first started to expand from a political need: political
segregation to ensure that small municipalities would manage the localities, and take the pressure
off the government to some extent, sprouted the suburban areas (Grant et al.). However, the
current needs for the development of the new suburbs are entirely because of personal and
individual reasons that are now slowly becoming apparent.
The need to restructure the entire suburban areas comes from the desire of most young
adults who want to live alone in single-family homes. This aspect has been bringing in millions
of dollars of investment to make sure that the suburbs fulfil the emerging needs of the new
buyers. A standardized architectural pattern made it easier for the houses to be built quicker,
making mass production of the houses possible (Archer et al.). This facilitated the suburbs to
expand rapidly. Along with these, financial deals and other benefits to the customers enabled
them to afford houses without much problem.

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As a result, to all of these new views and architectural developments, the housing sector
experienced a massive boom in the 1950s. on the other hand, the housing boom also fueled
neighborhood segregation and the poorer black communities were made to live in specific parts
of the new communities, that were often referred to as the “new ghettos”. Taking a hint from the
Victorian era, the houses were built that emphasized on privacy and yet made the inhabitants feel
like they were part of a bigger community with the open windows.
One of the biggest drivers of the housing boom was caused by the evangelical revival that
found new followings during the post-World War era America. The evangelists resurfaced with
their religious slogans and sentiments that attracted a lot of Americans and gave them a reason to
want to stay as a community and these new age evangelists also spread ideas about living a
simple, quiet life, away from the hustle of the metropolitans and in the solitary countryside
(Young). This was a major reason why many new families and young couples sought to live in a
small house in the countryside where they could have a simple life that was also abundant in
other ways.
A chronological way of explaining the housing boom of the 20th century can be adapted
that could be helpful in making it easier to understand the events and conditions that ensued. In
the early 20th century, most people lived in crammed apartments, sharing space with many other
inhabitants and often whole families were forced to live under the same roof. The health factors
were a problem and overall urban health parameters were much below rural indicators. After the
traumatizing experience the American soldiers had all over the world, during the Great War and
after the massive impact of the Great Depression, everyone was looking for a life that would be
peaceful and would help the society to recover (Archer et al.). These, coupled with the
evangelical aspects, made the citizens want to move away from the cities and move to calmer

3THE NEW SUBURBIA
places. New architectures and changed societal requirements pushed the housing industry to gain
rapid speed and the low prices only acted as the catalyst.
The housing systems that were currently widespread and inhabited by the Americans, had
some of the worst livable conditions in the western countries. It was unsanitary and was seen as
the breeding ground for social immorality by middle-class social reformers (Hall). The religious
revival took this opportunity to preach the needs for a purer lifestyle and spread messages about
how can a better life be achieved if people lived in the countryside, rather than the decadent city
conditions.
The Tenement House Act of 1901 directed the builders and building owners to add
additional windows, develop the conditions of the bathrooms, add fire escapes and make sure
that the hallways were given more lights (Archer).
The Act was aimed at trying to decrease the number of diseases by making sure airborne
bacteria did not foster anymore, or at least deceases (Kneebone, Elizabeth and Berube).
Moreover, this period saw a high number of people from all around the world to immigrate to the
US, which further made it necessary to build houses which were cheap and affordable.
The white people fled the city to the suburbs, leaving the city behind with its poorly
constructed unhealthy buildings. This made it a necessity to start large scale reconstructions in
the cities as well, which were now inhabited by poorer, and often of colored skin, people (Archer
et al.). The 1950s saw the cities of the country getting revamped and massive development
projects were being done.
During the late 20th century, views about homes had changed again. The average size of
the houses had doubled, compared to the 1950s, most owners started seeing their homes as an

4THE NEW SUBURBIA
investment rather than just a place to stay (Kneebone, Elizabeth and Nadeau). The house prices
jumped higher every year and by the 1980s, many people sold their homes for almost triple their
original price. This was one of the major causes that resulted in the housing sector collapse in the
early 21st century.

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References
Archer, John, et al. Making Suburbia: New Histories of Everyday America. University of
Minnesota Press, 2015.
Archer, John, et al. Making Suburbia: New Histories of Everyday America. University of
Minnesota Press, 2015.
Grant, Jill L., et al. "The future of the suburbs. Suburbs in transition/The resettlement of
America's suburbs/Suburbs in global context: the challenges of continued growth and
retrofitting/Suburban urbanity: re-envisioning indigenous settlement practices/Toward a new
suburban America: will we catch the wave?/Optimistic and pessimistic perspectives on the
evolution of the North American suburb/Response: Suburbs in transition." Planning Theory &
Practice 14.3 (2013): 391-415.
Hall, Peter. Cities of tomorrow: an intellectual history of urban planning and design since 1880.
John Wiley & Sons, 2014.
Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Alan Berube. Confronting suburban poverty in America. Brookings
Institution Press, 2013.
Kneebone, Elizabeth, and Carey Anne Nadeau. "The Resurgence of Concentrated Poverty in
America: Metropolitan Trends in the 2000s." The New American Suburb: Poverty, Race and the
Economic Crisis (2016): 15.
Niedt, Christopher. Social justice in diverse suburbs: History, politics, and prospects. Temple
University Press, 2013.

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Young, Victoria M. "The Suburban Church: Modernism and Community in Postwar America by
Gretchen Buggeln." Buildings & Landscapes: Journal of the Vernacular Architecture Forum.
Vol. 24. No. 1. University of Minnesota Press, 2017.