The Rise Of The Suburbanization Of America

In the decades following the Second World War, America’s cities began a transformation still being felt today. The increased suburbanization of the middle class, and the resulting movement to stop it, led to the development of new urban spaces which had wildly varying levels of success. New partnerships between businesses and government agencies resulted in legislation that had a variety of positive and negative effects on different populations. Architects strived to create new methods of housing the middle and lower classes affordably and comfortably, attempting to simultaneously mimic the advantages of suburban life while maintaining the character of an urban setting. These projects certainly had a number of successes but too often contributed
Rather than simply rebuilding existing neighborhoods, they had grand plans to extend the reach of the human race to less hospitable portions of the globe, and even to other planets, by enclosing entire cities in giant “envelopes.” These huge tents would allow people to comfortably occupy places like Siberia and Antarctica. The creation of a more temperate internal climate made many of the obvious drawbacks of living in an arctic environment far less daunting. Residents would still be able to enjoy the large public greenspaces integral to the success of many traditional cities. These target locations are home to huge amounts of untapped mineral resources, which are very difficult to extract given the harsh winters they face. These envelopes would allow for year round occupation and thus steadier access to mines. While the designer touted these plans as relatively inexpensive compared to the potential good, they ultimately never came to fruition, as they were so radical in nature that they were unlikely to be accepted by the general population. As they were also largely untested, there was a good chance that they would end up being much more costly than foreseen by their creators. These enveloped cities would never come to replace more traditional models, and other forms of urban renewal would become more
While they did stimulate economic growth in city centers and helped to stem the outward flow to the suburbs, projects were often completed with little regard for those people who were uprooted in their wake. This lack of consideration led to thousands of low income minority families who lost nearly everything and were forced into even more desperate situations. Urban renewal is always a mixed bag, but in the United States the negative effects are still being felt from decades-old