suburbs
In first century B.C., Cicero refers to the large country estates just outside Rome as suburbani, but truthfully suburbs, as you know them, are somewhat new. Suburbs have existed in forms, such as when cities were walled and the villages outside them were inferior in size and status. It wasn't until the 20th century when the suburbs became known. Most suburban communities in the United States grew spontaneously, although some were planned by architects and real- estate developers. Some communities failed. These included Forest hills Garden, and others strived and are still here today, Levittown , for example, though the main reason that suburbs were becoming popular was because of the decline of the cities. The rise of the suburban industrial parks and shopping centers led to the further decline of the city. Congestion in the central city and the resulting deterioration of living conditions gave an additional incentive for people to move to the suburbs. People were anxious for clean, less expensive, safe places for their children. Typical families, moving into a suburban house, were looking for the "three S's: space, sanitation and security" (Stilgoe 23). Suburban communities allowed people to live
------------------------------------------------------------------------ As houses were built, the objective was class. While everyone was welcome to buy in Levittown, the firm tried to screen out two types: the marginal buyers and the socially undesirable. The communities tended to attract similar people: young white, middle class and newly married. Blacks, Jewish and Hispanics were not welcome; neither were singles, gays, the elderly or unmarried people living together. Young couples were mostly attracted because of the ability to move into a half finished suburban house and where they were able to create their own atmosphere. Three fourths of the Levittowners were lower middle class cultured, some blue and white collar and few professionals, the people that completed college (Gans 27). In the Levittown, Pennsylvania, they also drew a number of blue- collar workers and what Levitt officials had called marginal buyers. Marginal buyers were people who could not really afford the house, but who were qualified because of having no down payment. Again with children, schools were taken into account because well into the 1930s suburban families sent their children to urban schooling. Students were sent into the cities because the parents believed they offered a richer education by exposing their pupils to art museums, libraries, and the theaters. When then schools were questioned, Alfred Levitt came with the answer of having the school be the center of the community. Segregation also was a problem, Levittown remained racially, as well as economically, exclusive; efforts at intergration often resulted in racially segregated neighborhoods within the larger suburban municipality. Until the state enforced the non-discimination law, salesmen not only refused to sell to a black family, but also wou
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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