How The US Government Sold Us On The Suburbs
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- I have always been interested in the suburbs - where they came from - how they grew so fast after World War II. This documentary clip was made by the government to help GIs and their families feel confident that housing would be made available outside the "squalor" of the cities.
Our parents grew up in families of "share croppers" in Oklahoma and Louisiana. Their parents were landless survivors of the civil war. Without capital or land, they scratched out a living as tenant farmers in unbelievable poverty. Daddy was drafted and served as an Infrantyman during WW2. After the war, he used the GI bill to start a small business installing carpet and tile. My brother and I grew up in a small frame house on an acre of land within the city limits of Houston and walking distance of our school and church. We had a garden, a horse, a pig, chickens, two dogs and a treehouse. It wasn't heaven and it wasn't Levittown but maybe somewhere in between. Cheers!
❤️ god bless people like u
My dad a poor inner city kid, signed up, went to school on the GI bill, and got us into the suburbs. It was a great place to grow up.
My mom was an orphanage kid and my dad’s family lived in a single room “house” without indoor plumbing on the prairie. My dad was a wounded WW2 vet who went to night school to be an engineer.
They didn’t EVER complain and couldn’t afford to send us to college but four out of five of us worked our way through. As a grad student I taught Ivy League freshman who were so dumb they asked questions like “when *was* the second coming of Christ?” Now I see angry feminists, angry suburban kids, angry everyone demanding free stuff when they already have FREE-DOM.
Boomer
@Jacklynn Jackson not entirely true. However prejudice seemed to be abundant.
Great and very insightful video. As a Zoomer i love learning about this specific time in history
Such a great channel. Mix of diverse, interesting topics!
Thank you Allen.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
how do you have so little views
Good question. I can't figure it out.
David Hoffman - filmmaker
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker You need better thumbnails and titles for starters. Probably a rebranding on the username and image. Your focus from a branding standpoint should be on the footage, not you. Also I believe the ideal is for the video to be around 10 minutes.
@@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker Also a signature is a bit odd for comment sections.
@@Go4Noctis thank you for your suggestion. I am on the road and will respond in a week
Us older people who lived thru this time period and appreciate it's history are dying off and the young people today don't give a shit about these things.
3:56 that's an amazing shot
The suburbs are the direct result of the fact that more space between people improves the quality of life and reduces the friction between people. If you have an obnoxious neighbor it is better the farther away they are.
World Champion Thank you enjoying what you do! World Champion
Ya i lived some of that, good video, nice presentation . Good!
Reminds me of Commi- Blocks in USSR
Ahh yes, the prefabricated homes that deteriorate in quality and value just the same as the car you need to buy to get you to the job so that you can keep paying for it all.
Vicious vicious cycle. What is this world, it makes 0 sense
All houses depreciate as far as I'm concerned.
@@joshlewis575 it's a game, and you're currently in it.
@@MilwaukeeF40C Houses that are structurally sound appreciate over the long haul.
@@joshlewis575 Technically it's not the world just sorry ass America
The family laundry done in 5 minutes for a a quarter? Sign me up
I'd pay far more than a quarter for that!
sure the machine stops in 5 minutes but the laundry isn't clean. a quarter back in that day had to be about $2.50 today. lookin at the size of that machine you could probably wash only 2 pair of pants.
as i recall it took fifteen minutes and the dry was free.
@@WillieStubbs remember the value of the dollar was a lot lower back then.
@@WillieStubbs That is probably about how many they had.
As some one with a BS in urban planning theory, I can say that the projects that were built in lieu of the slum removal were devastating to the social fabric of the underclass. A sense of space (territory) was lost that may have gone back generations for some. Violence, crime and depression rose for the new tenants who had what the knew replaced with sterile apartment housing that all looked the same. This was called top-down planning that had little to no input from those most greatly affected by the changes- though I can't blame the planners for doing this (as they saw it they were helping the lower class out). Notorious examples include Pruitt Igoe in St. Louis and Cedar Riverside (Riverside Plaza) in Minneapolis among others.
To comment on Levittown- Yes at the time Suburban development was a good idea, reliving people from the hum drum and dirtiness of the inner cities but, unfortunately it became America's model for urban development for the 2nd half of the 20th century and is still going on to this day. This has led to unchecked urban sprawl in many major American cities (IE- Houston, L.A., Dallas/Ft Worth, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago) that has made housing density thin over a large amount of space. Due to this, traffic congestion makes people's commutes unbearable,and I personally know some that commute 3-4 hours round trip in certain cities. Ironically, because of this cities urban cores now are in demand with prices rising and gentrification happening pushing the working class out all together. What's the solution to this? Who knows? My best guess is more density (to keep desirable places somewhat affordable), basically build up instead of out. Also having more than one mode of transpiration (us American's love our cars!) would also help to alleviate traffic congestion in suburban areas. Actually, Los Angeles had one of the best streetcar systems in the US (if not the world) prior to WWII. You would never know that today as it has all been removed for its massive freeway system it's so famous for (and the horrid traffic jams that go along with it...) Anyway, thanks again David, love watching all your videos, very insightful on a time period I missed out on.
Ahh a thinker. Where i live there is continuous pressure for more green field developments. What about looking at underutilized land within urban boundaries. Car parks of many acres adjoining big box stores and malls could be great sites for multistorey apartment development. Bottom 2 floors could be mix of car parking and retail above that apartments to cater for a variety of family sizes and lifestyles. Common areas could have atrium style indoor/outdoor landscaping, waterfeatures. Coffee shops hairdressers childcare, even workshops maybe in the basement to carry out DIY. Places for children youth and adults to hang out and socialise. Car parking areas have untapped potential.
What they could Have done with inner cities Is what they done in eatsern Germany post 89. They knock dawn few floors And building here And there.
Some could Have been do there. Instead demolishing It whole. Make biger aparments, fix IT. And move rest.
Boy those housing projects and parks sure look different now
Adam wiggins different people living in them
@@tomkruze8560 Different people Not really...after-all "ghetto" came from the Jews. Just a different people subjected to living in them now. Different folks, same strokes.
@@tomkruze8560 They are terrible no matter who lives in them...
Ew yuck from the get-go
Michael That’s why the saying “diversity is our strength” creeps me out at this point. It’s probably the most powerful, longest lasting most destructive piece of propaganda the world has seen. That short little quote is destroying the entire western civilization and its citizens are cheering it on and refuse to see where things are headed. Imagine seeing those crime statistics, realizing America will not survive a black majority but still screaming that piece of propaganda. It’s a comedy at this point.
Those high rise projects didn't work out so well
Jeffrey Reardon they worked EXACTLY how they were designed to work but In order for you to admit that you’d have to admit other things that you’d rather not because it wouldn’t fit your narrative
Most will feign ignorance at your comment.
@@thetruthandnothingbutthetr6484 forgive my ignorance but could you elaborate a bit. I don't know what either of you guys are referring to but it sounds important.
Of course they didn't. Blacks want to live in mansions. For free.
@@thetruthandnothingbutthetr6484
i find it hard to believe when you act so triggered instead of using facts and logic😂
Watching this film was like looking back at a lost promise.
I remember my grandparents talking to me about the Great Depression of the 30's when they were kids, then World War II came along, and after that my grandfather did well as a contractor in the 60's where he had a nice big house, another small one by the lake and a fishing boat. They were a generation that worked hard and had something to look forward to. I remember that small town feel before our city blew up in population and now, everything seems so destitute. I just get by pay check to pay check which gets smaller by the year. Things are a lot different now than when I remember as a kid. That local connection is gone with the advent of television and the internet, our smart phones and gaming computers. With it, we as people became more distant and disconnected from each other. Our democracy has suffered from it as we see from our politics today. And with all this accelerated progress, we're heating up our world, causing changes no one thought possible.
Then: Laundry can be done in five minutes for a quarter. Now: Laundry takes 24 minutes to wash, 33 minutes to dry, and costs $5.25 per load. Now *that's* progress!
For real?
I do my laundry for free upstairs in my neighbor's place, and if he says something sideways to me, I punch him square in the nose and tell him to mind his Goddamn business.
People on minimum wage fifteen years ago would riot.
At least we still can choose to give money to another to wash our clothing or... Wash by thine own hand and hang dry, doesn't take as much water or electric. Many you tubes on different ways. I get your point though, and the more people we grow, the more and more expensive it will be to live.
Actually 25 cents in the 40s was worth about 4.50 in today money. So
The problem with this kind of media was its unnatural happy go-lucky take on everything, human nature included.
These narratives sold their propaganda well. If you are able to talk to a person that lived through 1945-1968, they will tell you that people where more content/happier than they are now. This propaganda unified a nation. Yes, it glossed over the worst parts of society, but many people watch unfiltered news each day, and its negativity makes them feel a sense of cynicism. These same people are more prone to interact with society (positive reinforcement) with positive propaganda, than raw news (negative reinforcement). An unpositive disposition of a topic DOES NOT make the public ambitious to change their world for the "better". Instead, they feel like victims of society. ...and when people feel like victims, they make excuses as to why their lives "suck", instead of bettering themselves, their community, and their environment.
Not really. I grew up many decades ago in a suburb and it was great! It was partly because of the suburb and partly the decade. It was extremely safe and care free. Our neighbors were like family and invited to our family gatherings. Jobs were life long and secure, and they paid well. It's difficult to explain if you weren't alive back then. But it really was a wonderful time and place! If I could afford a house in a nice suburb I would move there in a heart beat. Even though it wouldn't be the same, it would be better than my city.
"Down are coming the bad living conditions that produce bad citizens"...
Very disrespectful statements are part of the problem of how we feel about each other...
I can't help but notice they were only moving the white people out. I'm guessing there was a deeper undertone to this statement that was glossed over by most viewers at the time.
Maybe, bad citizens produce bad living conditions?
@TLAMont2008 "Kay Broughton GTFO"
Thanks for proving her point...
@@usntheboy1, Bingo!
Wow! Where do you find this stuff. Amazing.
Man imagine getting a house for $8,000 with a yard, you cant even get a new car for that price today.
Yeah inflation exists.
@@krashsite2125 Yup, so does inflating all our savings and 401k away by the time you get old enough to use your 401k.
$8,000 was a lot of money back then (when we were still on the gold standard). Plus, the house was much more modest than what people are accustomed to today. Also, 30 year mortgages had not been standardized yet. Most mortgages were for 10 years or less. And the buyer usually had to put 50% down payment on the home. You also had to pass a rigorous bank enforced credit and employment check. They made sure you were a good risk and they made sure you had plenty of skin in the game so you couldn't just walk away without losing huge amount of equity. A completely different scenario compared to today.
Are you really that ignorant? Have you never heard of inflation?
Because of inflation. Only going to get worse.
Government social engineering. Read The Slaughter of Cities by E. Michael Jones.
the brainwashing them into consumers
@@jle633 Watch the BBC documentary The Century of the Self. Edward Bernays was the founding father of mass marketing/ consumerism. Creepy stuff.
bad book
@@2910687 Very insightful book, heavily footnoted.
E. Michael Jones' videos on TH-cam cover this topic as well as his book mentioned above.
David, your uniquely preserved window into our historical national consciousness explains so much about why things are in the present. Thank you for the preservation and sharing of such precious gems!
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks…will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered…. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”
- Thomas Jefferson in the debate over the Re-charter of the Bank Bill (1809)
It would be great if urban housing projects ended up as nice as the one shown in the documentary, but in reality that never seems to be the case. The penny-pinching and compromises usually start before ground is even broken and the people who end up living there tend to be left to run and maintain everything by themselves even though the main reason they're living there in the first place is because they don't have a lot of money. Once things start to get run down, the projects usually get labeled as bad neighborhoods that people and businesses avoid, which makes things even harder for the residents.
"Housing projects," where one of the worst things to ever happen to America.
We still have projects, in a different form
That wasn't a housing project, that was Parkchester housing complex in The Bronx, NY these were apartments built by MetLife the insurance company. These are now condo's.
I think you meant were, not where. The projects are _where_ all the good drugs were. But I get the sentiment. Idiocracy in action. The SOP of government.
They looked good on paper. Another example of "The road to hell is paved the good intentions."
Notice public housing was originally for white people as were the suburbs.
Now the government (and private developers) want to wean us off single-family houses and into tiny communal boxes in concentrated areas.
It’s easy to control people when they are in very dense urban center. A city council of a dozen people can rule several million when they pack them into a single voting district. Impossible when folks are scattered in the suburbs in a multitude of small towns villages or rural townships. It’s ALL about control people.never forget that. The thirst for power never ends. Don’t fall for the social planners. These are the folks who built the “projects”and in return get their votes that keep them in office until they die. Never follow the herd never believe politicians go your own way and frustrate the efforts of those who who have “plans” to make you beholding to the govt.
Tellthetruth n/a yep, I always thought Obama was trying to discourage people living in the country by doing things like; raising gas prices (he never got gas prices as high as he liked.)
Yep and remove both the 1st and 2nd amendment so their plans will go much more "smoothly." Also make sure we voluntarily install listening devices like Alexa in all our homes so the corporations can listen in on everything we say and do and then report back to the government in the event you're ever perceived as a threat.
drott150 listening devices like Alexa? Try our cell phones...
@@mikecastellon3022 please spend some time living in any city outside of the English speaking world and you will see how wrong you are. Tokyo, Barcelona, Seoul, Paris, Amsterdam… all wonderful walkable cities where you don’t need a car just to exist in society.
How far we have progressed. Today you would never leave your child outside of a Laundromat while you're inside doing the laundry.
1998bluedog or expect that a “good” household was white, led by a man, only a woman and man union...
You can’t even your kid in the car for a few minutes while you run an errand because some busy body idiot will call the cops on you.
Progressed backwards. We have in home laundry but if I were to need a laundry mat I’d like to have the safety to be able to let my kid go across the street to get an ice cream or play baseball,play with other kids and not get kidnapped like today.
LOLOL that's a ridiculous assumption. A former LAPD Detective Jack Huddleston's book 'Death Scenes" shows the reality of these times. Murders, rapes, kidnappings etc.
@dropout0110 yeah kinda,I feel like people didn't raise their kids with empathy or anything like that. Also though we can't control people,only do our best,but if God isn't present than that means the devil takes over,sadly.
It does give you a very home feeling. But in my mind maybe my heart?? I thought WoW!! They built the ghettos! I guess I never thought about where “the bottoms” ( what we call the ghetto where I’m from) came from. It’s so sad to actually see those fresh neighborhoods and know what they will eventually become. I may be way off with that thought but it’s what came to mind. The thought turned even darker as they spot lighted the huge apartments. You must know my thoughts? Like rats in a trap!! Good Times?? Communism. Stick everyone in a small space. Give them all just enough room so they won’t complain or reject the idea of living in a box.
This was just my thoughts. Doesn’t make them true. This was a very cool documentary. Thank you for sharing 🌻
Tonia Dellapenta despite all my rage...
Npc 2000 I’m sorry! I don’t understand what you meant?
Despite all my rage? Did I make you mad? Wasn’t intentional I promise. Just sharing what came to heart/mind.
I live in a capitalist country, and I've lived in apartments all my life. It's really nice to be able ride my bike to work instead of having to drive everywhere.
I don't know what's so communist about not wanting to spend hours in traffic getting to and from work.
Jack O'Toole I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I live in a duplex and I love being able to ride my bike all around also.
I was talking about the feel of what I was seeing. It’s a move “they” made. I believe that a lot of conspiracy is not conjecture but truth placed in a mountain of nonsense to make those of us who believe that it’s truth no theory look like idiots.
Here again this is not fact all fact based just what I feel in my heart to be true. I’m truly sorry if you thought I was being degrading or judgmental.
Just sharing is all.
@@toniadellapenta90 no need to apologize, I just had an entirely different impression than you!
To me, the disgusting slums they were demolishing looked like the "rat trap". The new apartments with the well manicured baseball pitch out the front looked more like the nice place I live in now.
They obviously didn't design it the way they did by accident (the voiceover says the word "planning" about a dozen times), but I think they were trying to be good capitalists by improving the health of the workforce.
That's just my impression
The suburbs were an experiment worth trying and a lot of it turned out well. In the late 40s it was the first time around for most this and now we have nearly 70 years of historical perspective on it.
I love your work, Mr. Hoffman. It's crazy to think in such a short time so much has changed. It's almost scary when you really think about it.
"low cost; high standards" suburbs.
Give me your lowest cost hamburger. Make sure it's the highest quality meal I get.
"Mellow years before the ripe fruit fell, as fruit will drop on windless autumn days..."
But enough about Grandma.
They’ve tried for years to stackm and packm In major metropolitan areas. Seems more like a way to keep tabs on people rather than having liberty 🗽.
Of course.
Today, it's a way of managing dwindling resources like fuel and water. You people and your conspiracy theories.
So true.
Exactly
They still want it that way. Remember you will own nothing and be happy. But they didnt tell you they will put everyone in cities in stack and packs with you sharing your stack and pack with others. Glad Im older. Maybe Ill be gone by then?
So sad that human beings should allow themselves to be told how to live.
We can see what happened to "The Projects" , now they are trying to sell us on "Tiny Houses". Why ... ?
Who's trying to sell you on tiny houses? It's a fad among a certain type of person, not some big government, top down thing like housing projects.
My hippie sister built a tiny home - and not even a few years later she bought a bigger house. Sounds good on paper - not at all practical
@RaFari1119 BeeI'm not informed on everything going on, but I don't think those who know what the fresh air of freedom is won't allow for some to take away our freedom to travel, work, and such. Just because government and sick people in Google and big business have sick dreams such as you've put forward doesn't mean it'll all go as you put it forth.
People also have dreams of near unlimited freedom, so it'll counter act any issues. People have to get into the habit of joining like minded community to build actual community so we as people can stop tyranny at least from taking our community. But if people simply focus on other extra issues then they'll lose sight of the true issue and thus cause it themselves.
@@megg.6651There's nothing wrong with either. An appartment and trailers are similar to tiny houses. The tiny houses though don't always have everything you need. So it's possible to have a tiny house just not as tiny as a cardboard box. 😄 Some of these tiny house people just need to buy a shed or outhouse and have it customized and call it a day besides all this custom limit of your life. There is probably a way to organize everything in a customized way that maximizes space and utilizes everything, but it's definitely not in a cardboard box. 😄
@@JChannel_ I didn't say that there was anything wrong with them - I said that they are impractical - and they are not as cheap as people think they would be. Hers cost $35,000. And obtaining water was a big issue so she took showers at the YMCA. And, yes, everything was very efficient and maximized space - but inconvenient in so many ways.
This should be titled: “How Urban Planners Failed”
Also the government and real estate interests
The wash done in 5 mins???
Yeah that made me laugh too.
Proof that ancient technology existed.
Shouldn't people live in towns, villages and cities that evolve naturally rather than being planned by beaurocrats that are out of touch with the serfs?
My dad grew up in a clabber house near a town in Tennessee. My mom grew up in a two room log house with a lean-to kitchen in the hills of Kentucky.
My dad helped his parents sharecropping. My mom helped her parents with their small farm. They went to town twice a year to buy staples such as flour and coffee on a wagon pulled by COWS! No joke.
My dad got around in a car.
Dad loves Frank Sinatra and big bands. Mom loves country music.
They met, married, and eventually we moved to the suburbs with fenced yards and curved streets. Also had indoor plumbing and central heating!
I was 12.
But, I missed my life before moving. Big open space. The air was fresh. Lots of nature and a clean, clear swimming hole we'd swing over with a rope attached to a tree limb, then drop into the cool water. Screaming all the way!
Mom and dad are so opposite, I finally asked mom why on Earth they married? Her answer cracked me up laughing.
"I was afraid I'd get pregnant."
Times certainly have changed!
Hell yeah, you're from Levittown, NY. I'm growing up in this town right now
Small world.
I went to school in Levittown!
Been living in NYC for 4 years and never looked back
Thank you for posting.
The govt run by military industrial complex has a way of breaking generations apart and keeping them separated and selling them lots of stuff.
In the Solid Klan South, many of the housing projects were built right on top of the old slag heaps and grounds of old rolling mills and steel mills. The soil was thick with lead, cadmium and arsenic.
Because of the poisoned soil, it was forbidden for residents to plant gardens or even flowers. They were verbally warned, and those who disregarded the verbal warnings were fined and arrested.
The old timers on the city paint crews in Atlanta said that lead-paint (from government stockpiles) was used in interiors of the city's housing projects--- even though the managers were informed numerous times by the painters that lead-paint shouldn't be used.
Ezekiel 37
Do you have proof of anything you wrote?
If so I would love for you to post links, so I could research into this.
Between 1978 and 1980, remaining stocks of newly-banned lead paint was sold to the US Navy. Came up last week when our sailors were chipping paint.
@@atticussawatzki
Jesus! A lot of the sailors who grew up in housing projects would have already had brain damage from lead paint. Then they would have been exposed to more lead paint on the ships.
One problem with growing up in a lead-paint environment is that the lead paint is extremely sweet. Toddlers who are bored or hungry find lead paint chips irresistible. It tastes like the sweetest ice cream--- I speak from childhood experience on this.
How would that quiet little community react to a black family moving in?
There's a an old doc about a black family moving in. Forgot the name of the video though.
The idea of big business took over the country in a flash it seems. Move alot of people into a small space supply the necessary basics and we can easily pitch and sell our products to more people at one time. This clip was very interesting to me. Myself personally I didnt grow up in the suburbs but ironically I live there now like its some kind of social status symbol. Seeing this clip gives me a new understanding for those that choose to stay in rural areas.
I grew up in the burbs. 60-80's. Life was great
@Victoria Adeyemi Yes, Presbyterian, very active, choir 10 years, youth groups every Wednesday and choir practice, day camps, youth camps.
Why did you ask that?
St. Louis is/was very Catholic and Jewish.
I grewup in suburbs from 1956 to 1970s. It was safe then. We had more freedom to be outside with our friends and do alot of things. No computors. Not much on TV. We had a healthier lifestyle. We would put up a tent in our backyard in the Summer and campout all night with our friends. I wish my daughter and grandchildren had it that way.
What happened to the suburbs? Where is part 2 of the story? Was the prison industrial complex made by Design? Are the projects a great life after all with gangs violence drive by shootings...
This was just as much about the projects as it was the suburbs and the prefab houses could be put in the country as well
Factory trailer housing brick to look modern, still section 8.
Don't forget- most households had 2 parents. One worked outside the home for money, the other cared for the home and children personally. Multi-generational homes were not uncommon, especially in the country. The idea of the American Dream was to own your own home came after WWII with the GIs coming home and consumption of consumer goods needed to increase to create enough jobs for everyone
multigenerational homes were the norm for many cultures that came to america. it was a way to support the family line.
No one had to sell us on tbe suburbs.
Not everyone can farm, and the city becomes tedious, endlessly financially draining, and exhausting.
Everyone wants their own little piece of heaven that they can actually OWN, and have some autonomy and privacy.
And be free from black violence and crime. You left that part out...
@@drott150 like how you have to throw that in there. I was reading that the suburbs are a slowmoving timebomb that are destined to bankrupt cities with too much sprawl
@@drott150 once the suburbs infrastructure starts decaying the low population density tax revenue cannot cover the cost of the roads and amenities. Leading to debt. New growth covers the cost of older development's. Pretty much a ponzi scheme
@@music4thedeaf Why do I have to throw what in there? The truth? lol And you think the suburbs are a slow moving timebomb do you? haha Hey that's great. Then you be sure and stay in the "safe city" where you can bathe in the benefits of diversity, BLM, Antifa and woke politics. Good luck with that! We'll be watering our grass and enjoying a BBQ with our white neighbors.
@@drott150 😆 clown
"Common Good", raising the quality of life for the working citizens. Today extraction capitalism where the wealthy get richer.
'The government' didnt convince anyone. Im the son of immigrants, nobody wanted to be packed like sardines in the cities, dropped into horrible conditions like slums and tenements. THAT was an abhorration and what immigrants had to do in a lot of cases to establish a foothold. Nobody wanted to live like that by choice. What happened was that the automobile was invented and commoditized, giving people personal freedom in movement which then allowed them to go buy some real property in nicer places to live. Thats it and thats all.
If the propaganda campaign was so useless, why did the government, real estate companies, and the car industry all spend so much time and money on it?
Are you one of those people who believe that advertising doesn't really influence people?
Jack O'Toole Freedom is not something you need advertisement to want. I hate to break it to you, nobody sat in a slum in Hells Kitchen yearning to be trapped in the city or not mobile. The car is freedom and it has always been freedom.
@@552mustang dude, I'm from a suburb in a city of 5 million. A car means being stuck in traffic on the same miserable road for about 90 minutes a day.
Hate to break it to you, but if that's your definition of freedom, then you've probably been watching to many car commercials
Jack O'Toole My impression is not what you need to worry about, its the impression and motivation behind what really happened. The cities became sh-tholes, largely still are, and people fled from them.
@@552mustang and the suburbs became poverty stricken food desert's, filled with unemployment and opioid addiction. People are fleeing from them in droves right now, leaving nothing but rusted old cars and crumbling infrastructure.
It doesn't matter whether people prefer to live on a quarter acre or a tiny apartment, people will always move to where the money is. In the 50s, that was the suburbs. Today, it's the inner city.
The question is why the money went from the city to the suburbs and back to the city again. The answer has more to do with complex economic factors than personal choice.
This was NOT extended to Black people. I remembered my white Jew and Italian neighbors move out. I t was called the White Flight...
"Down are coming the bad living conditions that produce bad citizens"
@Jacklynn Jackson haha yeah - Control repackaged as Hope
I Love finding documentary gems like this. I'm glad I'm able to view such important images. Thank you for posting this.
Time has proven that it’s not the buildings, it’s the people.
I'd be interested to see clips on how the Baby Boomers approached child rearing of the two generations Gen X and Millienials. As a Gen X I feel like Baby Boomers thought children were a box to be ticked on the list of "This is What a Successful Adult Must Do to Show Their Success". I feel like many Baby Boomers saw their Gen X children as possessions like a new car. Emotional neglect seemed the norm and little quality time was spent with their Gen X children. We were the latchkey generation - left to our own devices to raise ourselves. Obviously as real humans with real feelings and goals ourselves, they saw us as less than perfect and disappointing when we expressed any human needs. As Baby Boomers went on and had their second families, their sense of mortality made them realize that their children were their legacies so they over-invested in Millennials - trying to turn them into mini-Baby Boomers who listened to the same music, thought the same thoughts as the Baby Boomers, and coddled them to feel they deserved things without working for them. No offense to the Millienials because both extremes of parenting are harmful to children and each generation faces unique challenges to overcome the damage of the narcissistic/self-absorbed Baby Boomers.
Dr Spock was the go to for that. x-ers are an interesting segment. I am on the cusp... born in 1963. In some ways I can totally get your post. My home was not a "broken home" so I been blessed. Latch key kids get a raw deal. I agree. The poster that said to get help- is out of line. You sound logical to me.
Correction if you were a White GI you could buy a house in levvit town. Not the same for other GIs.
White GI's were the overwhelming majority . Stop playing COD and rewriting history. Your welcome for your freedom.
Robocox 9mil damn, just because non white GIs were a minority means that they don’t deserve the same opportunity as white GIs? I guess COD forgot to teach me that.
@coffeeinthemorning And 10% weren't but they all fought for our country. When they returned home white soldiers recieved all the benifits and the rest were fucked over.
@@robocox9mil882 Lol what are you on about. White vets received overwhelming compensation post WW2 that assisted them in reaching middle-class status. Low rate loans, subsidized housing, along with other services that all military should have received. Instead, it was used to increase the divide.
The rural farm life was rather romanticized. It was long hard work, and your home and livelihood depended on nothing going wrong with the crops, which rarely happened.
*POPULUXE*
is a book by
*Thomas Hines*
-which provides a gentle intro to the dark art and history of Urban Planning.
Here are two companion pieces worthy of your time:
*From Bauhaus to Our House*
[ Tom Wolfe ]
And
*TASTE*
-the secret meaning of things
[Stephen Bayley]
Those are three off the top for anyone interested in the question : "what the hell happened here?"
Good luck
Slaughter of Cities by E. Michael Jones is a great book.
I've already read those and I second your recommendations!
Thank you! i was hoping for something like this
Back when we had socialism for everyone.... not just for the rich like we do today
I saw housing projects (those big apartment blocks) and wartime housing. Hmmm... wonder what happened to all those neighborhoods?????
how we got sold on both sides of the atlantic..
check reports from women factory workers in ww2. they all say the radios were so loud it was hard to hear each other talk. post ww2 affordable radios, boomer generation, raised on constant babble. and thats how the cryptocracy pwned everyone and we stopped paying attention to reality unless it was of a specific bandwidth. we still really suck. mkultra didn't go away, read about james walbert in wired magazine. we incredibly suck. but we'll never find out. meanwhile, 60 years of suck for west papua. thanks collusory governance.
lol the first three minutes is literally what Marx envisioned when automation took over the means of capitalist production. Makes you think.
@nikola zazzoslki Communism has never been achieved.
David, thank you being a great individual with the John Ward interaction. I can see the greatness in both of you. I found you before that video and knew about John Ward by chance before also. Just wanted to say thank you for letting conversation flourish!
Even an automatic laundry, where Junior waits outside 😂
These should be preserved for the future of humanity. Blockchain.
Ha! Please explain blockchain...and figure bitcoins:)
Bruh how is block chain going to fix the housing problem 🤦♂️
I’m a 21 year old Mexican American guy in the navy. This is my favorite channel because I as well love the real history of the mid 20th century
I think manufactured housing is still an idea with merit. I don't know, though, that it's ever really been executed well.
Housing projects look great in this. I'm too young - I never saw this. This is like a science fiction movie.
Only some GI's were given that deal. The black veterans were mostly excluded
@@sullenday nobodies crying, I'm just interested in history and thought that I should mention it since the presenter didn't.
You don't need to be a soyboy to know about the racial side of history
@@sullenday also, why do you think racism is boring? I think it's a fascinating part of human history. The pogroms, apartheid, Jim Crow, etc... All very important and interesting things to study and learn about
That's changing.
Slowly but still changing.
Our ancestors were tricked into buying bad goods, culturally speaking. It's time for us to go back.
Your ancestors were not trick, but giving a helping hand like low income section 8 suburban trailers brick in to look modern.
The leaders of LA, San Fran, Portland and others should see this as a reminder of what their responsibilities are to the people. Our cities are becoming gigantic feces polluted ghettos of old. It's reprehensible.
Progressives seem to just love wallowing in their own excrement.
Long Island, the birthplace of US suburbia. It’s a unique place to grow up in 2019.
It's getting too crowded and drugs have become a big problem though
The Protestant shaped America that's since been destroyed...RIP
Social Engineering.
My father grew up in Wantagh... I would guess that you guys are about the same age too. When I was a kid we would go visit his parents there, and we always went to Jones Beach. I learned to bodysurf there.
Small world
High rise apartments aren’t suburbs. Those are inner city slums.
I wish my grandpa had the opportunity to use the G.I. Bill to move our family to the suburbs but redlining was not having that🤷🏾♀️ Affirmative action at it’s finest for white people‼️
My Grandparents mortgage was $12/month. The depression came & Grandmom paid the house off with their savings earned during the war prep.
Levittown - Pennsylvania. From a recent documentary, during the 50's 60's, and on, pedophilia was quite rampant there. Made me very sad for those children.
5:04 I didn't even know the USA back then had such creativity for ramps such as those.
Quite a contrast. Lord save us from central planning and command economies.
My first apartment was very close to cabrini green. In my opinion, tearing it down was a mistake.
I love watching documents on Cabrini Green. Whole other world.
@@RazsterTW Indeed. Tearing it down was somewhat controversial. From what I could see- it was beneficial to contain the gang members in 1 square mile rather then having them all over. Next- that location had stunning view of the skyline and great mass transit. Being centrally located had some advantaged. Not all the suburbs have good transit- in fact the south west suburbs it is over 2 hours to commute one way.
coldcrashpictures did a movie review of the first installment of Candyman. To finish the video he visited the area of where Cabrini Green use to be. That authority figures were giving themselves credit that living there had gotten better but never mentioned that it was the residential committee that made it livable. And the reward of such a feat- gentrification.
I still can’t understand why baby boomers rebelled. They had what looked like such a great way of living. Anyway now the cities are full of condos and expensive luxury apartments and people are flocking back to the city. Or at least they are in Boston.
Don’t know why but, this era’s daily life feels mundane to me
You have the power to create. If things are mundane. Well. Then that's a reflection of you
@@thatdude87 You have the power to create, that is true but you are also part of a society.
@@a54109 and? Be you own person and ditch the sheep mentality. Go do what u want and have better friends🤷♂️
But why build affordable housing when a single lot can bring in millions because so many rich people want a big house? Times have changed. Nothing like the good ol' days, it seems.
The free marketeers have squashed urban planning as much as possible. The catch phrase is no metropolitan limits. Let the market dictate. Urban sprawl rules. Suburban living was designed to maximize reliance on the motor car separating peoples basic human needs, shops,schools, medical centers, etc so it is impossible to function without a car. Designed so population densities too low to support public transport. Google the signitaries of the Lone Mountain Pact to see who and which institutions supported anti urban planning known derisively as 'smart growth.
Levitt turned office and factory workers into commuters, and destroyed the rural communities and farmland this film boasted. Lawns now cover more land in the US than food crops, and highways meant for the rapid transportation of goods between towns and cities have become parking lots for 4-6 hours a day. A far cry from the utopian pipedream they envisioned.
but the social consequences of the suburbs were soon to come as the TV attracted us indoors and semi urban traffic endangered a childs freedom of exploration and play, and the list grows to where a sense of community is supplanted by a sense of isolation and moral breakdowns made us vulnerable and alienated, susceptable to addiction. And this is just the beginning...bruce
At the 3:20 point of the film when the slums appeared, I couldn't help but think of Democrat politicians saying, "Yeah, I'm proud of being responsible for creating that."
I personally love suburbs because i dont like to socialize but i can recognize how harmful they are and how much better inner city life is.
The US now needs to create more cities instead. They bring jobs and it would ease a lot of the weight the cities (and states with those cities) carry like high costs of housing. Rural areas = no jobs in today's age
They did it all over the world not only here and the whole world today is on the same boat
Thank you for sharing these great films of the past.
Now we have 2 generation's longing for the farms that their Grandparents sold for the city...Better to be happy and broke on a Farm, than wealthy and miserable in a city....Thank God my people stayed on the Farm...
Until they find out how much work a farm is.
Was an interesting film but the premise is wrong. Suburbs have been around for 2000 years. Comes from the Roman word Suburbani. We didnt see them in Europe after the fall of Rome until the population grew back from the plagues that kept the populations low until the 1700s but America had them in population centers all through the 1800s, in fact, by the time of the Civil War the north was able to keep their army supplied due to all the factories in the suburbs around places like Chicago.
Even China had them. The capital of Loyang in 190 A.D had suburbs for many miles around it.
Your videos are so important; so consequential. Thank you so much for capturing and documenting this history for us. There is so much to be learned from it.
David, can you comment on the "NIMBY" vs "YIMBY" debate? That is, the zoning regulations that are raising property costs and causing the housing crisis. Thanks.
My family came to the “suburbs” of Long Island in the 1600’s and never left, lol.
My great- grandfather x11 Edward Raynor had a town named after him, Raynortown, it is now known as “Freeport” 😁
I once lived Just a few minutes from Freeport in Levittown. My dad and I would go up to Freeport on Saturday mornings to an antique shop near the water. So nice.
David Hoffman filmmaker
When America was great? Let's make it great again?
Make America Great Again?
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
My parents bought a small three bedroom one bathroom home in San Rafael California for 14 thousand dollars in 1959
Sold it for 21,500 in 1968
Today those small 900 square feet homes are selling for a million dollars
Ridiculous!