Change of Pace: Discussion on Postwar Suburbs in America

Have you ever really thought about where you live and how it came to be? 

At a panel discussion (3.28.2011) entitled “History and Fate of the Postwar American Suburb” at the UW-Madison, WI, I got a new perspective on how a sense of place-and history -is so important to our perception of home.

Presenting the panel:

L-R, Arnold R. Alanen, Brad Murphy. Dianne Harris, Daina Penkiunas, Brad Murphy, Anna Andrzejewski

Moderator Anna Andrzejewski opened the discourse by posing several questions:

Anna Vemer Andrzejewski

As postwar suburbs become historical sites, both preservationists and city planners alike are asking:

What do we preserve?

How can we accommodate commercial development within these areas? 

How do we study these places and finally…

How do we live in them? 

Arnold R. Alanen provided the background.  

Arnold R. Alanen

Citing the popular movie Revolutionary Road in which Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio play a young couple struggling with the everyday monotony of suburban life, the movie’s inspiration was John Keats 1957 novel, The Crack in the Picture Window.  Per Alanen, “the ethos of over conformity at any price” was sweeping the country at this time.

While conformity was the name of the game, a great deal of anti-suburban sentiment existed.  Yet suburbs provided things that every American sought; an affordable home in a safe family centered neighborhood. The Levittowns of Long Island, New Jersey and Bucks County naturally played into the discussion.    

Early in the forum it occurred to me that race would become part of our dialogue. And it did as our central guest speaker Dianne Harris brought to the fore that these ordinary post war houses represented our race, class and identity. 

Dianne Harris

In fact the first studies of the Bucks County based Levittown were about the race riot that occurred as Daisy and Bill Meyers, the first African Americans residents moved in on August 20, 1957. The couple remained for five years but moved when Bill’s job was transferred to another area.

Levittown, PA - courtesy Wikipedia

Andrzejewski mentioned how her own experience of living in a suburb clashed with her preconceived notion. The private neighborhood chosen by her family allowed  little privacy as the prized suburban feature the picture window afforded her neighbors an unlimited view into their everyday life.

To wrap things up the question of “Where are we at this moment?” was posed. It was  mentioned that changes in individual perception of place, culture and history cannot be mandated.  However, it was more or less agreed that the past model has already been broken and the nuclear family changed with it. Just as additions to houses change the appearance from the original plans, contemporary families are made of different societal expectations which will help foster a more vibrant and diverse suburban life. 

 ...this panel helped all of us think about where we live, and why we live there:
 
--Dianne Harris, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Art History, and History; Director, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
--Arnold R. Alanen, Professor Emeritus, Department of Landscape Architecture
--Anna Vemer Andrzejewski, Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Program
--Kurt Paulsen, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
--Brad Murphy, Director, Planning Division, City of Madison
--Daina Penkiunas, National Register Coordinator, Division of Historic Preservation, Wisconsin Historical Society
 --Thanks also to Preeti Chopra for arranging  Dianne Harris' visit.


Hope you are sitting pretty wherever you live!

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

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