Bill Levitt: Father of Modern Suburbia - Essay Example

Bill Levitt: Father of Modern Suburbia The end of World War II was the beginning of a new era of prosperity and hopein America. The industrial boon created by the war effort coupled with the thousands of returning veterans manned with federal benefits for education funding and home ownership guarantees spawned unprecedented economic growth and a demand for housing. The post war veterans returning were mainly young and ready to begin raising families. Many had experienced the hardship of the Great Depression prior to the war. For the first time these returning veterans saw the possibility of what they viewed as a better life for themselves and their families. Unquestionably, Bill Levitt, whose family had been in the custom home building business, envisioned how this atmosphere of new found prosperity and the lack of adequate housing in the overcrowded cities of the East could pave the way for mass production home construction that would forever change the landscape of America - Suburbia was born. Prior to the post-World War II era home ownership in urban America was primarily reserved for the affluent. Custom home building was the norm and the cost was prohibitive to many people. The vast majority of the urban population lived in cramped apartments and row houses and, for the majority, home ownership was only a dream. Levitt, however, seizing on his experience and knowledge of home building understood that through streamlining the building process and standardizing the home designs, he could mass produce homes affordable to the average family. Levitt, though, went a step further by creating massive housing developments on the outskirts of urban industrial cities which offered the prospect of middle class comforts at a price almost any young family could afford (Hales 1). Levitt did not stop with merely building affordable homes; He astutely created communities within these huge developments that offered the convenience of shopping, recreation, church and schools all designed and created within the developments. Levitt sold more than homes; he sold a new way of life complete with a sense of upward mobility and community to the burgeoning young families of the early 1950's. In order to mass produce affordable homes, Levitt drew on several different sources: the efficiency of assembly line production with interchangeable parts coupled with simplistic architectural designs the emphasized open floor plans and modern conveniences. "Levitt sacrificed individuality and custom design for low-cost efficiency" ('Building' 3). To accomplish this Levitt offered only a few models of home choices in each of his developments. Additionally to save on the cost of construction these single family homes were constructed on slab foundations instead of the traditional basement. He did not skimp on quality, however. All the homes constructed used quality products in the building process and the homes offered modern conveniences that appealed to his target audience of young families looking to own their own home on the outskirts of the urban hubs. A testament to Levitt and Sons Builders was the fact that "between 1950 and 1960, 20 million people were drawn to mass housing developments on the outskirts of America's cities" ('Building' 1). To facilitate the low production costs of his homes, Levitt streamlined every facet of home construction. He assembled groups of workers that performed the same tasks over and over again moving from home to home within the development. One group would prepare the building site. One group would pour concrete. One group would rough frame. One group would apply siding. In short, each and every task had specific workers to complete each specific task. This ensured efficiency, speed, unsurpassed productivity and cost containment previously unheard of in the home building industry. Additionally, as there were limited home models constructed his company saved on material cost by purchasing in bulk. His building plans were so well designed that the exact quantity of each material needed for construction was delivered on site reducing further costs and material waste. Levitt's first housing development was constructed in Nassau County, New Jersey and aptly named Levittown. Construction began in 1947 on a 7.3 square acre tract of land that upon completion of construction he erected 17,447 single family homes (Zehren 1). Levitt perfected his technique by constructing another massive housing development on the outskirts of Philadelphia which was also named Levittown. More than merely stacking in home after home, he designed and incorporated family and child oriented swimming pools, ball fields and shopping centers that offered residents a sense of community and middle class prosperity that young families desired and epitomized as fulfillment of the 'American Dream'. Levitt's entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen did not end there. He understood that building thousands of homes would accomplish nothing if they would not or could not sell, and Levitt was an accomplished salesman. He promoted his developments by running full page advertisements, producing colored brochures and having model homes available for viewing. Additionally, the low cost construction costs allowed home buyers to purchase homes for an average down payment of $100. With low down payments, massive advertising and thousands of veterans with government mortgage guarantees his suburban housing developments were a huge success. Levitt played to the media and to the public in general often stating things such as "We believe that every family in the United States is entitled to decent shelter" (Blackwell 1). Levitt was there to provide it while amassing a huge fortune in the process. Levitt was ahead of his time in the tract housing, mass market housing industry. Although often criticized by his peers for his mass production, limited originality box like houses, the building construction industry followed his lead and implemented many of his practices resulting in lower cost housing production. His vision changed forever the culture of American life. His practices brought the reality of home ownership to the general public. This trend set the stage for modern middle class America as we know it today: Suburbia - all the conveniences of urban life coupled with the comforts, sense of community, family and friends, and relaxed atmosphere of country living. Works Cited Blackwell, Jon. "1951: American Dream Houses, all in a Row." The Trentonian. The Capital Century Archive. 1989. 15 April 2007 . Building the Suburban Dream.2003. The State Museum of Pennsylvania. 15 April 2007 . Hales, Peter Bacon. "Levittown: Documents of an Ideal American Suburb." University of Illinois at Chicago. Undated. 15 April 2007 . Zehren, Charlie. "The Dream Builder." Long Island: Our Story. Newsday.com. 2007. 15 April 2007 . Read More