User:JustinChiu1/Tract housing

History of Tract Housing

Tract housing began in the 1940s-50s, post World War II in the United States. It began as a growing demand for affordable housing was on the rise and families wanted out of the city life and a slower paced lifestyle that was more family friendly. The dream of owning a home and land became a reality for all families as loans were offered and only required a small down payment. Many of these families were in the military or had family within the military, creating instant bonds between families as these communities formed. Initially, it was common to see children playing in the street with other children as they created countless memories in their new homes. Familial norms were established in these communities as men went to work during the day and their wives would take are of the children and house. This was a relaxed time after the many hard years that World War II brought for these families and people everywhere. Another factor that made houses in these communities accessible to people was the creation of credit and credit cards. Purchasing a home and all the items necessary for it was a great way to establish long term credit quickly. With the establishment of these communities came a racial divide, as neighborhoods were segregated by race. This racial divide led to inequalities in education and crime rates.

Financing Tract Housing

Companies would buy vast lots of land where they would build houses In grind systems, systematically trying to build the most houses they can on the newly purchased lot. Construction moguls began to emerge as big developers gained quick and easy cash through mass production. These new companies were motivated to build and the demand for housing was high which further escalated the pace of building. Different people were able to afford different neighborhoods of housing based on area, as some areas had cheaper housing for predominantly blue collar communities, while others were more high end, white collar communities. In A Consumer Republic, Lizabeth Cohen, illustrates this concept of different types of workers living within these new tract neighborhoods. Cohen shares a quote from William Dobriner from 1950 that claims, "Long Island contained 62% white collar workers, and 38% Blue collar", which is important to note because the people moving into these homes were educated, so the want for better schools was high. Price plays a factor into this because blue collar works still were able to live in these homes too, as they were accessible to many different groups of people. This specific community was built for mainly white collar employees, but a hard working blue collar employee could afford to live here too. One large company that was able to profit largely off building mass homes was the Levitt family. They originally started as a family business of glorified handymen who were able to build things well with high levels of craftsmanship within their cottage. But with the boom in housing and the need for new homes, the Levitt family decided this was their chance to open a housing development business. They bought many acres of land and chopped down the trees and bulldozed the land making it flat and ready to be built upon. They would then have their trucks come with perfectly cut out 60ft planks to start building these houses. They would continuously repeat this process until they built on all of the land. Once it was area was fully developed, it would be time to find a new acre of land to start the process over. They are just one example of how many businesses were born in this era, from home business to future large corporations.