Best-Laid Plans - The Promises and Pitfalls of the New Deal's Greenbelt Towns

The New Deal program, created in 1935 by the Resettlement Administration, aimed to build new suburban towns for the working class. Three such communities were constructed: Greenbelt, Maryland; Greendale, Wisconsin; and Greenhills, Ohio. While the program faced challenges, it succeeded in providing new homes in well-planned communities. Town planning and suburbanization later took a turn toward suburban sprawl, but the Greenbelt towns remain a symbol of an imagined way of American life.

Format: Hardback
Length: 330 pages
Publication date: 20 January 2023
Publisher: University of Cincinnati Press

The New Deal program, initiated in 1935 by the Resettlement Administration, aimed to enhance the living conditions of the underprivileged in America. This ambitious initiative involved the construction of new suburban towns, designed to provide affordable housing for the working class. Teams of architects, engineers, and city planners, along with thousands of workers, brought three such communities to life: Greenbelt, Maryland; Greendale, Wisconsin; and Greenhills, Ohio. President Franklin Roosevelt viewed this program as a means to generate employment opportunities. At the helm of the Resettlement Administration, Rexford Tugwell had a profound desire to improve the living standards of the nation's underclass.

In her book, Best-Laid Plans, Julie Turner delves into the successes and failures of the Greenbelt Towns program. While the program faced numerous challenges, including the need to create jobs at minimal cost, design exquisite town plans for low-income families, and incorporate progressive innovations that aligned with traditional American values, it achieved one significant success: the provision of new homes in well-planned communities that continue to welcome residents.

However, it is important to note that the town planning and suburbanization that followed the Greenbelt model diverged from its original vision. Instead, we witnessed the emergence of the suburban sprawl that is characteristic of modern urban landscapes. The Greenbelt towns may represent an idealistic vision, but they offer a glimpse into an imagined way of American life that continues to hold appeal and hints at what could have been possible.

Weight: 718g
Dimension: 242 x 168 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781947602458