Why do the Suburbs Exist? A Closer Look at Levittown, America's First Planned Cookie-Cutter Suburb

[@A_Lion_In_The_Sun]

I live on Long Island, and know Levittown well. The convenience of having just about every store imaginable within a 5 minute drive of your house is very nice. The houses all looked more or less the same when they were built, but over time, people have made changes, and now the neighborhood has less of a mas produced feel to it. Something that wasn't mentioned (I don't know about the other Levittowns) but the houses in Levittown, NY, were built on larger lots with room to grow. This allowed the homeowners to build up and out in basically every direction as their families grew and spatial changes were needed. The only issue a lot of people have with them is that there's no basement and usually no attic, so storage is an issue. I know someone who bought a house in Levittown, and I helped them do some minor renovations. The houses are pretty well built, it wasn't easy to tear things up, they used a lot of nails in everything. An issue that seems to pop up with these houses is that the slabs settled unevenly and usually crack along the footing. Most people just fill the cracks and put in new flooring when they see it. I can tell by this video, they weren't compacting the soil properly. Another interesting feature about Levittown NY is that its basically split into 4 sections, each section had its own public pool, an elementary school, a high school, and interior shopping centers, in addition to the main shopping centers along Hempstead Turnpike, that usually housed day cares, dry cleaners, and convenience stores. The streets were named with themes that give the neighborhoods a pastoral feel, and helped people remember which section they lived in. It sounds dumb now that we have gps, but it's so big, that it's easy to get lost, and knowing that the street your looking for is Elm street, and if your seeing all bird names for streets, your in the wrong area, must have been a big help back then.

[@nlpnt]

Erma Bombeck once wrote of the early days of the cookie-cutter suburbs that they'd have to leave a kid on the porch as a landmark. I can see where having different street-name themes in different areas would narrow things down.

[@greennlonely]

@@nlpntnot just that-the roads themselves are winding and if you don’t know your way around, you can get lost easily. I know from experience 😂

[@samanthab1923]

@@A_Lion_In_The_Sun We had a ton of sections A,B,C,D, F,I,J,N,O,W. One Bath & Tennis Club. Max. 750 families.

[@02ujtb00626]

That's very interesting insight, thank you!

[@pcno2832]

There is an apparent reference to the sameness of suburban streets ("He said to my shock, 'You're on the wrong block.' ") in the 1956 Leiber/Stoller song "Silhouettes". As for the slabs, didn't they have pipes for radiant heating embedded in them? In the Boston area, we had Campanelli developments with the same setup, but almost all of them have been converted to baseboard heat because the concrete corroded the copper pipes. Levitt had a clever marketing strategy; knowing that many of his buyers could barely afford the down payment, let alone furnishings, he offered numerous built-ins, including cabinets, washing machines, even TVs. Of course, financing a TV for 30 years is usually a bad idea, but it was probably the only way some buyers could afford one at the time.

[@Stephanie-e9u]

I lived in Levittown from 1964 through 1989. My parents moved us from Brooklyn and bought home for $15,000. We had great schooling, safe neighborhood, pools, parks. I could go on, lot of memories

[@LlyleHunter]

We lived there from 1958 through 1992. I miss the home that I grew up in. I tell people that I grew up in Petticoat Junction because my neighbor was so close knit and wholesome. Unfortunately the racial covenant weren’t the choice made by the buyers. They were regulated by the banks through mortgage regulations and oddly through the pre 1948 “ fair housing regulations “ imagine that. Fair housing regulations. SHM

[@aspensulphate]

@@LlyleHunter "SHM"... single Hispanic male?

[@arcanondrum6543]

⁠@@LlyleHunter Not completely correct. The Fair Housing Regulations WERE intended to be fair. It was indeed the Banks who purposely misappropriated the funds. The federal government does not have a presence in most communities so, number 1 they have "no skin in the game" and number 2. BECAUSE they have no local facility, local entities administer the funds, "Banks" logically. Now, racists do get voted into government on every election and those racists are helped more than ever before by A.L.E.C. (for instance) but A.L.E.C.'s policies are that EVERYONE who isn't a billionaire should be treated with disdain. Racism is still important to A.L.E.C. however because "divide and conquer". I am dismayed by how successful "blaming government" has become when banks have a far worse record. Banks closed their doors post Black Tuesday, 1929, keeping their customers money. That was BEFORE government regulation and the FDIC made that illegal. In fact, government regulation already in place would have prevented the Housing Bubble Crash but one of the protections that emerged from the New Deal, the Glass Steagall Act, was removed decades later and IN TIME for another scam; the Housing Bubble. Republicans wrote and passed the Repeal of Glass-Steagall Bill and Clinton signed it. That's why, regardless of Age, most people have heard of Ross Perot. Americans heard about Ross Perot non-stop in msm that one election year (and yet Perot ran again but "wasn't needed anymore"). It split the Republican Vote. MSM also sabotaged Gary Hart (who DIDN'T have an affair), promoted Bill Clinton (who had several affairs). Clinton ran against Bush, Sr. and Perot,, Clinton won and the Bills written and approved by the Republican controlled House and Senate were signed by Clinton. It's pretty scary how well MSM and Republicans colluded to pick their opponent and let him take the blame. Bush Jr. would heavily promote "home ownership" the Housing Bubble crashed before he could "get out of Dodge" the Banks kept the deposits (just like 1929), the mortgage payments AND the taxpayer bailout. Then they figured out how (they cheatedl while MSM talked about other stuff) to reclaim ownership of a house that had been financially divided into small fractions of a Bond and sold to investors. Yup, the Banks took the houses as well. So when you're searching for blame, remember that we elect our representatives in government but banks and corporations (some of them own the major media) don't give us that same power over them so they are far more ruthless.

[@Joshua429]

That's no fuh

[@waterbuck]

In 1960 a home in Levittown (NY) cost about $82k in today's dollars. Today many of those homes are selling for $500k or more.

[@samanthab1923]

It’s insane. My parents first home was a Levitt Cape Codder in Matawan NJ 1963. Paid $17K. Saw one priced at $600K! Definitely not worth it.

[@sunfish7021]

Not even kidding.

[@Relax20254]

Yes $7,900.00 for a home back then and now the median sale price of a home in Levittown is $682,000.00 up 13.7% since last year. Prices to buy a home or rent one is very expensive on Long Island right now.

[@A_Lion_In_The_Sun]

​@Relax20254 I live on Long Island in what has historically been considered a "bad town" and we are seeing home prices in the 700k area now. It's being fueled by people leaving the city after having sold their property for a million or more.

[@samanthab1923]

@@A_Lion_In_The_Sun Poor Long Island. So overcrowded now. When I was stil working back in 94, guys I worked with were willing to look in Suffolk. Priced out of houses in Nassau. At the time that was almost unheard of for a commute to NYC.

[@amariekennedy9961]

I grew up in Levittown! My parents were so proud having purchased after serving in the Navy!❤️

[@edsel762]

Great video. How about another showing Levittown today? Perhaps interview some of the residents.

[@wdjones4735]

These mass produced, low cost communities were a must in post war. It was a great concept and $7900 for a house was a bargain. A thing of the past. I like the idea. Wish we could do that today. Thanks for sharing👍🏻

[@jamesslick4790]

Can't do it today, It would be called "Urban Sprawl". I was born in the city, but prefer suburban life, But suburban life for the working class is looked down upon today. 😔

[@draneym2003]

We could, but that would be "communism" these days

[@XandateOfHeaven]

​@@jamesslick4790 Part of that is because we turned half the country into blighted hellscape of endless parking lots. Early suburbs were better because they were closer to employment centers, but they just got worse over time.

[@tombeegeeeye5765]

That was often 2-3 years wages back then.

[@g.v.hedgpeth2602]

If you painted these homes dark green, they'd look like Monopoly houses!

[@BradThePitts]

Then yes, but not now. These houses had no basements and were designed for easy additions such as dormers.

[@questkid73]

Levittown, NY( on long Island) Levittown, Pa( outside Philly and Trenton) Levittown, NJ (now Willingboro)

[@MomCat6000]

Oh Ken! I’ve watched many videos about Levittown … but watching this today has tears streaming down my face. Thoughts of suburban sprawl, the crumbling of the inner cities and the redlining policies 😭 juxtaposed with my earliest memories of living & playing in those cozy, safe neighborhoods mixed with sorrow for the young people today whose dream of home ownership is only a dream 😭 The hindsight of history within one’s own life is overwhelming sometimes.

[@pavelow235]

Hmmm, I would guess the buyers of Levittown ramblers are "living the American Dream: 2024 Edition" so I don't get why one must continue to perpetrate the tired trope of 'home ownership is a dream'. Yes certain economic measures argue that housing is more expensive for the average American than 1799, but still a majority of Americans achieve and Live the American Dream circa 2024 !!!

[@bigscores7237]

Yes, those redlining policies are clearly what _caused_ the Nagasaki-blast destruction of our inner cities. That timeline surely makes sense.

[@gertvanderhorst2890]

@@bigscores7237 Everybody redlines, albeit only in their heads. Ask a suburbian family of colour how they would like this or that leftist "diversity" relocation program and you will encounter the stoutest "racism" Of course it will not be classified as such as poc cannot be racist, cookook.

[@bigguy321]

@@bigscores7237 Actually it was urban renewal and building awful freeways that shred urban neighborhoods, combined with redlining, that destroyed the inner cities.

[@bigscores7237]

@@bigguy321 Right. Redlining destroyed inner cities. That's why Detroit is a model of urban success today. Everything they touted about redlining came true, with they being the Ku Klux Klan.

[@jetsons101]

Great watch, Levittown reminds me a bit of Mission Viejo in Orange County CA. Nothing like a home with a front, back and side yards, but remember "Good fences make for good neighbors."

[@garryferrington811]

A good illustration of the hypocrisy of using the term "communities" for suburbs. Fences, distancing, alienation are what suburbs are all about. Now kids have to have "play dates."

[@jetsons101]

@@garryferrington811 Play Dates... UGH When I was a kid, just before Atari came along, us kids would play outside with real friends until the streetlights came on, the fences were mostly for keeping dogs and their poop in the owner's yard. Now kids sit all-day playing online games or making LUV their smartphones. My son says "the smarter the phone -- the dumber the user."

[@melissajenniferjones9959]

Reminds me of Park Ridge NJ back in the 1960s.

[@jetsons101]

@@melissajenniferjones9959 Just south of Ramsey, I have a friend that lives there.

[@melissajenniferjones9959]

@@jetsons101 👍 back in the 60s it was an old, small town. There was still forests there. As kids we used to play there. Bears Nest was an old campground. I'm sure it's all built up now.

[@jobskinner833]

This is one of my favorite modern history stories of the U.S.. I grew up in Huber Heights, Oh. Another community built like Levittown. All the homes were brick and at one point the city held the title of the largest community of brick homes. Schools, shopping centers, and commercial centers were fashioned in accordance with the architecture that was established. Good memories!

[@Scarfo1]

Levittown PA, represent!!!!!!

[@larryk731]

My father grew up in Levittown PA - father worked at a Philadelphia newspaper printing plant and eventually opened his own shop prior to retiring. I lived in Willingboro NJ in a Levitt house (was Levittown prior) until 1974 when my father got a job in North Jersey, so they moved accordingly. When I got my 1st apartment in Somerset, NJ, a few blocks away was another large Levitt development similar to the one I grew up in Willingboro.

[@vulcan2882]

WOW ... I have a friend who grew up in Willingboro NJ, he sometimes talks about what it was like there. He went to Kennedy High School back in the early 1980s. He say's now it's no place you want to go even in the day time.

[@larryk731]

@vulcan2882 Moved out when I was in kindergarten so no memory of schools

[@vulcan2882]

@@larryk731 ... this guy is in his 60s now. I met him when I lived in Fort Lauderdale, but that was a few years ago. He's old enough to be my dad.

[@Harry-j1w2w]

Hello, fellow Levittown brother. 1973-74 I was in Levittown Jr. High. I wonder if we were classmates?

[@mstsp9546]

I like so many of the houses. They grow on you, maybe its nostalgia, still home sweet homes.

[@pavelow235]

Home is a philosophical thing, we humans focus too much on the materialistic view of homes.

[@debbralehrman5957]

I live in Phx AZ. I would say more than 85 to 90% of the homes were built as planned communities. Yes prices are crazy here too.

[@countalucard4226]

In my inner city neighborhood they built single family and 2 family attached homes for around 12k back in the early to mid 60s. You only needed $500 down. Today those homes sell for 500k and up. My mother wanted one but my father thought living in an apartment house were the rent was $60 a month and he could drink beer with neighbors was a better deal. He was a total screw up.

[@OldProVidios]

Should the cities have expanded? Well, Isn't a suburb an expansion of a city? Or are you asking if they should have built large apartment blocks?

[@brucebeamon5460]

Can’t say enough about how IMPRESSED I am with the reports done on this channel that give us a complete picture of how they came into being the good and bad !

[@pmn2821]

What a riot, the sign that said $7990. Ah just put it on my credit card. Lol

[@pavelow235]

Levittown:1947 "First modern credit card was the Diners Club card, which was introduced in 1950" sarcasm nerd detector addition 😂😂🤣🤣

[@jamesslick4790]

I once paid $7900 for a MOTORCYCLE!!!

[@bigscores7237]

The easy availability of credit, especially in the form of 30-year mortgages, is a major factor why housing has inflated so dramatically vs 70 years ago.

[@robertbullock9554]

​@@pavelow235And Diners Club was for more affluent people, so no one had credit cards save for maybe a Sears or other local dept. store. Simpler then...just went to the bank gave down payment (if could get it from saving and maybe a little family help). None of these different mortgage rates blah blah....l

[@andrewholl2108]

Very Informative and Awesome

[@deb5562]

Moved to fairless Hills, Bucks County, PA. Right next to Levittown. Both are ideal communities that fulfilled all family members.

[@seancrowley1065]

Built and sold depending your position at the mill.

[@siulanainad]

Levittown created 5 subdivisions in Puerto Rico. Reinforced concrete wall construction, and concrete flat roof for Caribbean’s weather. Had shopping center and large community pool with swimming team. Homes So Strong that many people doubled their square footage by building a 2nd floor, moving all bedrooms to 2nd floor and many put in-ground pools in the backyard.

[@NealAmmerman]

The advantages and disadvantages of suburban sprawl. Car- centric. inefficient use of land, etc. Although Levittowns were the first large scale developments, in 1941-1942, Levitts pioneered their production methods in Norfolk VA building Oakdale Farms. Not as sprawling as Levittowns, they used assembly line methods and a couple basic floor plans with minor variations. These were inexpensive mostly 2 br and a few 3br, basic houses to meet urgent need of housing for the Naval base just a few miles away. I lived in one of those houses as a kid but knew nothing about Levitt then. It’s still a pleasant affordable neighborhood. After that, Levitt buiit Riverdale Manor ( later known as Foundation Park). One story concrete block row houses.. even cheaper and smaller..still needed at the time but deteriorated into almost a slum and now replaced. Most of the tract house development of the 50’s-70’s based their methods on Levitts concepts.. with the hood and not so good societal results.

[@repairdrive]

From the 757. You taught me something today!! 👍

[@philpots48]

I worked for a heating oil company in the 70s on Long Island, and the service men hated working the Timkin oil burners in the Levitt houses.

[@MillerMeteor74]

There's a smaller Levittown in New Jersey, but not a lot of people know about it. It was built in Willingboro Township. For a short while there was a Levittown branch post office there, but that didn't last long.

[@boozedusa]

That’s originally what I thought this was- Willingboro

[@boozedusa]

As a matter of fact-this is Willingboro

[@seancrowley1065]

The video depicted Levittown Pa

[@SallySallySallySally]

One of my clients worked on the Levittown project as a framer. He described it the same as the narrator in the film clip. It was like an assembly line where a particular crew, like my client's framing crew, would go house by house. A succession of specialized crews (i.e., plumbers, electricians, roofers, glaziers, etc.,) would come in, do their part, and move on to the next house. There would be a new house ready to sell every day. $7,990 in post-war economy was a little more than modest and certainly not "cheap." The disgusting racial covenants of the era were done away with but continued in other nefarious ways like red-lining and mere social pressure. This theme was part of the story in the 1962 film, "A Raisin in the Sun."

[@themagus5906]

I lived near Levittown for years growing up in the 60s and 70s. I still listen to WBCB over the internet to this day. I always thought of Bill Levitt as a "shithead savant". He was a racist throwback with many personality flaws, but he saw a need and knew how to exploit it. He did for housing what Henry Ford did for cars. That is, create a "peoples' house" that could be mass-produced quickly and inexpensively. It was, especially for veterans, a way to be rewarded with a piece of property that they could be proud of, and make their own through customization. It sure beat living in an old row house in Mayfair with no place for your kids to play.

[@stevemcmahon7676]

I grew up in Levittown PA. It was the best!

[@pyrexmaniac]

Ken, this is such an informative piece on the growth of America's cities and the inevitable sprawl that developed alongside the interstate highways that decimated many inner-city neighborhoods. Your honest, sensitive narration is an excellent commentary on the issues that plague our nation to this day. It would be nice to explore some of the even earlier planned communities that were built prior to Levittown, most of which were priced to appeal to middle to upper-middle class families. The Rockefeller-developed Forest Hill section of East Cleveland, Palmer Park of Detroit, Mission Hills-Country Club district of Kansas City, Leaside of Toronto and Delaware-Elmwood of Buffalo all come to mind. These neighborhoods are still highly sought places to live and are mostly intact and appear mostly as they did when they were first conceived.

[@sunfish7021]

Rust Hill Road in Red Rose Gate. Levittown, Pa. 😁😁😁😁😁

[@samanthab1923]

@@sunfish7021 That’s right. I forgot the sections were all alphabetical. We lived in the N section Northland.

[@questkid73]

Same as Willingboro, NJ which was developed by the Levitt Brothers and was called Levittown for the first 10 yrs. My mom lives in Garfield Park North and all the streets start with N....all the sections are like that.

[@nancyl6985]

Loved growing up in the suburbs in California tract homes!

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

I have a book of essays published in 1901 that contains an interesting Victorian-era hint about why the suburbs became a major thing in America. In Mr. Dooley's Opinions, in the essay "Life at Newport," the titular Irish philosopher Mr. Dooley discusses the different ways that Englishmen and Americans perceive wealth. England is old, small, and crowded, and so "making it" in England is a matter of putting a lot of land between you and the public eye---you truly have made your fortune when you can buy some grand estate far from any significant town or public highway, a place where you can be invisible to others. In America, on the other hand, space is cheap, and visibility more valuable, and so wealthy Americans built THEIR grand mansions on much smaller estates so that neighbours could see what amenities they could afford. Being rich in America was all about making sure that everybody around you knew that you were rich. Basically, the suburbs are a simplified and less exclusive version of Newport, Rhode Island's famous Bellevue Avenue.

[@krisdiperna3929]

What a treasure trove of essays you have!

[@ladymacbethofmtensk896]

@krisdiperna3929 A treasure trove indeed! Some of those books have been out of print for over a century.

[@mikenixon2401]

Ah, the mean streets of suburbia. Good piece, Ken.

[@genghis_connie]

Great video! Some of these homes look about 4’ from the next.

[@The_Smith]

Great mini documentary Ken, I would have liked to see a follow up or the like on it, as to what it's like today.

[@avon1243]

Built in a day! Now it’s at least six months! I can’t imagine a family living in 750 sq ft! Maybe one person but not a family! Really interesting video. Thank you!

[@triforcelink]

750sq ft is plenty, we’re just spoiled with high expectations. Which is why it takes 6 months to build one today.

[@skunkworksdistilleryandfir7122]

Try 40 square meters (430 square feet) here in my SE Asian country. And the home owners have to put down a down payment equivalent to 2 years salary of their low paying job. The kitchen consists of a concrete sink outside at the rear without a roof and without a concrete floor, just bare soil. The developers are getting richer all the time and the law makers don't give a damn because they have shares in the developer company too.

[@ravenpreston1032]

The government knew that a trained returning force was very dangerous after the Bonus Army in the 30s. They headed them off with the cushy GI bill and cheap housing

[@dianawahkapel158]

I do live in Levittown presently and I’m so glad to hear about how the community was established. It’s nice, quiet and also a good school district ❤.

[@tophermartinthecomic]

My grandfather moved from Queens after WWII and bought his first home in Levittown, NY in 1948 for $4800. My dad grew up in that house. My grandfather sold the house and retired to North Carolina in 1974. I know my grandfather put a second story on his house and in the late 50's fell while putting on a new roof and was in a cast with a broken hip. Not surprised by the racial issues of the time, there were other issues too. The local elementary "Island Trees" library was the subject of censorship and book burnings while my dad was growing up. In the not too distant past, I served on the planning commission where I live and Levittown is still a model used by many towns and the subject of a number of conversations I had about planning.

[@coolaunt516]

A great video and an eye opener. I didn't know Levittown was so big.

[@gostreaks]

My parents and 3 older brothers lived at 115 Hamlet Rd in Levittown, NY until 1955, I and my younger brother lived at 1591 100th St in Howard Beach, NY until 1963 but we were more familiar with Westfield, NJ where we grew up back in the 60s & 70s from 1963-74. Anyone living at the above addresses nowadays/nights?

[@terri348]

There is also a Levittown, Pennsylvania. I grew up there. 5 different styles to choose from. Many steel mill workers lived there.

[@maryaltshuller885]

I grew up in suburban St. Louis County in the '60s and '70s. Houses in the city, especially closer to downtown, tend be older and require more upkeep. Plus most houses in the city of St. Louis don't have garages or driveways so residents have to park on the street, inviting car break-ins and theft.

[@johnw.1888]

Grew up in a victor Posner track housing community in Baltimore Maryland. The best thing I remember growing up in that house was the general electric wonder kitchen fully equipped with all the modern conveniences.

[@shoppingonchampagne]

I live near Levittown and really enjoyed this video!

[@jazzythecat918]

Before you could buy a levit home you had to rent it for a year. After you paid your rent on time every month for the year you were allowed to buy it.

[@pavelow235]

I would argue that Greenbelt 'towns' are more likely the first "Planned Cookie-Cutter Suburb". But Garden city and company towns predate greenbelt and Levittown by decades. Cheap housing as a theory and movement and assemblage has been around since at least the end of the 19th century, let alone the 20th century stuff we are talking about here.

[@user-zx8de8op9l]

Thanks for sharing

[@jasongray797]

Way to highlight 70 year old Breaking News !! Stay on top of it and give us the latest updates!!!!

[@nasabear]

I live in Bowie, Maryland, which is an original Levittown. I'm not in a Levitt house, but I did look at a few of them when I moved into the area in 1998.

[@CarlosEmilioEsq]

In 1968, my parents, newly married, bought their very first house in Levittown, Puerto Rico. Somewhere I have a picture of them standing in front, and the house isn't even completely painted yet!

[@RinkyRoo2021]

I actually think that the first tract house development was in Hawthorne Ca in 1944 ,I saw a few listings in that area of houses that are exactly the same all built in 1944 I imagine for North American employees

[@calendarpage]

I just looked at some Levittown streets on Google Maps. You can tell some changes have been made to houses over the years, but that's to be expected, especially considering how small the houses are. It still looks livable. I remember learning about Levittown in school, but didn't learn about the segregation until later in life. Segregated housing is one of the policies that lead to the disasters of Pruitt-Igoe and Cabrini Green. Blacks who could afford to move, couldn't do so because housing and neighborhoods were legally and socially segregated. The slums were run down, not because blacks lived in them (as some would say), but because the housing stock was so old, it was almost impossible to repair and/or were owned by slumlords who did minimal upkeep because they knew their tenants had no where else to go. Good series. You sent me down the rabbit hole of re the history of public housing in DC.

[@pkcensors]

Citizens in the US really need these affordable homes again

[@tias.6675]

Nope. People keep voting for things that causes inflation and of course the population has tripled..

[@Imperial0666]

Donald Trump said he's going to make houses affordable again.. do you believe that or not? I think he's full of s*** but he told people what they wanted to hear.

[@brettster3331]

Hi Ken, I have a question. How far out from the very center of a city do you feel the Suberbs start?

[@ThisHouse]

That depends on the particular city. Suburbs are the communities outside of city limits that rely on said city for jobs and contribute to the economic region anchored by said city. For example, I live within a mile of Chicago, and am closer to downtown than many parts of the city proper- however, I’m outside of city bounds and am considered to live in the suburbs.

[@jilledmondson6894]

Similar housing here in Chicagoland. Park Forest, Illinois developed in late 40's through late 60's. Planned communities vere nice when new.

[@Imperial0666]

Same thing with Elk Grove Village. That town is still doing okay.

[@Run.Ran.Run1]

My uncle who built some of those homes on Long Island got fired because he used too many nails on the roofs.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

That is extreme.

[@Run.Ran.Run1]

My uncle said they were cheaply made, and true to form for Levit, every penny counted.

[@Phil-pq4ks]

The birth of tract housing ( zero lot line ) after WWII was the beginning of the end. The greed of developers and builders never stopped from that point.

[@DavidBale-vn4op]

Trees make a difference 🌲🌲🌲🌲

[@g.v.hedgpeth2602]

🎶"Little boxes, on the hillside"🎶 is what immediately came to mind!

[@pavelow235]

Creepy tenements on the flat land is what comes to mind with Manhattan.

[@Episcopalianacolyte]

Me too!

[@danielbecker9836]

Those ticky tacky homes along the hillsides of Daly City - right outside of San Francisco. LOL

[@aspensulphate]

People looking down their noses at others is what comes to mind from these comments.

[@mikejanarch]

I don't know whether Malvina Reynolds, the author of "Little Boxes" and other folk/protest songs of the time, looked down her nose at the newly built suburbs or not. The lyrics, though, suggest that she did. Bad politics for a leftist! Housing was in short supply after WWII, and a lot of it was worn out buildings from the late 19th century.

[@sandovalperry2895]

We forget that “cities” had suburban development. Denver had a core city near Cherry Creek. As the city grew people moved up the hill to get away from the pollution in the valley. When the trolly arrived in the 1890’s people moved farther out into the country a mile outside of town. This moving out from the core went on until the mid-60’s, all the awhile the farm communities started to grow into the suburbs we know today. The “suburbs” would have happen as long as the population grew, the city or an expanded farm community is a matter of annexation.

[@Relax20254]

The first development the Levits ever built was on Long Island in 1946 not Pennsylvania. Then they expanded to different states.

[@ThisHouse]

Correct, as mentioned in the video. 1:13

[@mariekatherine5238]

Weird! To most viewers, this is history. I lived it and it seems not all that long ago. I must be old! I didn’t live in Levittown, but my cousins did. We lived in Flushing, Queens and made frequent weekend excursions for a barbecue and use of the swimming pool in their back yard.

[@kevingleason1051]

"Boxes, little boxes, and there're all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same" 😊

[@gertvanderhorst2890]

If built in the right location, they fetch 250-450k a piece.

[@stickynorth]

I always think a mixed approach is best. Mixed in both land use and incomes but also diversity too since that is what has fueled a lot of the internal conflict in America since its birth... To think that "red lining" of areas has been a thing until recently has kept many people in poverty since it purposefully devalued their properties by not allowing most lenders to invest in it via mortgages and to an insane degree this still happens today even in 21st century North America... Personally I love the suburbs and the quietness of them generally speaking. After living in some very urban environments I appreciate all the stillness that they can provide... Ditto with small towns outside but near major cities...

[@RobertTycenHauser]

Thank you, interesting as usual, I just would have liked to know where Levittown is today, how it looks. I’ll look it up.

[@ShoehornBundy]

Every house is exactly the same. So your neighbor won't be jealous.

[@carcar78]

Good piece on Levittown, combine I g a previous documentary with your own tie-ins. Not sure how to fit in between developments between cities and suburbs. There will always, it seems, lower income neighborhoods, where folks don’t have funds to improve their properties. Thanks for presenting this.

[@Imperial0666]

Suburbs exist because cities exist. What is a suburb? Just an extension of a city's urban sprawl. Suburbs existed in ancient cities.

[@meowymeowerton2820]

I wonder how long until I see a “It’s History“ version of this

[@dennisd3]

Almost impossible to find a Levittown home on Long Island that hasn’t been extensively remodeled.

[@larryk731]

Those are unicorns, but the same can be said for any development of cape cods.

[@aaron___6014]

Because living in a dense city with all its filth sucks.

[@XandateOfHeaven]

It all depends on where you are. An older suburb with lots of amenities is certainly better than living in downtown St. Louis or Detroit, but those blighted new suburbs where it's a 20 minute drive to anything and it's nothing but parking lots in the desert are definitely worse than say Brooklyn.

[@gerberjoanne266]

From what I understand, the Myers family eventually did move. They ended up in nearby suburb that was similar, but with a large black population.

[@jamesslick4790]

Levittown was not a NEW concept. It's famous because by then we had film and television. I live in Pittsburgh, PA and NEW Pre planned suburbs were popping up since the '50s. The 1850s! I have newspaper ads urging people in the city (with free train/trolley fare) to come out and see the NEW town being developed!!! These are now established suburbs as Mt. Lebanon, Forest Hills, ETC.I'm sure this is true of suburbs of all cities.

[@UserName-ts3sp]

The difference is that these are more car-oriented. Those are called streetcar suburbs and built along streetcar lines compared to these being built along interstates

[@jamesslick4790]

@@UserName-ts3sp Yes. But it's the SAME concept. Living spaces that grew from the (then) emerging transportation modes. Nothing "new" happened at Levittown any more than the SD card replacing the floppy disk. P.S. I was born in the city, and I live in the city (today. But I raised my kids in a "streetcar suburb". (Brentwood, PA).

[@dennispope8160]

⁠@@jamesslick4790I think the “new” was the complete system, pools, schools and churches all designed at one time with one plan. Additionally the assembly line concept was an important aspect of Levittown that I believe was “new” People have been developing towns for many years before Levittown but Levittown was designed from the ground up and built as such. That hadn’t successfully been done before.

[@jamesslick4790]

@@dennispope8160 BUT it WAS done before: in the 1890's "Belmar" in Pittsburgh was set up with schools, shops, and all from the start. (Today it's a "ghetto" called "Homewood" IN the city) but it was designed as a suburban "oasis".

[@vernicethompson4825]

Thank you for this detailed video and the reproduction of an old film! Single family homes in suburbs make sense if the jobs the homeowners have pay enough for the commute and the mortgage. If the commute takes up too much of the homeowner's income, they are better off either living in the cities or getting better paying jobs. Neat suburbs like Levittown are better looking than slums, which are in essence unplanned suburbs. I view Levittown and similar planned communities as mostly a way to build a lot of private housing quickly. Such communities are described quite well in the Monkees' song "Pleasant Valley Sunday," which came to mind watching your video!

[@adellajones9887]

I wonder how the foundations of these quickly built homes held up. I hope they are still good.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

Ken, this was terrific. I had a friend who has since passed and who lived in Levittown. She told me that Mr. Levitt would drive through the place to make sure people were taking proper care of their properties. I'm old enought to remember the Monkees song "Pleasant Valley Sunday" which seems to be a criticism of suburbia, but for the people who first lived in such places, people who had gone through the Great Depression and a World War (some of whom may have been Holocaust survivors and war brides) moving into Leavittown must have been almost like going to Heaven. I was sorry to learn of the racial segregation, but not surprised. "Levit" sounds like it might be Jewish name yet I wonder if Jews were also restricted. The movie has a reference to churches, but no mention of synagogues.

[@jazzythecat918]

Jews and blacks were restricted from buying levitt Homes and he was Jewish.

[@andrewbrendan1579]

@@jazzythecat918 Oh, my gosh. That is amazing that Mr. Levit would restrict his own people from living in the houses he built. You have to ask what kind of thinking or "logic" went into that.

[@jazzythecat918]

​@@andrewbrendan1579yeah makes no sense to discriminate against your own kind.

[@jazzythecat918]

​@@andrewbrendan1579in the mid to late 1950s bigger better cookie cutter homes were built in a development called Plainview, a town near Levittown that attracted a huge Jewish ww2 population. Those split level homes while on much smaller plots of land had 3 beds, 2.5 baths, eat in kitchen, dinning room, den, 2 car garage and a basement at about 1850 sq ft. Compared to levit original 800 sq ft house. Levit homes has large plots about 10,000 plus sq ft compared to 6,000 to 7,000 sq ft of plots in in Plainview.

[@danwallach8826]

Untrue. Neighbors across the street from us were Jewish. Next to us were O'Boyles. Two doors down, another Jewish family. In back of us, the Dodds. All kinds of people. Tons of kids. We were the baby boom.

[@amandab.recondwith8006]

Suburbs were inevitable, especially when they were built for ordinary people. Now suburbs have become exclusive enclaves for the upper classes in separate areas, separated from the rest of the ordinary population. In the long run, they are a failure. It was the cities that needed to spend the extra money to create livable places. These days, the inner cities of New York and Chicago are the exclusive enclaves of the super-rich, while the suburbs sprawl further out and don't provide adequate mass transportation for the people. It's a mess with no practical solution.

[@mikeq7134]

Americans today would not accept a house so small. That is why multi-story apartments tor purchase are the only hope for meeting the need for affordable housing.

[@hewitc]

I agree. Two bedrooms right next to each other with one bath adjacent to the kitchen. That wouldn't fly on HGTV. Unemployed 20 year old newly weds expect to move into their dream house immediately. "A pool would be nice". "We need a chef's kitchen-- all stainless steel" "Knock down all the walls so I can watch my kids play while I cook"

[@Imperial0666]

Americans will accept them these days because the prices are so high now. The days of the $250,000 McMansion is long over.

[@leftylou6070]

Ah, good ol' Leave-it Town!

[@MikeFinn-w4s]

I graduated from MacArthur high school in 2003

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

Edward Scissorhands lived in Levittown, for a brief period of time...

[@nichoybarra7420]

I like how you report on the limitations (racism, sexism, classism) of our history. Thinking that you are really onto something with your channel. 👍

[@erikaquatsch2190]

Excellence vastly beyond what was being built in the Soviet Union at the same time in history.

[@richardferrara3884]

8 decades later overcongestion exponentially and Grumman havoc for water table and health. So very sad.

[@preservethe80s62]

I'm quite fond of suburbs. I will never live in a city again

[@natalieb.1254]

Now, go ahead into the discussion of Professor Dodson's 1957 documentary "Crisis in Levittown PA" .....

[@SWExplore]

I loved your presentation of suburban life back in the USA after WWII. In the archival video clips, the presenter was clearly sold on the idea that all social problems had been resolved by living a suburban lifestyle. Would have been great if you were white (obviously). Racism was rife, so that would have put a major damper on things if I was not white. Levittown was just sooo sweet, almost too sweet.

[@erikaquatsch2190]

War and the end of war have many effects.

[@rachelwilliams8340]

No negative judgment for suburbs for me, as a kid I hated it. It was boring. I know a lot of kids in my school who feel victim to alcohol, drugs to pass the time. As a am adult I live in the city I love it. I do wish their where more town houses in the city

[@JefferyLonghorn]

If we could only go back in time.

[@vanessamonster5038]

That's the key, simple and affordable.

[@TheDAT573]

Let people live among those that they are comfortable with. Stop forcing people to live among others that they don't feel comfortable around.

[@Cactus_Hugs]

There was also a Levittown in New Jersey that today is known as Willingboro

[@Lion_McLionhead]

Very different doctrine of building in those days. Nowadays, the doctrine is redistribution of wealth.

[@XandateOfHeaven]

What are you talking about? Back then it was subsidized housing for the working class. Now it's all 1000 foot condos for billionaires to invest in.

[@dapperdonny4051]

And Levittown never had a railroad station.

[@gregpendrey6711]

Thumbnail. Had me at hello. 😊

[@adamhauskins6407]

The great idea is community in whatever form it takes The modern idea of you have to have assets is absolutely terrible

[@jamesslick4790]

Suburbs were the correct answer. And I was born in, and live in the city. Americans have varied lifestyles, therefore various homes for living. My 1870s 16' wide rowhouse, with NO front yard (Just a stoop) and a "postage stamp" for a back "yard", while having enough rooms, is NOT ideal for a family with 3 children. (I'm KNOW that MANY children DID grow up in here) The suburbs are just better for families with more than 1 child. I was born here in the city (with my back against the wall..LOL) and I came BACK to the city, I raised my kids in an "inner ring" suburb. (Brentwood, PA).

[@dave1956]

My in-laws delayed their wedding until they could secure housing. They finally got married in 1947.

[@ADAPTATION7]

No matter which president will be elected, housing boils down to a simple question of supply and demand. If supply drops and demand continues to rise, guess what's going to happen?