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I know that after WWII, William Levitt created Levittown on Long Island, and since then suburbs have flourished into cookie cutter houses with sub divisions and developments and the death of the downtown area.
I was wondering if there were suburbs before then, and if so where were they and do they still exist.
Is this a serious question? No, before WW2, everyone lived either in NYC, Chicago, or Boaton, except for five people who lived on a farm in Nebraska. The idea that people could actually live outside the city limits of central cities was discovered by Einstein in 1943.
The Northern Liberties and Germantown neighborhoods in Philadelphia were suburbs of the city in the 18th century. The famous "main line" suburbs west of Philly were settled in the 19th century soon after the railroad came.
For instance ... Many neighborhoods of Cincinnati were originally settled as suburbs of the city and later annexed by the city; the neighborhood I lived in was first settled in the late 1790s, established as a town in 1809. When the railroads were built, and then streetcars, the town became more and more populated, and was annexed by the city in 1911.
This is true of Denver as well. In fact, the entire northwest side (w. of the Platte River) used to be a separate city, Highlands. Highlands was annexed in about 1900. Many Denver suburbs were once little farm and mining towns.
Yes. I can't remember the name of the "first" suburb but I think it's like Forest Park, IL or somewhere in Chicago. Cities like NYC, Philly, etc. also have suburbs dating pre-war. Shaker Heights, OH would be another one that I'm more familiar with.
"Is this a serious question? No, before WW2, everyone lived either in NYC, Chicago, or Boaton, except for five people who lived on a farm in Nebraska. The idea that people could actually live outside the city limits of central cities was discovered by Einstein in 1943."
Don't be rude. Not everyone majored in History.
Though I did major in History, and one of my papers covered suburbs. If you want to know about more than just Levittowns or streetcar 'burbs, read up on "green belts" and "garden cities." The history of manufactured homes is interesting, too. That includes not just trailers but also more "suburban" developments that were prefab.
PS - I imagine most of the original suburbs have been eaten up by their respective cities by now. They would still have a lot of their original houses, though, I would think.
Last edited by Rottenfester NY; 01-17-2011 at 11:07 AM..
Reason: added info
I imagine most of the original suburbs have been eaten up by their respective cities by now. They would still have a lot of their original houses, though, I would think.
In fact... In some places the whole neighborhood is a historic district
In Atlanta, Ansley Park was primarily built from 1904 to 1930 and is a huge growth barrier for Midtown Atlanta
A lot of the suburbs built right on the edge of large cities were the original, pre-WW2 suburbs. During the 1950s and 1960s, as the new suburbs formed modern "suburbia", the older suburbs came to be considered "inner city". Areas such as Oak Park in Chicago, the NYC borough Queens, and Inglewood in Los Angeles are examples of the old suburbs.
Of course there are pre-1945 suburbs. In fact some of Chicago neighborhoods were once towns of there own. Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, and Beverly used to be towns/suburbs of their own before they got annexed.
Of course there are pre-1945 suburbs. In fact some of Chicago neighborhoods were once towns of there own. Hyde Park, Lincoln Park, and Beverly used to be towns/suburbs of their own before they got annexed.
Right, Lake View was a suburb of Chicago way back in the 1800's. The difference was normally a suburb couldn't get the critical mass at the time to create police forces, infrastructure, water, fire, schools, etc. etc. So normally after they reached a certain point, they would vote, or elect or whatever the norm was in that location to be absorbed into the core city.
This is how Chicago ate Lakeview. Normally people were quite happy with this, since services would increase.
The issues started when the core cities started seeing problems and taxes went up, growth stagnated, etc. Then there was less desire by the new little suburbs and housing plots popping up around these cities to assimilate. They could be competitive now in taxes, etc. and would choose to stay independent. They also (obviously) did so to avoid having to share in the core cities problems.
Some states though give the larger core cities much more control over annexation. Like Texas. It's how Houston keeps growing in size and eating a lot of these unincorporated burbs.
Omaha also has dibs to annex areas around it, which is why it has very few suburbs. They become part of Omaha. Des Moines, Iowa on the other hand makes the larger cities jump through hoops and barrels before they can annex. It's much harder, and it's why most suburbs there don't become part of Des Moines - they can fight it off. Hence why Des Moines has 13 incorporated suburbs smashed up against its own city limits.
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