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1950's City and Suburb: Chicago and Park Forest, Illinois
The Sprawling Metropolis
A rapidly growing dependence on the car helped reshape life in American cities and suburbs after World War II. It created the suburban landscapes and culture that have come to dominate much of contemporary American life. Owning a car made it easier for white middle- and working-class families to move to sprawling new suburbs. Local and national transportation policy often encouraged suburbanization, to the detriment of older cities.
By the 1950's, growing traffic problems and rapid suburbanization threatened the welfare of Chicago's central business district. In response, city officials implemented a series of transportation projects designed to encourage downtown development. Instead, the improvements encouraged people and businesses to move out of the city. Park Forest, one of the suburbs that attracted Chicago residents, was a planned development where the landscape and the rhythms of daily life revolved around the family car. |