Sprawled Out: The Search for Community in the American Suburb

Urban Development Strategies From 1939

A blast from the past from Coronet Instructional Films (score by Aaron Copeland!) shows us the scourge of the city -- from which the suburbs were designed to deliver us.

In 1939 the American Institute of Planners commissioned a film for the 1939 New York World's Fair. The result was The City, a film about the historic importance of rural, small town life in America, the evils of the city that had developed as America industrialized, and the possibility of reclaiming the "good life" through suburban housing initiatives.  You can see the complete film here.

(I was surprised to see in the credits Pare Lorentz the groundbreaking documentarian who made the film The Plow That Broke the Plains and The River, which told that story of the great rivers of the American continent and the work of the Tennessee Valley Authority.) 

via The Atlantic

Dismantling a bit of the past

IMG_4107, originally uploaded by John Michlig.

The old Barg barn on 51st Street will soon be history; it appears that it's being carefully dismantled for re-use of its old timbers and planks. Click on the photo to see more shots on Flickr.

Arcade Fire in your old neighborhood

When a band puts out an album called THE SUBURBS, you know I'm going to get email about it. I'll eventually buy the album (or download the iTunes - - what do we say nowadays?), but not because I'm looking for insight into the suburban experience. I just like Arcade Fire.

Don't wait around when it comes to their promotional website, though. It's an interactive film of sorts that integrates GoogleMaps and your childhood neighborhood. Go play.

Vintage suburban home ads

Rolling View Estates (Yorba Linda - Schmid Development Inc) - page 08, originally uploaded by teamperks.

An assortment of old 1960s & 1970s tract home sales brochures from Orange County, California.