Crabgrass Frontier: The Suburbanization of the United States by Kenneth T. Jackson
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(Paperback)
- Pub. Date: April 1987
- 432pp
- Sales Rank: 58,521
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Product Details
- ISBN-13: 9780195049831
- ISBN: 0195049837
- Edition Number: 1
Synopsis
This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day. He treats communities in every section of the U.S. and compares American residential patterns with those of Japan and Europe. In conclusion, Jackson offers a controversial prediction: that the future of residential deconcentration will be very different from its past in both the U.S. and Europe.
Annotation
Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the suburb and how it came to be equated with "the good life" in America.
More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Kenneth T. Jackson, Professor of History at Columbia University, is the author of The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915-1930; Cities in American History; and a number of other books.
Customer Reviews
First rate classic of urban history and suburbanizationby Trexlers_Take
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September 12, 2009: Prof. Ken Jackson of Columbia University made his mark with this insightful, yet easily accessible urban history. He charts the early ideas on city and home planning in the 19th century through the late 20th century. Anyone who wants to learn more about why they live in the community they do should read this book. Anyone who is thinking of developing new subdivisions or city planning in the future must read this book. He does a fine job laying out the impact of the automobile as well as federal laws, especially the unintended consequences of their actions. His addition of a number of individuals who made their mark on our suburban dreams is a fine human touch as well.
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