The Levittowners

Download or read book The Levittowners written by Herbert J. Gans and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 1982 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1955 Levitt and Sons, Inc. purchased almost all of Willingboro Township, New Jersey, a sparsely settled agricultural area seventeen miles from Philadelphia. They would build 1,200 homes; three basic house types would be erected; ten or twelve neighborhoods would emerge. This suburban experiment was the basis for one of the most famous case studies in urban sociology, Herbert J. Gans' The Levittowners. This classic work examines its subject from numerous angles: the beginnings of group life, the founding of churches, the emergence of party politics, family and individual adaptation, and other dimensions of the suburban experience. In a new introduction, written especially for this edition, Gans reflects on the past twenty years and their effect on the Levittown community.