When America Became Suburban

8. Identity and Urbanity

172 No historical period ever begins or ends abruptly. World War II marked the beginning of the short American Century and the onset of two events—industrial-city decline and mass suburbanization—that left the country’s landscape, its dominant way of life, and what it meant to be an American irreparably changed. Neither event suddenly appeared as truce was declared. The recession of 1973–1975 marked the end. Yet the consequences of parasitic urbanization, postwar economic growth, and Cold War ideology linger. Throughout those twenty-five years, the nation basked in its global dominance and enjoyed an unprecedented domestic prosperity. In the early 1970s, however, the triumvirate of suburban-style growth, widespread affluence, and international supremacy began to unravel. Productivity slowed, the economy faltered, and the United States became mired in Vietnam. The nation found itself economically and diplomatically challenged by a more organized western European community , by Japan, and by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The global responsibility that the country had taken on, seemingly as a matter of destiny, was now tainted. America could no longer sustain both prosperity at home and ascendance abroad.1 During the short American Century, citizens, corporations, and governments reaped a multitude of benefits. Incomes rose, consumer goods were abundant, housing production was robust, new communities were built, and life, for most people, was rewarding. The fascination with U.S. consumer goods and popular culture, interest in U.S. technology and know-how, and high levels of productivity allowed 8 I d e n t i t y a n d U r b a n i t y 173 Identity and Urbanity American corporations to dominate world export markets. The capital at their disposal also led U.S. businesses to invest in western Europe, South America, and Asia. Local and state governments, with the exception of those in declining industrial cities, could count on expanding tax revenues, while the federal government grew in size and influence. The national government found itself at the center of world diplomacy; even if not directly consulted, it always figured in realpolitik calculations . America was at the center of the world. Prosperity and global dominance permitted Americans—white Americans—to think of themselves as sharing a national destiny. The American identity seemed monolithic, built as it was on upward mobility and freedom. What America stood for and what it meant to be an American were relatively unquestioned. Dissent and deviance were ever present but were, nevertheless, pushed into the shadows. Consensus occupied center stage in the short American Century. There were costs, and they were huge. Domestic prosperity and a global presence fed on the industrial cities, draining them of population and investment, weakening their governments, and consigning racial minorities and poor households to inner-city slums and chronic unemployment. In return for their contribution, the industrial cities were left with abandoned manufacturing zones, block after block of dilapidated housing, and blighted downtowns. The largest cities eventually became the shame of the nation, attended to when riots erupted but otherwise lamented and ignored.2 When Americans discarded the industrial cities, they also severed their connection to an urban way of life. The embrace of suburbia meant the rejection of an urbanity that had nurtured the coexistence of diverse peoples and life experiences from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. The resultant pluralism had been central to the nation’s identity. An urbanization that rejected density and social diversity impaired the moral ties that might have enabled the country to “save” its cities. First, commitment eroded as households fled to the suburbs and sprawling Sunbelt cities. Then, attachment diminished as the suburbs became self-sufficient. Finally, empathy waned as race and crime came to symbolize the central cities. A sense of national belonging was severely compromised. Cold War ideology only made matters worse. With the end of the short American Century, dissatisfactions that had been kept on the margins became more and more pronounced. The result was a “collapse in American belief in a utopian national destiny .”3 Foundational narratives that anchored American thought and 174 Identity and Urbanity culture, focused its history, and legitimized its actions became less and less credible. Yet in another ironic twist of history, the cities that had suffered so ignominiously began to show signs of renewed energy. City life became desirable once again. Notwithstanding, what had been lost was not...