Levittown Essay Example

Levittown is an upcoming or a developing town, and just like any other developing town or city, some aspects facilitate the development. These aspects include; roads, housing, and social facilities. These aspects are costly to put up and need extra financial assistance to promote development. In the united states, after the end of the war, there was an urgent need of 5,000,000 new houses, and the nation had only two options: the construction could be carried out by the federal government, or it could give the project to private industries by offering billions in credit. This urgent need for new houses led to the upcoming of the Levitt & Sons, a construction company that stood against all the odds to enhance better and faster houses and much cheaper.

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The housing industry is a vast field with a lot of activities required before a house is said to be complete. Levitt & Sons, Inc., a Long Islands-based company has changed the building industry by its way of construction of houses (Kelly & Barbara, 1993). The company Levitt & sons led by William Levitt came up with a new and faster way of building homes, In addition, the company was organized to ensure it saved on time required for construction, trucks dumped same bundles of pipes, shingles, lumber, copper tubing, and bricks every 100 feet on a 1,200 acres of flat land near Hicksville in Long Island. Digging machines were in place and running, delving into the earth a trench four-foot deep around a 25foot-by-30foot rectangle, this Got followed by more trucks full of cement which laid a four-inch foundation. Lastly came the men who were organized into groups of 2 or 3 people and each group performed a particular task. As a result of the excellent work coordination a house got finished n every 15 minutes. The use of machines, skilled workers and coordinated organization saw the company rise since the demand was high. Many young people experience struggles in buying houses since large deposits are needed, and most houses are highly priced. The case of the cost is different when it comes to Levitt, His houses are affordable by many young people since there is no deposit required and the installments are a reasonable amount of $56 a month, generally, the total cost of a house is affordable and goes at $7,900 per house. Many young people opted for the houses for this reason.

In every business, the demand of the commodity determines the rate at which it sells. This was the same case for Levitt & sons' company, at the time the country had come out of a war period and was in urgent need of about 5,000,000 new houses to facilitate the citizens. The government also offered credits to construction firms since the construction had been left for the private sector. Levitt had managed to acquire machines and trucks which made it easier to construct, the demand for houses also saw Levitt work nonstop with a goal of building as many houses as possible. At that time, Levitt happened to be the only one with this kind of construction, and this made Levitt & sons construct make millions since there was no competition from other firms. Most of the middle-class Americans became homeowners since it was easy and cheaper to purchase a house.

Just like any other town or city, Levittown has a set of its own rules that govern the people living there. In Levittown a homeowner is not allowed to build fences, hanging of clothes gets done on specific days, and there are special removable racks to be used. This is the reason as to why the author refers it to as "antiseptic" because the roads and streets are entirely bare and flat. It's not the will of the people for the town to look this bare but the rules govern them. A homeowner at Levittowner is supposed to mow the grass surrounding the house every week or else Bill Levitt's men will mow it and send a bill for the work. Levittown is an ideal place for any young person who's aspiring to own a house and live a cheaper life. I would want to own a house in this developing town since it's a better way to save and the lifestyle here is affordable (Wattel & Harold, 1953: 287-313). Despite, the criticism from people of being the "slum of the future," I still find Levittown being a nice place since there is less disturbance unlike in many towns where there are clubs everywhere. I find Levittown a well-planned town since the only bars in the town are located in the shopping centers.

In conclusion, Levittown is a recommendable place for every young person wishing to own a home. There are affordable homes and could be paid in installments which are affordable too. All said and done; there is a need to increase recreational, and social facilities such as hospitals, schools, and police stations at Levittown.

Works Cited

Kelly, Barbara M. Expanding the American dream: Building and rebuilding Levittown. SUNY Press, 1993.

Wattel, Harold L. "Levittown: a suburban community." The Suburban Community (1958): 287-313.

Kushner, David. Levittown: Two Families, One Tycoon, and the Fight for Civil Rights in America's Legendary Suburb. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2009.

Hales, Peter Bacon. Levittown: Documents of an ideal American suburb. Peter B. Hales, 2001.

Gans, Herbert J. "Levittown and America." The City Reader. Ed. Richard T. LeGates and Frederic Stout 2 (1967).