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Garden Apartments: The History of a Low-Rent Utopia
How a form of multifamily housing with idealistic roots became a ubiquitous model promoted by both public entities and private developers. Eminent historian Joshua Freeman rescues garden apartments--typically low-rise multifamily residences that enclose or are surrounded by landscaped gardens--from their invisibility in the American landscape. He details their outsized influence on housing policy and social policy as they helped upgrade living standards for working people. Inspired by the architectural innovations and socialist politics of British garden cities, Red Vienna, and German modernist housing in the 1920s, these large, centrally managed projects were mostly not public housing, but their capitalist developers worked with governments to keep down rents. The results were often relatively small apartments and large communal spaces, aimed at fostering actual American community.
Book Details
- Publisher: University of Chicago Press
- Publish Date: Dec 23rd, 2025
- Pages: 288
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00lb
- EAN: 9780226841816
- Categories: • Buildings - Residential• United States - 20th Century• Sociology - Urban
About the Author
Freeman, Joshua B.: - Joshua B. Freeman is distinguished professor of history emeritus at Queens College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He is the author of American Empire: The Rise of a Global Power, the Democratic Revolution at Home, 1945-2000; Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World; and Working-Class New York: Life and Labor Since World War II.
Praise for this book
"Freeman has crafted an original book that adds fundamentally to our knowledge of twentieth-century housing in the United States. Garden apartments, never before the focus of significant study, prove a fascinating vehicle to study housing policy across twentieth-century America."--Ann Durkin Keating, author of "Chicago Neighborhoods and Suburbs: A Historical Guide"
"Another superlative study from a master historian. Freeman takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey through the political, social, and architectural histories of multifamily public, private, and cooperative housing initiatives in Europe and the United States. Along the way, he introduces us to a remarkable group of left-leaning architects and visionary reformers whose goal was to provide affordable housing that nourished and sustained vibrant communities. Exhaustively researched, beautifully written, with abundant photos and illustrations, Freeman reminds us that there are times when we should look to the past for solutions to present-day problems."--David Nasaw, author of "The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II"
"Between McMansions and public housing projects, Freeman projects the unsung garden apartment complex as a viable model of both affordable housing and aspirational community. His careful excavation of government policies and architectural plans shows an important alternative to both massive demolition and 'building big' and makes a solid case for building for need rather than for profit."--Sharon Zukin, author of "Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places"