Greenbelt, Maryland: A Living Legacy of the New Deal

by Cathy D. Knepper

Built in the 1930s on worn-out tobacco land between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the planned community of Greenbelt, Maryland, was designed to provide homes for low-income families as well as jobs for its builders. In keeping with the spirit of the New Deal, the physical design of the town contributed to cooperation among its residents, and the government further encouraged cooperation by helping residents form business cooperatives and social organizations. In Greenbelt, Maryland, Cathy D. Knepper offers the first comprehensive look at this important social experiment. Knepper describes the origins of Greenbelt, the ideology of its founders, and their struggle to create a cooperative planned community in the capitalist United States. She tells how the town, saved at one point by the intervention of Eleanor Roosevelt, struggled through the McCarthy years, when it was branded "socialistic" and even "communistic." In conclusion, she provides a timely analysis of those qualities that not only helped the town survive but also served as the model for currents in urban development that have once again come into vogue in such movements as the new urbanism and traditional neighborhood development.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published March 9, 2001

About the author

Dr. Cathy D. Knepper, Ph.D., received her doctorate in American Studies from the University of Maryland at College Park, specializing in twentieth-century history and culture. She has lectured at the National Archives, the Woman's National Democratic Club, the Roosevelt Presidential Library, and the FDR American Heritage Center.

Reviews

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Workable history through 1980s. Not much analysis or narrative form for the events described, so parts that have clear players and tension (land development and legal disputes) are engaging and rest is less so (growth and decline of cooperative businesses, turnover of residents). Noticeable throughout is that a city formed with a culture of bottom-up resident organizing for large and small interests and challenges seemed to easily prompt that response when needed, at least through the lifetimes of the original residents.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, interesting part of the New Deal that is not really discussed. Also great tie in with the McCarthy Era.