Welcome to the Neighborhood

                One of the topics I have gravitated towards throughout this program has been the complicated web of history that surround the invention of the suburbs. Suburbia had a complicated impact on urban centers as people left, but also was conceived of specifically for white families. The government incentivized homeownership out of fears of communism but limited the federal backing of VA loans specifically to white families who were “low risk.”  Families of color, like the Wades, who made it to the suburbs despite all obstacles were met with tremendous hate and prejudice for just simply existing. The Wades were victims of a bombing on their home shortly after moving into their home in 1954. I consider the history and consequences of suburban life to be almost exclusively dark, particularly along the lines of race. I bring this up because I feel any discussion of the suburbs is incomplete without acknowledging this particularly heinous chapter of hate and adversity.