Wilde Lake Village Center
The original plans of Columbia, consisted of seven
villages, each
with its own
village center, which consits of shops, a supermarket, and other specialty
stores, and a community center. Each village is made up of neighborhoods
which has its own elementary school, many with pools, and some with
neighboorhood centers. All of the street names in Columbia would be named
after American poets and their poems. For example, Longfellow is the name
of a neighborhood in the village of Harper's Choice, and some street names
there, are Paul Revere's Ride, Evangeline Way and Blacksmith Drive. James Rouse had high hopes for Columbia. His plans reflected his
utopian ideals for a community. He wanted a place where all kinds of
people could live in peace, as a community, without any of the racial
tensions or barriers that other cities possessed. There were many ways
that he felt he could accomplish this. One, is that no one would have
their
own mailbox at the end of their driveway. There would be a group mailbox,
so that people would be forced to meet their neighbors at the mailbox and
talk to one another. Another way, was that there would be no churches or
synagogues. Instead, there would be Interfaith Centers where different
congregations, whether it be Jewish, Catholic or something else, would
share the same praying space. In order to keep the community like
atmosphere, and away from the city life, The Rouse Company agreed that
there would be no telephone wires streaming across the streets, instead
they would all be underground. This would also keep the children from
getting hurt with live wires. The children have many tot lots, or
playgrounds, to play in, which can be arrived via paths, and are all away
from street traffic. The paths in Columbia can take you from neighborhood
to neighborhood around the city, never crossing a major street. They lead
you
to lakes, parks, tot lots, housing, schools, and even the mall. The original plans for housing in Columbia, included single family
homes, apartments, and townhouses. In the late seventies, they added what
is called Section 8 housing, otherwise known as low income housing. There
about seven low income housing developments that exist now in
Columbia. When you buy a house in Columbia, you sign a covenant in which you
agree to keep your house a certain way, and is monitored by the
architectural committee. Some stipulations in this agreement are that you
wont make any changes to your house without getting a petition signed by
your neighbors, and it gets approved by the committee. Each village has
its own committee, made up of volunteers, and have the same rules.
Additionally, the commitee goes around to houses, telling the owners
what they have to put up or take down. For example, the commitee
told my father that he had to build a flower box on our driveway in
front of our house. Although completely against the idea, he built
it, but it was not before long that he ended up tearing it down.
The have not mentioned it again. Also, they tried to make a friend
of mine take down a tree house that had been there for ever. They
petitioned it many times, and the board finally allowed them to keep
it up. Before
there was enough people to make village commitees, the Rouse Company was
the governing body of the archtectual needs. The Rouse Company also said, that until there was enough people living
there, they would make all of the decisions reguarding streets, open
space, housing, etc. As soon as there was a certain amount of residents, they would form
the Columbia Association, which would make all of the decisions
reguarding streets, open space and build recreational facilities. The
Columbia Association started within three years, and soon became a large
business.
Since then, they have built 23 outdoor pools, two indoor pools, two
athletic clubs, two golf courses, three tennis clubs, an ice skating rink,
rollerskating rink, three lakes and a boat docks. Columbia Association
also runs the community and neighborhood centers, takes care of all the
open space areas, tot lots, paths, public bus transportation, roads
and many
other services. Columbia has added two additional villages to the original seven, and
has expanded dramatically its businesses and commercialism. There are may
strip shopping centers, fast food restaurants, gas stations, schools and
other industrialized buildings. Even though these were not in the
original plan, Columbia is still very much as James Rouse envisioned it,
and when he died in 1996, he was extremely proud of what Columbia turned
out to be. Columbia is criticized by many outsiders because of all of its rules
and regulations. But, for those who live there, most, appreciate all that
it has to offer. Because it is centered between Baltimore and Washington,
it has a very large mix of people who are there for different reasons.
The fact that many of the high schools have students from low income
housing, middle and high income families attending the same school, and
get along,
is remarkable. Even if it has failed as a
planned community, it has not failed in bringing all kinds of people
together, as one community. After the depression, many Americans were out of work, and homes.
Franklin D. Roosevelt had many different plans, otherwise known as The New
Deal or "Alphabet Soup" to help rebuild the American economy and spirit.
One of his many plans included the Resettlement Administration which was
headed by Rexford G. Tugwell, a former assistant secretary of agriculture.
He came up with plans for new "Green" towns, which would model the garden
cities of the British. Only three of his twenty-five plans got developed,
they were; Greenbelt, Maryland, Greenhills, Ohio, and Greendale,
Wisconsin. These Green towns would be federally owned and operated, and
would provide work and housing relief for many families affected during
the depression. Franklin Roosevelt and Rexford Tugwell had envisioned the new towns to
be
the ideal community to live and raise a family. Greenbelt would be
surrounded by a green belt of trees to keep away from the city atmosphere.
There would also be paths and play areas for children so they would be
away from the busy streets. As Westly
Alexander discusses, Greenbelt was designed for cul-de-sacs for
children to play and there would be pedestrian walk ways and
underpasses. As Brian Greaves says in
his
project, this made it so that everyone was close to each other and could
make for very close bonds between one another. In 1935, the land was
bought for Greenbelt, Maryland and in 1936,
construction began. The construction workers were only those who were out
of work, and needed a job. They built 885 units, mostly group townhomes,
and apartments, with a few detached houses. There would be a community center for the residents to gather. There
would be no churches or synagogues, since Greenbelt was on
federally owned land,
it would have violated the constitution if they built any kind of
religious building. There were many rules and regulations for the city of Greenbelt. First
of
all, in order to live there, you had to go through a rather long and
competitive screening process. One would have to send in an application
and then have multiple interviews before being accepted for living. The
family income had to fall within $800-$2000 and you were granted housing
depending on how many people were in your family, but it could be no more
than four. Blacks and other minorities were not accepted, even though
they helped build the city. Jewish people were allowed from the start,
but there were not very many of them. There were other rules that you had to follow, both physically and
socially. Pets were not allowed in Greenbelt, in order to keep the
cleanliness. There were strict policies about keeping the inside of your
house clean, and they were often inspected to make sure the women was
doing her job by cleaning the house. Also, the hedges on your house had
to
be kept at a certain height, and the laundry from the clotheslines had to
be in by 4 p.m. Women were not allowed to wear shorts in the community
centers and public places, and pregnant women could not wear shorts at
all. Some did not want pregnant women to even go to the community centers
at all, even if in skirts or dresses. All of the businesses in Greenbelt were run and operated as a co-op.
The theaters, gas stations, and grocery stores, to name a few, were all
bought
and operated by community members and the profits were returned to the
customers in the form of dividends. The Farm Security Administration
provided furniture for a very low price on a credit system, for the newly
arriving residents. Many people liked Greenbelt, including FDR and Tugwell, because
everyone was of the same social status. There were no rich and poor,
rather, everyone was equal. Because business were run as a co-op, there
was no competition, and the community centers allowed for the residents to
come together. The streets were all designed the same and there were no
rich or
poor sections of town. Greenbelt was sold to the Greenbelt Veterans Housing Corporation in
1953
and it was open to anyone who wanted to live there. Many
original residents decided to buy
their home and many Washingtonians bought
houses as well. It started to become more industrialized, opening up
office buildings, fast food chains, hotels, and malls. Some might say that Greenbelt failed, but others say that it served its
purpose. It got a community on its feet after the depression, and opened
up a lot of jobs and housing for people. From the people who lived there,
for the most part, really enjoyed the community and family like atmosphere
it provided. There were safe play areas for children and there was no
social competition. Even though Greenbelt is no longer the same as it was
in the thirties, it is still a very important part of the housing history
for Americans. There are many similarities and differences between Columbia and
Greenbelt. For example, they are both planned communities, which were
built on certain utopian ideals. Columbia was a place for all races,
religions and economic status could live together. This was the
whole basis on why Columbia was formed. If James Rouse did not
have this vision in mind, Columbia would not have been designed
in the way that it did. Greenbelt, on the other hand, was formed
for white, predominantly Christian people, of the same income bracket, to
live as a community. The signigicance of the Greenbelt planning was
to ensure that everyone had a job, and was on equal social status.
The utopian ideal of this plan was for everything to run as a
community, not as individuals. Even though the
details are different, they were still built on the same principles. Another example is that of the rules that each possesses.
Columbia and Greenbelt have many regulations concerning what can and can
not be done to the house. Columbia has strict rules enforced by the
archetectual commitee, which is a major part of owning a house there.
Greenbelt, had more rules of social behavior rather than the way you
kept your house. Both communities wanted you to keep the outside
of your house a certain way, whether it be keeping the hedges clean, or
requesting permission to paint your house. Also, Columbia did not allow
laundry lines outside at all, and in Greenbelt, you had to take the
clothes off by 4 o'clock. Both places had the community centers for people to gather and
participate in activities. The purpose of them was to get the residents
out of the house and talk to the other people, to be a community. Both
cities also, are not allowed churches and synagogues, even if they are for
different reasons. So, even though the specifics of Columbia and Greenbelt are
different, the general ideas that they were built on are very similar.
The most important things being the utopian ideals and the rules that they
provide. Both places have changed drastically over the years that they
have existed, and the developers probably never imagined they would have
turned out like they are. Columbia and Greenbelt have turned out to be
very unique and special historical places to live and visit and should be
appreciated for what they have given their residents.
The first twenty families moved into the first neighborhood, Bryant
Woods, around 1966. The families were from different races, religions and
backgrounds and included James Rouse, who ended up living in that same
house until he
died. In 1967, construction for the Columbia Mall was started and that
really began the flock of people wanting to move there.