The Greenbelt community was initially intended to be a
self-supporting community. However, care was taken to make sure that there
were
other means of survival if that were to fail. Greenbelt was built in the
form of a horseshoe because of the contour of the land, but it was also
placed close to a major interstate, which allowed commuters to travel with
ease. (The City)
The residential section is centered around the
town
square, which
provided activities and organizations for its inhabitants. Therefore, if
someone was trying to buy groceries, or run any other errands, they would go to one central area where they could get it all done.
(Greenbelt Tour) This was the place where the most community interaction
took place. Everybody had a chance to meet their neighbors. Hazel Ashley
(an inhabitant of Greenbelt) was happy to say that she "knew most of the
first 100 families well." (Looking Back). According to Summary
Characteristics of Greenbelt, during the early phase of its
development, 65% of the town's occupants were friends with others in their
town. This is partly because (as a docent at the Greenbelt Museum stated),
practically everybody in the city volunteered to play some role in the
community.
Primarily, the Greenbelt community promoted community
interaction.
The movie, "The City" highlighted urban settings as being too fast paced,
dirty, and cramped. In the Greenbelt community, on the other hand, the
government designed it so that it would attract families with children,
and
provide an atmosphere of community for them. Greenbelt was designed to
have things like "superblocks with central greens, separation of
automobile
and pedestrian traffic, cul-de-sacs, [and] pedestrian
underpasses..." (Knepper 5) for that very reason.
Many of the actual homes were fashioned similar to the Greenbelt
Museum. Each house had a "service side" (facing the street) and a "garden
side" (which consisted of an area of lawn that was shared with a couple
other units). When one first enters into the house (via the service side),
there is a small, but conventional
kitchen (as discussed in Hayley Bonica's
project) to the immediate right. There is a closet (which was built
under the
stairs) directly in front of you, and the main living area was on the
left. The
living and dining rooms were built together in order to conserve space. No
distinguishing marks were made that separated one from the other. The
dining room consisted of a table and chairs which were specially designed
to be smaller than normal so that they could all fit in the
room.
The second level was just as cramped. It had one bathroom, a closet, and a
master and child-size bedroom. This structure of the living space, as well
as its artifacts, indicated that this house was intended for a typical
small family, but not much more.
The structure of the condominium community is very similar to that
of Greenbelt. The condominium community that is being used in this
comparison is the Jefferson Square Condominium located on the
1800th block
of Metzerott Road in Adelphi, Maryland. It, like Greenbelt, is also
surrounded by major highways. Riggs Road (to the north), Metzerott Road
(to the east), and New Hampshire Avenue (to the south) are all snow
emergency routes which indicates that they get a disproportionately high
amount of traffic. The complexes are also built in a horse shoe-like shape
partly because of geographical reasons (Sligo Creek), but also to provide
for parking lots. In a vague sense, the parking lot serves as an
equivalent to Greenbelt's town square for this condominium complex,
because this is where you can see your neighbors the most. However, unlike
some communities like the
City of Gaithersburg (as stated in Sara
Headman's project), the complexes also share recreational facilities
(basketball, tennis, swimming) which tend to build the community. Most
of the children of Jefferson Square know each other because they all
play at the same playground.
As for the condo units, they generally come in three basic styles
depending on its number of bedrooms. Like the Greenbelt Museum, these
condominiums have dining rooms which are connected to their living rooms.
However, both rooms have much more space than the museum and are clearly
separated by an indentation in the wall. This condo has two separate
bathrooms (one full and one half) and three bedrooms. Neither the master
bedroom, nor the second bedroom have any better amenities than those that
were found in the Greenbelt museum (baring time period differences).
The only exception was that both living spaces had sources of
entertainment (TV, VCR's, stereo) within them
which the museum lacked. The third bedroom has been modified into another
sitting area similar to the living room.
Also, similar to the Greenbelt community, the condominium
community has certain levels of interaction inherent in its organization.
Although no involvement is required of the occupant when they move in, the
government of the community can institute changes which alter their
lifestyles. It is for this reason that many neighbors in the condominium
community become involved. The main types of involvement is through the
Board of Directors and their subsequent committees. These committees can
extend from a investment/money management group that decides how the
monthly condo fees should be used, to a community outreach committee which
organizes yard sales, clean ups, and other group-oriented activities.