Greenbelt and
Gaithersburg:
Exterior Effects on
the Interior
The living space in which one lives, reveals an immense amount of
information about the environment. The effect of the exterior on the
interior of a living space is clearly revealed when looking at the boy's
bedroom in Greenbelt, Maryland in comparison with my bedroom in
Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The community of Greenbelt, Maryland was carefully planned in 1935
as a result of the New Deal Communities Program during the
administration of
Franklin D. Roosevelt. This plan was issued in reaction to the
deteriorating urban conditions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries. 
The
goal of creating these new communities was to, "...provide
work relief, low-cost housing, long-term community planning, and
subsistence farming" (Mach
30). To achieve this, the planners of Greenbelt
led by Hale Walker, a town planner, Reginald Wadsworth and Douglas
Ellington, principal architects, and Harold Bursley, an engineer,
carefully planned the location of streets, houses, and the center of town.
The design of Greenbelt was greatly impacted by the early planning of the
Garden city, Radburn development, and the crescent-shaped plateau lands of
the rural community of Greenbelt (MNCPPC 9). Due to these
early designs,
Greenbelt contained city blocks, only six miles of roads, an enormous
amount
of land reserved for parks, playgrounds, and gardens, all interspersed
with pathways for easy access to the center of town. 
Bountiful lands with
the combination of businesses, Greenbelt, caused "...the dividing lines
between town and country.." to be broken completely down (Greenbelt
Towns). Greenbelt brought the best of both the country and city ways
of
life together. With careful research, Greenbelt was to contain 574
attached town homes, 306 apartments units, and 5 single-family houses
(Mach 34).
After the planning of the Greenbelt community was completed, the
planners still had the most important task remaining. They had to choose
who would be able to live there. With over 12,000 families applying to
live
in Greenbelt, selecting the intial residents was not such an easy
task. In selecting
families, the planners chose an annual income limit between eight hundred
and twenty-two hundred dollars and set quotas in order to create a
community that was made of many different backgrounds (Likowski and McCarl
71).
These quotas included proportions of government and non-government
workers, many different religions and tried to get at least one family to
represent each state. Therefore, of the initial residents, 70 percent
were government workers and 30 percent were non-government workers; 30
percent were Catholic; 63 percent were Protestant, and 7 percent were
Jewish (Warner 62).
Blacks, though, were not allowed to live in
Greenbelt. Another factor to be considered was the number of children.
Most importantly though, families "...had to demonstrate a cooperative,
energetic spirit, showing a willingness to contribute heavily in the
fledgling town" (Likowski
and McCarl
71). On September 30, 1937, after a careful and
tedious selection process, eight hundred and eighty-five families moved
in.
The people of Greenbelt, along with the city's design, created a
strong
feeling of community for the residents. From the very instant
Greenbeltians moved in,
they were in charge of setting up the town's political, economic, and
social institutions. To do this, the residents established many different
cooperatives, their own newspaper, transportation, social and recreational
groups, and the first kindergarten in Prince George's County. These
different groups successfully made a town where everyone felt they
belonged. Brian Meyers
also discovered that due to the layout of the community, the
residents felt closer. Brian goes on to support his claim by
commenting what his tour guide from the Greenbelt Museum said to him. He
states, "She loved Greenbelt so much because she never had to worry about
crime because she knew everyone and everyone knew her." Sherrod East,
Greenbelt's's first mayor, revealed
the importance of Greenbelt's residents when he stated, "Greenbelt was a
beautifully planned town, but it was the people that made it work"
(Likowski and McCarl
72). This sense of community was greatly enhanced by the layout
of Greenbelt. David
Leyden supports my claim by stating, "The surrounding areas and
living spaces also affect how the people act in the community."
Each home in the town
had
a "service side" and a "garden
side". The "service side" of the home faced a road, in order for the
trash and mail to be picked up. The "garden side" faced the rest of the
houses, sharing a common open space where there was a playground for the
children to play. Located in front of the house, as well as the back,
were a network of pedestrian paths. The paths not only decreased the use
of automobiles, it made it possible for the entire community to walk to
the center of town and visit neighbors safely.
The center of town
included grouped stores, post office, bus terminal, film theater, and
business offices. The most important building of the town was the
community building. The community building served as an elementary school
in the daytime and a town meeting hall at night. This building alone
brought the entire community together. Located behind the community
building were many recreational areas, "...to facilitate a healthful way
of life"(MNCPPC 12).
This area of land included playing fields and an
outdoor swimming pool. One of the main recreational areas of the
community was the Greenbelt lake. The lake served as a place to swim,
boat, and fish. The design of the community offered many activities for
the residents, bringing the community together, as one resident, Edith
Frank asserted, "...we felt welcome, a part of everything" (Looking Back
26).
I live in the city of Gaithersburg, which is centrally located in
Montgomery County, Maryland. The city of Gaithersburg is located five
miles northwest of Rockville and twenty miles northwest of downtown
Washington, D.C.. Gaithersburg was established in 1878 as a rural town
(Corridor
City...2).
As the years went on, this rural town began to
expand rapidly because of its close location to Washington, DC, and its'
accessiblilty to get to other suburban areas by way of the interstate
routes. In the early 1960s the development forces in Montgomery County
began to concentrate on the
Gaithersburg area because of it's rapid growth. By 1970 the City of
Gaithersburg population was
8,344 and today it exceeds 189,000 persons (Corridor City...6). The
goals of the master plan for the City of Gaithersburg included:
*Provide leadership
*Provide an abundance of commercial and industrial sites
*Provide an environment in which each and every individual will have a
choice of travel and housing
*Provide plans and programs which will encourage land development
*Provide sufficient information to the private sector
*Provide leadership
*Provide plans which can pattern expansion and development
*Provide coordination for the City so that it can achieve its own highest
and best attainable development
*Protect and maintain the personality of Gaithersburg (Corridor
City...12).
Due to the lack of open spaces, pathways, and cooperatives, my
neighborhood is not a strong community like Greenbelt. The neighborhood I
live in, Willow Ridge, is located on the outskirts of central
Gaithersburg.
It is situated on the right hand side of the busy traffic corridor within
the County, Route 28.
A half mile from my house are a grocery store, hair parlor, dry cleaners,
and a movie rental store all located on the right of Route 28. On
the left hand side of Route 28 is Quince Orchard High School, where over
2,000
students attend. A mile from my house, located on both the right hand
side
and the left are many fast food restaurants, a coffee shop, two hair
parlors, a bread shop, and another movie rental store. Because there are
no
sidewalks on either side of Route 28, one must drive to get to these
places
safely. The Willow Ridge development was completed in 1988.
My
neighborhood consist of 105 homes for middle to upper class families. The
houses in Willow Ridge are located in a circle, containing only four
cul-de-sacs. The largest plot of land a house is located on is a half
acre. Each house is about twenty feet from one another. In
back of the
neighborhood there is a small forest still in tact today. Because this
land is not groomed and does not have any playground equipment, its' main
use is for the dogs of the neighborhood to be walked. Located on either
sides of the two main streets throughout the neighborhood, Carrington Hill
Drive and Copen Meadow Court, are side walks. These side walks are
necessary to use in order for one to go to school, work, and
grocery store. 
There is only one
neighborhood club,
Willow Ridge Civic Association. This club keeps the front
of the neighborhood clean and plans the social gatherings. The Willow
Ridge Civic Association only asks for an annual $50.00 due from everyone
in
the neighborhood. Because half of the homes in the neighborhood refused
to pay the annual due, the association almost went belly up in the Summer
of 1997. Sara
Brownlow also realizes how much communities benefit from
cooperatives. She clearly reveals her belief when she states, "The
Greenbelters ran their town through these organizations; thus, they
took pride in their activities."Due to the arrangement of the neighborhood
and the lack
of cooperatives, many of the neighbors do not know each other, causing the
families and children to remain inside.
The interior of the boy's bedroom in the Greenbelt home was
greatly effected by the home's exterior. 
Because the
Greenbelt
community
offered many recreational activities for the children, the bedroom was not
the main area for play. The children of Greenbelt could play on the
playground, playing fields, go to the community center, and the pool
simply by walking on the pathways. With so many areas to
play, the boy's
bedroom was very small and simple. On the right hand side of the bedroom
their was one dresser. On the left hand side their was a desk with a toy
soldier, globe, five books, a microscope, and four other small trinkets on
top.
Against the wall their was a small bed with a erector kit,
Popeye
ring toss game, two comic books, doll's dress, and two dolls on top. The
small empty space of the floor was covered with a doll in a stroller and a
train set. Hanging
from the light was a simple model plane. Because the
community offered a large amount of activities for the children the
bedroom could be small and the toys could be few.
Because of the exterior of my neighborhood, my bedroom was greatly
affected. The community in which I live in does not offer any
recreational activities for children. Because of this my bedroom is
twice the size of the boy's bedroom in Greenbelt and had many more toys.
My bedroom is 13 feet 4 inches by 13 feet 2 inches. In the middle of my
bedroom against the wall I have a twin size bed with over thirty stuff
animals on top. 
Underneath my bed I have many
board games and more stuff
animals. On the right hand side of my bed I have a night table with a
singing radio, photos, and two dolls. Located on the left hand side of my
bed is my 13 inch television with cable and a nintendo system.
Surrounding my television on the floor are over twenty additional stuff
animal and dolls. On the left side against the wall I have a huge dresser
with photos, dolls, and stuff animals on top. To the left of my dresser,
I have a baby rocking chair with my Raggedy Ann doll and my Molly doll
sitting in it. Across from the rocking chair I have a desk with a lamp,
photos, and many cups filled with pens and pencils. Above my desk I have
a stuff animal hammock with many stuff animals inside. Because the
community does not offer any means of recreational activities for myself
or other children, my bedroom had to be large and had to have many toys,
stuff animals, and dolls to play with.
The interior of the boy's bedroom greatly differed from the
interior of my room due to the differences between the layout of Greenbelt
and Gaithersburg. The design of Greenbelt offered many activites for the
residents, bringing the entire community together. A stong sense of
community was created by the interspersing walkways going to the center of
town, many cooperatives and clubs, and the abundant amount of open spaces
for recreation. This stong sense of community caused the residents to be
very involved with their community. With so much offered out of the home,
the children used their bedrooms as a last resort for recreation. Because
of this, the boy's bedroom was small and contained very few toys. Unlike
Greenbelt, the layout of my neighborhood in Gaithersburg, Willow Ridge,
does not create a strong sense of a community. My neighborhood does not
have open spaces, walkways into the center of town, and does not have many
clubs. Because my neighborhood lacks the offerings similar to those of
the Greenbelt community, the residents of my neighborhood are hardly seen
outside of their homes. Due to this, my bedroom is the main area of
recreation for me. Because I spend a large amount of time in my room, it
must be large and contain an immense amount of possessions, unlike the
boy's room in the Greenbelt community.