Greenbelt Community
Evolving from one of many of Roosevelt's ideas was the
Resettlement Administration, of which Rexford G. Tugwell headed. As one
of the only existing three of the originally planned twenty-five similar
communities, Greenbelt was modeled after the "garden" communities built by
British industrialists. Its goal was to provide affordable housing for
low-income (between $800-$2000 annually) government workers who had been
devastated by the depression.
The present day museum is one of the original houses built under
the Resettlement Administration. It has been restored to contain the same
things that would have been there in the "New Deal" era of U.S. history.
Because of this restoration, it is possible to further study the lifestyle
and culture of Americans. Without this, a research paper such as this
could not be done.
Cheltenham Community
The subdivision of the living space that I am comparing and contrasting to
Greenbelt is entitled Cheltenham Woods. Located on Rt. 301, the community
was founded by a real estate developer in 1989. That developer, NVHomes
Inc., advertises the community as "single family homes in Prince George's
County"(pamphlet, 1). Built in 1990 my living space was sought by a
growing family (my family) in need of more space.
Rexford G. Tugwell first conceived the town of Greenbelt Maryland
in 1935.
Located in Maryland's Prince George's County, Greenbelt is bordering the
nation's capitol, and at the time of its conception the United States,
along with most of the world, was suffering through horrendous economic
hardship. This hardship commonly referred to in history as the "Great
Depression", caused unemployment to reach record highs and left the
country in shambles. Almost four years after this occurred; Franklin D.
Roosevelt was inaugurated President, promising drastic changes in the
economy. Although his methods were bitterly opposed by many, Roosevelt
managed to pull the country out of its "depression", with a little help
coming in the form of World War II.
Squeezed between two larger Prince George's County towns,
Cheltenham was originally founded to house a troubled youth facility.
Just south of county seat Upper Marlboro and just north of a longtime
county catalyst Brandywine, Cheltenham slowly began to develop into yet
another suburban town. The original settlements lying not more than a
mile from the youth facility were established in the seventies.