America’s Loss of Meaningful Places

After World War II, American society was experiencing some drastic changes. From the Baby Boom to the interstate highways, the United States was becoming a different country. Many argue that these changes were for the better, but one has to realize that these events after the war actually altered American cities. After World War II, many “places that were not worth caring about” sprang across the United States, thus causing the landscapes of the country to become dull and uninteresting.

In his presentation, James Kunstler claimed that after World War II many people in the United States seemed to stop caring about their surroundings. Due to this indifference of one’s geography, “places that were not worth caring about” dominated the country. Most of these places still exist and many more have been established since the 1950’s. But one may wonder why did the United States loose its touch with cities and their built environment? To answer these questions, one has to study the historical occurrences of the country, and see how the byproducts of these events altered the United States. Kunstler claimed “A lot of this [the issues in America’s built environment] comes from the fact that the industrial city in America was such a trauma that we developed this tremendous aversion to the whole idea of the city.” The suburbs were an escape from the disgust found in the industrial cities in the late 1800’s, but as we look later in history they didn’t explode in growth until after 1945. It was this era after the war that produced the lack of identity in American places, and it was all thanks to such tools as the automobile.

In 1971, John B. Rae asserted, “Modern suburbia is a creature of the automobile, and it cannot survive without the automobile.” Though this might have been a drastic claim, in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s automobiles did become more accessible to the American general public. This innovation drastically changed the infrastructures and landscapes of the country, “fundamentally restructuring the pattern of everyday life.” With the implementation of the Interstate Highway Act, cars were able to take hold of these pathways towards the outskirts of the city. As Jackson states in his paper, “the interstate system virtually guaranteed that future urban growth would perpetuate a centerless sprawl.” This urban sprawl in turn affected the general public’s opinion on architecture and their sense of place. People were more interested in efficiency, promptness, and instant returns instead of quality and meaningfulness. “As the United States became a rubber-tire civilization, a tasteless, cheap, and forgettable architecture emerged in the suburbs.” As the years went by, more Americans possessed this lack of connection with their surroundings, and lost most (if not all) of their appreciation for a sense of place. Such a mindset in the general public caused there to be a drastic increase in the number of places that weren’t significant to anyone. This in turn created those areas that Kunstler termed “places that are not worth caring about” to spring about.

Even though the United States is dominated by places that people have no connection with, there are still some spaces that are worth caring about. I, myself, have been fond of several places. One of these places is a park that is a mile away from my house. This park is called Norwood Park, and I have been going to this park since I was a child. Not only is it a place where children can play, but it also is an area where people can come relax and enjoy life. Norwood Park is a unifying space that brings people together, and serves as an oasis from the hustle and bustle of city life. I think this park is important because not only does it allow people to engage in a multitude of activities, but it also has a charm to it that draws people. The park is full of life, beauty, and most importantly it allows one to understand the significance of a sense of a place. I would hate to see Norwood Park being destroyed because it has and always will have a special place in my life.