The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History

Over the course of the twentieth-century, the primary path toward the ‘good life’ in the United States involved the purchase of a single family home in the suburbs, which promised financial security, social independence and access to a healthy environmental and verdant greenspace. But the system tha...

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Main Author: Rob Gioielli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The White Horse Press 2025-06-01
Series:Global Environment
Subjects:
Online Access:https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/epdf/10.3828/whpge.63837646622526
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author Rob Gioielli
author_facet Rob Gioielli
author_sort Rob Gioielli
collection DOAJ
description Over the course of the twentieth-century, the primary path toward the ‘good life’ in the United States involved the purchase of a single family home in the suburbs, which promised financial security, social independence and access to a healthy environmental and verdant greenspace. But the system that developed was also built on racial exclusion and unsustainable and environmentally destructive levels of resource consumption. An examination of the spaces of the single-family home shows the challenges in creating a just and sustainable good life, as the social meaning and material realities of the system become intimately tied together.
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spelling doaj-art-ef33ba736ffd4366b43727da4414e0432025-08-20T03:40:22ZengThe White Horse PressGlobal Environment1973-37392053-73522025-06-0118233636910.3828/whpge.63837646622526GE180205The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental HistoryRob Gioielli0KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyOver the course of the twentieth-century, the primary path toward the ‘good life’ in the United States involved the purchase of a single family home in the suburbs, which promised financial security, social independence and access to a healthy environmental and verdant greenspace. But the system that developed was also built on racial exclusion and unsustainable and environmentally destructive levels of resource consumption. An examination of the spaces of the single-family home shows the challenges in creating a just and sustainable good life, as the social meaning and material realities of the system become intimately tied together.https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/epdf/10.3828/whpge.63837646622526sustainabilityracehousingsuburbsconsumption
spellingShingle Rob Gioielli
The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
Global Environment
sustainability
race
housing
suburbs
consumption
title The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
title_full The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
title_fullStr The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
title_full_unstemmed The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
title_short The American Single-Family Home: Towards a Social and Environmental History
title_sort american single family home towards a social and environmental history
topic sustainability
race
housing
suburbs
consumption
url https://liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/epdf/10.3828/whpge.63837646622526
work_keys_str_mv AT robgioielli theamericansinglefamilyhometowardsasocialandenvironmentalhistory
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