Description
From the Haitian-style “shotgun” houses of the 19th century to the lavish high-rises of the 21st century, a walk through the streets of America’s neighborhoods that reveals the rich history—and future—of urban housing
The Philadelphia row house. The New York tenement. The Boston triple-decker. Every American city has its own iconic housing style, structures that have been home to generations of families and are symbols of identity and pride. Max Podemski, an urban planner for the city of Los Angeles and lifelong architecture buff, has spent his career in and around these buildings. Deftly combining his years of experience with extensive research, Podemski walks the reader through the history of our dwelling spaces—and offers a blueprint for how time-tested urban planning models can help us build the homes the United States so desperately needs.
In A Paradise of Small Houses, Podemski charts how these dwellings have evolved over the centuries according to the geography, climate, population, and culture of each city. He introduces the reader to styles like Chicago’s prefabricated workers cottages and LA’s car-friendly dingbats, illuminating the human stories behind each city’s iconic housing type. Through it all, Podemski interrogates the American values that have equated home ownership with success and led to the US housing crisis, asking, “How can we look to the past to build the homes, neighborhoods, and cities of the future that our communities deserve?”
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
The House on Morrison
CHAPTER 1
Philadelphia Row House:
A Paradise of Small Houses
CHAPTER 2
New York City Tenement:
The Lowest Depth
CHAPTER 3
New Orleans Shotgun:
A Talking Place
CHAPTER 4
Chicago Workers Cottage:
The Pine Jungles
CHAPTER 5
Portland Bungalow:
The Progressive Era City
CHAPTER 6
Boston Triple-Decker:
The Zone of Emergence
CHAPTER 7
Los Angeles Dingbat:
The Dumb Box
CHAPTER 8
Vancouver Point Tower:
Cult of the View
CHAPTER 9
Houston Townhouse:
The House and the Town
CONCLUSION
The Tiny Tower
Acknowledgments
Notes
Credits
Index
