Call Number:

411

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Architectural Archives

Extent:

3.75 linear feet (2 boxes, 1 flat box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

[Description of item], [box and folder number(s) or call number], Collection 411: 20th Century housing pamphlets, Architectural Archives, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1885-1972 (inclusive)

Abstract:

For both the United States and Europe, the 20th century was a time of expanded interest in housing and urban planning as industrial, economic, and medical developments brought new insights into how and who occupied cities and their surrounds. A rise in concern for economic living conditions by officials and housing advocates lead to many policy changes and cities investing in new housing schemes. This information was sometimes shared through publications, printed pamphlets, and reports. This collection is the assembly of affordable housing advocate and inaugural Director of Research and Information for the United States Housing Authority, Catherine Bauer Wurster (b. 1905, d. 1964). Comprised of pamphlets and published reports by notable housing-related organizations and those with housing interests in the 20th century, items include: pamphlets and publications on affordable housing, urban redevelopment, and concepts of city planning in the United States and in the United Kingdom. Examples of publishers found within the collection are the United States Housing Authority, the Philadelphia Housing Authority and the Chicago Housing Authority and the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in the United Kingdom. Housing projects mentioned in this collection include: the Tasker Homes and East Poplar Housing Redevelopment in Philadelphia, the Bannockburn Cooperative in Alabama, and the Quarry Hill Flats in the U.K. It also includes a small selection of pamphlets with the writings of Sir Patrick Geddes.

In response to the industrial revolution and dramatic changes in economic and medical understanding in the early 20th century, cities and urban areas in the United States and Europe began to experiment with new housing schemes and policies aimed at addressing population growth, affordability and solving some of society's viewed 'ills'. Promotional materials, reports, and publications related to these were occasionally produced and shared.

In the United States, the government's response to the Great Depression led to the New Deal, which included governmental assistance for housing and other programs to support workers, veterans, and families. Agencies in major cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston became key players as they proposed and managed new properties developed for low-income families and promoted projects to remove areas considered slums. Language related to segregation and "black" or "white" families is still common in this time.

In Europe, similar concerns over poor living conditions, affordable housing, and public health influenced government and local projects promoting the redevelopment of existing housing, garden cities, and low-income homes.

European writer Sir Patrick Geddes contributed to the early practice of redevelopment of urban spaces through lectures and written work. His texts are considered to be early reflections of what would become the profession of urban planning.

American Catherine Bauer Wurster, who assembled this collection of pamphlets, was the inaugural Director of Research and Information for the United States Housing Authority (USHA) and a primary author to what became the United States Housing Act of 1937. She also published her own work, Modern Housing, in 1934. She lived from 1905 to 1964.

This collection comprises of pamphlets, articles, and publications regarding housing developments and low-income housing in both the United States and the United Kingdom in the 20th century.

Items in the collection were produced by notable authorities and organizations regarding housing and urban planning, including influential American organizations such as the United States Housing Authority, the Philadelphia Housing Authority and the Chicago Housing Authority. The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in the United Kingdom are recognized institutions found in this collection, as well.

Notable projects mentioned in this collection include the Tasker Homes and East Poplar Housing Redevelopment in Philadelphia, the Bannockburn Cooperative in Alabama, and the Welwyn Garden City and the Quarry Hill Flats in England.

This collection contains a number of publications including work by Sir Patrick Geddes. There are also items related to the early concept and planning of gardens cities.