IN-PERSON London. Section A

Abstract

The paper will detail architecture’s capacity to function as a catalyst for social change through archival and historical research that sheds light on architecture’s ability to shape the legal, economic, political, and cultural systems of a society. This paper is a case study that examines the 1908, Greene and Greene-designed house as a trigger for the institutionalization of the single-family, detached house as the primary definer-symbol of American wealth and success, not only the built environment, but also in various social systems and structures across the United States. From fixed mortgage rates and zoning regulation; to the ethos of the “American Dream” portrayed in popular media; to the impact of industrialization and progressive politics, this case study presents how the primacy of the single-family detached house has not only shaped the nation’s physical character (that of the built environment), but also its very social character and structures. The 2023 State of the Nation’s Housing Report (Harvard), reports that the US continues to suffer from the 2019-2021 drop in housing affordability, the worst in years. Combining skyrocketing housing prices and a short supply of affordable rental units, housing cost burden has risen to its highest level (20% for owners and nearly half of renters at 49%). At these record levels, the livability of American cities and metropolitan areas are in crisis, as vast numbers of would-be residents are unable to gain access to affordable and adequate housing, in large part due to the legacy of single-family, detached housing. For the AMPS 2024 Livable Cities Conference, this paper discusses an analysis of the power of the architecture of a single house to set forth an entire series of events that continue to shape not just our housing, but also the society that we live in today.