ssible areas. Limmer (7)The last technological improvement that I am going to discuss is the balloon-framed house, which is a type of building used to build suburban homes at a massive rate. Some of these communities were known as Levitttowns, which were created by Levitt and Sons. There was not a great number of Levittowns in the Detroit area, but the same idea was there with the newly created suburbs. These communities were characterized as being built identically, with virtually the same layout, same size lot and home, and house the same class of people, remember now hindering primarily on social status. According to Jackson, more than thirty houses went up per day at the peak of production.The second pillar is the passage of some federal policies that promoted growth to the suburbs, often referred to as progressive reform. Housing renewal programs along with public Limmer (8)housing would be evident in the city, but in the suburbs there was mortgage insurance promoting home ownership. The Federal Housing Administration was also created. Owning a home was now possible in cities even as blue-collar as Detroit. This bill inhibited the growth of Levittowns and other suburban developments. The greatest amount of the suburbs were located in Oakland County, which by 1980 was up over 2 million people. Many suburbs grew into large outlying communities, having their own industries and office complexes. Troy is a perfect example of this, not only is it the regional shopping center, it is also home to a variety of offices and a few high tech companies, and has grown into a major suburb.The third pillar and probably the most important when discussing Detroit and the suburbanization process in the metropolitan area is the racial relations factor. Detroit until 1940, consisted of far more than a majority of whites than blacks. Presently, the city is standing at roughly 80% black with in the city limits. After the second World War,...
