Sunday, January 24, 2010
Back Porch Livin'
Over the last century there has been a social shift causing gatherings to move from occurring on the front porch to the back porch. This can be seen through a number of facets. The first being architecture. Looking at houses built in the late 1800s, early 1900s, one will typically find the house equipped with a nice front porch ample for a party or nice evening get together. Moving into the 1950s, as the great migration into suburbia occurred, houses began to lack this very important feature. Entertainment also reflects this shift. On T.V. bar-b-ques typically take place in the back yard , with a closed set of friends. Compare that image to photos from the turn of the century and one may notice a difference, as these photos are ever so often of families on the front porch. The cause of this, to me, is unknown. Was it a change that architects pushed to save costs on not having to build a front porch, is it directly related to moving closer together into suburbia or is it just that we, as a society, are agoraphobic? Does anyone have a hypothesis they would like to share? Despite the reasoning I am not a fan of this shift. If you have any ideas, let me know!
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Well sir, I would say that several factors play into the situation. In my opinion the social world has changed drastically. There's too much to go into without an actual conversation, but I think the introduction of "stranger danger" altered how people live their lives, moved things from the front lawn to the back. There's a lot to it...One day when I have my own house, there WILL be a front porch, with a swing.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet George Lubick knows for sure.
ReplyDeleteMy guess, though, is that it's related to this psychological compulsion Americans have been experiencing since the end of WWII (and perhaps before) to have their own private, distilled slice of the frontier to themselves.
Not only has the porch moved to the backyard, but the two or three-car garage has become the prominent architectural feature on most homes built after 1980.
ReplyDeleteHave your read the Atlantic article "The Next Slum?" from two years ago? Christopher Leinberger predicts a reverse trend, with many of the former affluent exurbs becoming vacant, or as populations migrate closer where jobs are to be found, and housing preferences change. The hypothesis is evidenced by some transitions already in effect (currently one third of suburban homeowners would trade in larger homes and commutes for the amenities to be found in walkable urban areas) and supported by economic indicators of the coming 15-30 years.
In 2010 boomer parents are becoming empty nesters these days, and largely opting to move into smaller houses or condos. When we were little kids, single-family homes (Boomer parents with children) made up more than half of all households. Because our generation is projected to have fewer children later in life than our forebearers, Leinberger predicts there will be as many single-person households as families with children in 2025. Accounting for natural gas and electricity costs, that will surely leave a lot of empty 3 and 4 bedroom houses.
I'm banking that older Post-War suburbs will fare better, but developers and architects will learn a valuable lesson about structural integrity from these empty drywall McMansions dotting the desert outskirts in Nevada and AZ.