Environmental criticism of postwar housing began by 1950 but went largely unheard

Evidence

Like so many vital elements of the postwar economy, however, the building boom came at considerable environmental cost. The reckoning of those costs began almost immediately. By 1950, for example, a number of people had already become concerned about the energy-wasting design of the typical postwar home. Yet the critics of tract housing faced formidable obstacles, because the new way of building met so many economic, social, and political demands. The first complaints about the environmental impact of postwar construction seldom made the news. Instead, the media focused on a far more compelling story: The nation’s largest builders were answering the prayers of millions. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 157

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Postwar suburban sprawl provoked organized protest against its environmental costs — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 0; Postwar housing development sharply raised environmental costs that people then politicized — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 15; Cheap energy and mortgage pressure defeated energy-efficient postwar housing design — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 214 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Cheap energy and mortgage pressure defeated energy-efficient postwar housing design #expands (0.80) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 214
• Mass-produced tract housing erased regional climate-adapted design by 1950 #corroborates (0.75) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 240