The advent of industrialized cities has brought the introduction of suburbs into the architecture in the nineteenth century. This trend is analyzed in two works – Bourgeois utopias: The rise and fall of Suburbia by Robert Fishman and The Suburb Reader by Becky M. Nicolaides and Andrew Wiese. Ascertaining the impact of new gender roles and family structure is essential in understanding the causative factors of the nineteenth century’s suburbs in Paris and London.
The English response to the industrialized cities manifested in the appearance of a suburban villa. Fishman (1987) describes it as “the marriage of urban and rural architecture” (p. 103). In essence, it meant that London’s bourgeoisie decided to escape the city hustle by moving to the less populated countryside. However, it was heavily dependent on the city, hence there was a fusion of two types of architecture.
In Paris, the desire to retreat from the rapidly growing cities was also apparent. However, French bourgeoisie preferred to live in “townhouses that combined work and residence, located in neighborhoods even more crowded than those of the City of London” (Fishman, 1987, p. 104). This is a stark contrast to the English middle-class, who viewed suburbs as places of temporary residence for recreation purposes. This is why French houses were more adapted to business purposes.
Architectural changes were also precipitated by new gender roles. First, men and women put a clear distinction between their household duties. The dwelling should correspond with the changing reality and accommodate families according to its needs. Women assumed the roles of “guardians and teachers of Christian virtue in the home” (Nicolaides & Wiese, 2016, p. 46). At the same time, men’s domain included everything related to sustaining a family. Therefore, there was a clear distinction between workspace and private space.
This distinction also manifested in the appearance of rooms intended for specific gender-related purposes. For instance, servant’ rooms were a common sight in suburban houses. Although women wanted to have complete control over the domestic household, “many suburban families depended on domestic servants to help maintain the household” (Nicolaides & Wiese, 2016, p. 46). The resulting partition of space could lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness from living in such houses.
Another important factor in the development of suburbs was the construction of railroads. This was especially important for the United States, where corporations constantly looked for ways of expanding their operations. In particular, the Pennsylvania Railroad played an important role in the development of suburbs. Fishman (1887) writes that its management realized that “the ultimate purpose of suburban transportation lines is not to move people; it is to increase the value of the land through which it passes” (p. 143). In other words, by constructing the railroads in the suburbs, corporations attracted peoples’ interest to these areas.
Altogether, it is evident that suburbs were a natural development of the nineteenth century. Numerous factors, including changes in gender roles, family structure, and economic interests, precipitated the arrival of suburban housing. These areas differed from country to country, with London’s bourgeoisie viewing them as a temporary residence, and the French and American ones saw them as permanent houses. In the United States, railroads were a driver of population and economic growth, which the transport corporations used to increase their value. All these factors constituted the architectural response to the industrialized city.
References
Nicolaides, B. M. & Wiese, A. (eds.) (2016). The Suburb Reader. Routledge.
Fishman, R. (1987). Bourgeois utopias: The rise and fall of Suburbia. Basic Books.