The Garage

There is no doubt that the garage holds an important place in the vernacular landscape. I went for a walk around my sister's development and looked at the newly built houses to see what has changed in the garages of the houses since the time of Jackson's writing. Much has stayed the same such as the garage being attached to the house. The car is an integral part of our lifestyle and needs to be right next to where we eat and sleep for easy access. The increased size of the garage for numerous cars is also the same. I don't believe the reason for needing two cars described by Jackson is relevant anymore though. Instead of one car being used for work, and one for household chores and transportation of children, I feel that numerous cars are both needed for work as most families are dual income in today's society. Along with that theme of increased size, the three car garage is much more common place instead of the two car. I feel this isn't so three cars can actually be parked in there, but as Jackson suggested, so people can use this added space for storage and recreation.

Moving away from the themes present during the time of Jackson's writing, I noticed that the theme to hide the garage seems to be making a comeback as compared to making it a prominent feature of the house. I noticed that houses were blending the garages into the facade of the house as to make the structure look larger. Instead of the doors being placed in the front, they were now tucked to the side, and in their former location windows were added.

Suburbia

It is nice to know that there was criticism of the suburbs throughout the 50's and 60's when the post-war suburbs really seemed to sprout. Sadly, this clearly didn't take a strong root because those suburbs are still present, and more and more are sprouting up today.

I strongly agree with both Lewis Mumford and the writer of "Little Boxes" that the suburbs are monotonous landscapes that breed conformity. Along Millersport, there are houses that tend to have a similar look. Perhaps a porch will be moved slightly over, or a window will be added or its size will be changed, but other than that, the houses are the same.

When talking about these "sitcom suburbs" I couldn't help but think of my own house and the houses surrounding it. My parents live in a cul-de-sac development where many of the houses are "Little Boxes." In fact, their house looks just like the house pictured on pg. 98 of Jackson's Landscape in Sight.Ray and Shirley Tinkham would have been so happy in my house.

When walking around my block the evidence of "Little Boxes" is very much seen as well. There are actually three houses in a row that look just like each other. Like the houses on and near Millersport, just the placements of doors and windows and house colors change. On one, they also opt to have a porch.