Bulldozer

Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape

Business & Finance, Economics, Urban & Regional, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Bulldozer by Francesca Russello Ammon, Yale University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Francesca Russello Ammon ISBN: 9780300220544
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: April 26, 2016
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Francesca Russello Ammon
ISBN: 9780300220544
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: April 26, 2016
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English
Although the decades following World War II stand out as an era of rapid growth and construction in the United States, those years were equally significant for large-scale destruction. In order to clear space for new suburban tract housing, an ambitious system of interstate highways, and extensive urban renewal development, wrecking companies demolished buildings while earthmoving contractors leveled land at an unprecedented pace and scale. In this pioneering history, Francesca Russello Ammon explores how postwar America came to equate this destruction with progress.

The bulldozer functioned as both the means and the metaphor for this work. As the machine transformed from a wartime weapon into an instrument of postwar planning, it helped realize a landscape-altering “culture of clearance.” In the hands of the military, planners, politicians, engineers, construction workers, and even children’s book authors, the bulldozer became an American icon. Yet social and environmental injustices emerged as clearance projects continued unabated. This awareness spurred environmental, preservationist, and citizen participation efforts that have helped to slow, though not entirely stop, the momentum of the postwar bulldozer.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Although the decades following World War II stand out as an era of rapid growth and construction in the United States, those years were equally significant for large-scale destruction. In order to clear space for new suburban tract housing, an ambitious system of interstate highways, and extensive urban renewal development, wrecking companies demolished buildings while earthmoving contractors leveled land at an unprecedented pace and scale. In this pioneering history, Francesca Russello Ammon explores how postwar America came to equate this destruction with progress.

The bulldozer functioned as both the means and the metaphor for this work. As the machine transformed from a wartime weapon into an instrument of postwar planning, it helped realize a landscape-altering “culture of clearance.” In the hands of the military, planners, politicians, engineers, construction workers, and even children’s book authors, the bulldozer became an American icon. Yet social and environmental injustices emerged as clearance projects continued unabated. This awareness spurred environmental, preservationist, and citizen participation efforts that have helped to slow, though not entirely stop, the momentum of the postwar bulldozer.

More books from Yale University Press

Cover of the book Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book The New Industrial Revolution by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Charleston Fancy by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book The Hatred of Music by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book How to Change the World: Reflections on Marx and Marxism by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book According to Our Hearts by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Fictions of Art History by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Stars and Other Signs by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Communication by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Divergent Jewish Cultures by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book The Memoirs of Walter Bagehot by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Remedy and Reaction by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book How Jews Became Germans by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Sigmund Romberg by Francesca Russello Ammon
Cover of the book Hanging Together: Unity and Diversity in American Culture by Francesca Russello Ammon
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy