WEBVTT

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- [singing]
Life could be a dream.

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Life could be a dream.

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Do-do-do-do, sha-boom.

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Life could be a dream.

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Male narrator:
They sprang up,

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surrounding America\'s bustling,
crowded cities,

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yet were far enough away
to offer open space and fresh air.

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They were the first suburbs.

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- If you could live in a first suburb,
you had made it.

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Where you had your own little
piece of paradise,

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your own little yard,

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little house that you could take care of.

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That was the American dream.

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- [singing]
Whoa, life could be a dream.

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Life could be a dream.

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Do-do-do-do, sha-boom.

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Narrator: Now these original suburbs
find themselves threatened.

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- People, I don\'t think, ever believed
that the suburban communities

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would face the same kinds
of problems as the core city.

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And now the first suburb cities
are facing those problems.

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They\'re facing
the abandonment of housing.

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They\'re facing the loss
of commercial tax base.

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They\'re facing the loss
of population.

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Narrator: They are struggling
to find the cash to repair

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their broken and aging infrastructure.

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- They run all the resources out,

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not realizing that the towns
that were being left

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are going to suffer and die.

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You\'ve got one community after another
fallen by the wayside.

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I\'m fearful for what I see.

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Narrator: The same government polices
of outward expansion

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that helped build the first suburbs
are undermining them today.

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- So we\'re on the edge of rethinking
what the American dream means.

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And I think first suburbs
and their challenges

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are evidence
of a crack in the pavement.

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Narrator: This is the story
of two suburban towns

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that began to rebuild themselves.

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By working together to create
regional balanced-growth policies,

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they\'re ensuring a better future
for all communities.

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- First suburbs were built primarily
from 1900 to about 1960.

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They were the middle class,

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the beginning of the middle class
in America.

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They were getting out of the cities

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to live in their own
little patch of paradise.

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This country called America

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was really becoming a place of prosperity,
a place of plenty,

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and the first suburbs embodied
that plenty and that wealth.

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Narrator: First suburbs really took off
after World War II.

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Returning vets, their brides,
and the resulting baby boom

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prompted President Eisenhower
to launch a range

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of federal housing
and transportation programs

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to help the country grow.

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[applause]

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- The highway construction program
initiated by Ike

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is the biggest peacetime enterprise
ever undertaken.

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It will cost tens of billions.

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- Well, in 1956,
the United States enacted

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the Interstate Highway Act
to hook up the nation.

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The expansion of highways
really set the skeleton

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for many metropolitan areas
in the United States

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and helped precipitate really
a massive suburbanization in the country.

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- More than a million persons each year

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have pulled up stakes in the cities
and turned commuter,

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traveling 20, 30, 40
or more miles each day

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from home to office,
factory or business, and back again.

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- The Eisenhower era promoted this concept
of government-supported growth.

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The federal government
was building roads, bridges,

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schools, municipal buildings,

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really, everything that
a community needed to thrive.

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In fact, this is why the first suburbs
were called American Dream Towns.

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Narrator: It was the success
of these dream towns

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that set the stage
for government policies

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that would continue to promote
suburban expansion

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for the next 50 years.

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[patriotic marching music]

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Madeira, Ohio,
outside of Cincinnati,

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was one of those original suburbs
that prospered during the 1950s and \'60s.

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Today residents still consider it
their dream town,

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as does their city manager,
Tom Moeller.

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- Hey, guys.

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One of things I like most
about being city manager

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is the fact that I have a positive impact
on the lives of almost 9,000 people.

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I get a great deal of satisfaction
out of resurfacing a street,

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rehabbing a park,

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or making certain
that the quality of services

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that they receive is there.

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[fireworks exploding]

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Madeira is very much
a family-oriented community.

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It\'s known for its great school system
and very high quality of life.

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[crowd cheering]

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It\'s a classic first suburbs community.

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We had a lot of development
immediately after World War II

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in the late 1940s and 1950s.

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Much of the development was subsidized
by the federal government,

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and those development funds went to build
virtually all of the infrastructure:

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roads, sewers, water lines,
schools, culverts,

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anything that was associated
with public infrastructure

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was done
with those development dollars.

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The funding that was available
back in the 1950s and 1960s

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from both the state
and federal government

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is no longer available today.

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We generate approximately
$5 million a year in revenue.

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Most of that money goes toward
providing services:

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police, fire, parks, snow removal,
waste collection,

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all of the things that people expect
on a day-to-day basis.

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Recently,
city council increased taxes

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in order to pay for
some of the infrastructure projects

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that we have facing us.

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Obviously, that wasn\'t
a very popular decision with the community,

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but it was something
that had to be done,

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because they also did not
want us to reduce

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the amount of the services
that we are providing.

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Narrator: First suburbs like Madeira
are finding out

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that the roads and sewers laid down
years ago with government support

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are worn out and need to be repaired.

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- So where is this going to take us, Tom?

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- This is a very large storm water culvert
that drains about 2/3 of Madeira.

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See, there\'s a lot of damage up here,
some damage occurring up here.

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This is where it\'s starting to seep,
and that seam is going to go.

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While it seems to be minor,

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it shows some slippage
between the sections of a pipe.

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There\'s actually a lot more damage
in the front.

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But the potential is,
in a heavy storm that these sections

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will actually separate and collapse.

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We\'ve seen that happen in another areas.

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With the volume of water
that comes through here,

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we could lose this section very easily.

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And then what happens is that

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we get a very significant
flooding condition,

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which would have an impact
on the roadway,

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an impact on downstream properties,

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and potentially an impact
on upstream properties.

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[water sloshing]

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- So, Tom, what is it gonna cost
to replace this?

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- Well, we\'re looking at between
$1/2 million and $1 million.

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Narrator: Tom delivers the bad news
to the city council.

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- We\'re looking at a couple of projects
down on Camargo Road

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that are going to hit us here
in probably the next three or four years.

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The first project is
the stabilization wall on Camargo Road.

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And that wall\'s going to give way
at some point.

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The other project is,
there\'s a very large culvert

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that will have to be relined.

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We did one section of the culvert about,
Rick, 15 years ago?

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- Yeah.

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- About that?

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- It was $600,000.

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- We\'re actually seeing less money.

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To be honest with you, John,
it\'s only going to get worse.

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We have no idea
how we\'re going to fund it.

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We have no idea,

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unless we were to raise our tax rates
astronomically to cover those costs,

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and that\'s just not feasible.

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The moment we do that,
we drive more people out of town.

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- The cost of replacing infrastructure
is astronomical.

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It\'s way beyond the means
of even prosperous communities today.

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We have a policy vacuum.

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There are no government programs right now

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to help these middle-aged communities
rebuild themselves.

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- Madeira,
like most first suburbs communities,

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is losing population.

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As a result,
we lose tax revenue.

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There\'s a very vicious
downward spiral that takes place.

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We lose population.

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The tax rates have to go up.

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We drive out more population
because the tax rates go up.

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And also too,
Madeira doesn\'t become as attractive

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for commercial development,

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because commercial development
wants to follow where the population goes.

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At one time, the first suburbs
were the new American dream.

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And now we are not.

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That new American dream has moved

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10 or 15 miles outside
of the metropolitan area.

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Narrator: Just a few miles
farther out on the expressway,

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suburban towns are exploding
with new developments.

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Cheap and abundant farmland
and lower tax rates

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entice businesses and developers
to build in these communities.

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Long Cove, a deluxe development
in Mason, Ohio, is one of the latest.

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- Well, there\'s been a flight
from the urban areas

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to suburban areas over many years:

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congestion, often substandard schools,
pollution, crime levels.

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- It\'s gorgeous.

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- You get out into a suburban area,
you don\'t have those issues.

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And we\'re finding
more and more now

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people are looking
to have their cake and eat it too.

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- We love your floors.

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- Well, thank you.
- All of the floors.

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- Thank you.
- They are fabulous.

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- Well, this is the American dream home
on the high-end scale.

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- You have six nozzles above you,
another two on the wall here,

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his-and-her controls.

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- When this neighborhood\'s complete,

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it\'ll be one of the tourist attractions
in Cincinnati.

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- Yeah, you just push a button,
and the screen comes down.

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- We think Long Cove

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is a start of a new American dream
for many families.

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- A lot of new development

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on the fringe areas
of the metropolitan area is subsidized,

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generally for the construction
of roads and utilities,

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much in the same way as the development
of the first suburbs took place.

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So the property tax rates
and the other tax rates are actually lower,

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and it also is attractive for the people

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that are in the inner ring
or the first suburbs

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to move out to those areas
because it\'s less expensive.

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- In Ohio in the last decade,

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highway spending on rural areas

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exceeded the money spent
in suburban and urban areas by 46%.

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That includes new maint -
new infrastructure,

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maintenance, all of it.

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The policies in Ohio of the state DOT
and the Department of Development

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are all geared toward outward expansion.

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- We\'re seeing sprawl all over America.

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It\'s not just happening in the cities
that are growing fast.

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We also see the same thing in cities
that are actually losing population.

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Narrator: Cincinnati is an example.

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Its regional population
has barely changed since 1950,

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yet its developed land area
has tripled in size,

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turning Cincinnati into one of the most
sprawled regions in the country.

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- They\'re just simply moving population
from one area to another

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or development
from one area to another.

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And what do you do
with an abandoned community?

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[bell dinging, train whooshing]

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[train horn blares]

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narrator: Elmwood Place Village
is another first suburb of Cincinnati,

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not far from Madeira.

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It was once a vibrant trolley suburb
where working-class families lived.

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People started leaving in the 1970s
when the interstate highway was built

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and the trolleys were removed.

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- Shoppers used to say,

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\"If you can\'t find it in Elmwood,
you can\'t find it.\"

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We had over 100 stores that were
of all varieties, shapes, and sizes,

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and people used to come
from all over the valley to shop here.

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Of the hundred stores we had,
practically all of them are now closed.

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It\'s a very sad situation.

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But that\'s the situation we\'re in today.

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This is Linden street.

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This is the street I was born on,
lived here the first ten years of my life.

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Now it has about five empty houses.

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This house right here is where I was born.

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I was born right down here
in this front room.

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This is an empty house.

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It\'s tough.
It\'s tough.

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It makes me feel very, very sad.

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I think we\'re in worse shape
than a lot of communities.

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We really are.

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And when I talk
to these other mayors and that,

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they pretty much agree that, you know,
they\'re not in the shape we\'re in,

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\'cause when I tell them
some of our difficulties,

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they said, \"No, we don\'t have
the problems you have yet.\"

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But that\'s just a matter of time
to some of them.

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- The state seems to be
encouraging growth

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to the detriment
of the first suburbs communities.

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They\'re forgetting about the first suburbs

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and the fact that we need to maintain
our existing infrastructure.

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- It\'s very easy to receive funding
for new highways.

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It\'s quite difficult, however,

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to receive funding to repair
water and sewer systems

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that are perhaps now 75
or 100 years old

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or even to repair
the road infrastructure.

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We\'re not basically maintaining

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the prior investments
we\'ve already made in these places.

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We\'re just saying, \"Well, you know,

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we\'ll just write off
tens of billions of dollars.\"

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The other part of fiscal wastefulness
is obviously

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the excessive amount
of investment

00:17:00.533 --> 00:17:03.467
at the fringe of metropolitan areas,

00:17:03.500 --> 00:17:05.867
which in many parts of the country
just means

00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:09.667
that a mall in an older suburb
moves to a mall in a newer suburb.

00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:12.233
There\'s no net economic gain.

00:17:12.267 --> 00:17:15.533
And the newer suburb,
at least for 10 or 15 years,

00:17:15.567 --> 00:17:17.900
lives, you know, the good life.

00:17:17.933 --> 00:17:21.233
But ultimately, they\'ll be the victim.

00:17:33.633 --> 00:17:37.533
- Well, there are a lot of hidden costs
to this type of development

00:17:37.567 --> 00:17:41.433
that a lot of people don\'t see.

00:17:41.467 --> 00:17:44.000
As we\'re building these new communities,

00:17:44.033 --> 00:17:47.867
we\'re using more and more land
for fewer people.

00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:49.933
We\'re super-sizing.

00:17:49.967 --> 00:17:53.900
And what this does is,
it forces us to drive more.

00:17:53.933 --> 00:17:57.467
We\'re spreading
our air and water pollution further.

00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:02.200
We are destroying
more animal habitat.

00:18:02.233 --> 00:18:03.600
This is very serious

00:18:03.633 --> 00:18:07.133
because all of these things
are contributing to global warming.

00:18:13.167 --> 00:18:18.400
- Well, in Ohio, we consume
47 acres of farmland a day,

00:18:18.433 --> 00:18:21.900
and this is some of the best farmland
on the planet.

00:18:21.933 --> 00:18:26.233
But what happens
when future generations

00:18:26.267 --> 00:18:30.867
need the land that we have put
houses and parking lots on

00:18:30.900 --> 00:18:34.233
for other things?

00:18:34.267 --> 00:18:36.033
And then we get into the issue of,

00:18:36.067 --> 00:18:40.433
how do we reinvest and reinvent
those places 50 years from now?

00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:51.867
- The only places in the country
that really are dealing at all with sprawl

00:18:51.900 --> 00:18:56.267
are places that have land use planning,
coordinated, multi-jurisdictional,

00:18:56.300 --> 00:18:59.367
state-passed land use planning.

00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:03.067
Narrator: Myron Orfield
analyzes the fiscal relationships

00:19:03.100 --> 00:19:07.233
between older and newer communities
across the country.

00:19:07.267 --> 00:19:11.367
His research found that tax policies
which promote sprawl

00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:17.033
often contribute to the economic decline
of older cities and suburbs.

00:19:17.067 --> 00:19:21.567
He thinks the country needs
new regional land use policies.

00:19:21.600 --> 00:19:23.933
Such policies could help communities

00:19:23.967 --> 00:19:28.400
plan their future growth
and infrastructure needs together.

00:19:28.433 --> 00:19:31.000
- The way that regions decide
to spend money

00:19:31.033 --> 00:19:34.167
is usually to facilitate
the outward growth of regions.

00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:36.633
It doesn\'t have to be that way,
but it frequently is.

00:19:36.667 --> 00:19:41.967
Narrator: Few places in the country
practice regional planning or governance.

00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:44.833
But Orfield predicts
that as the country grows,

00:19:44.867 --> 00:19:48.167
more and more communities
will need to collaborate

00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:52.467
to protect their environment
and economic prosperity.

00:19:52.500 --> 00:19:57.533
- You can really see the region
becoming more polarized.

00:19:57.567 --> 00:20:00.500
Narrator: The Twin Cities of Minnesota
use a regional model

00:20:00.533 --> 00:20:02.867
which has had some success,

00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:07.867
and their cities and first suburbs
are being revitalized.

00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:12.200
- Minneapolis and St. Paul set out
a system of land use planning

00:20:12.233 --> 00:20:16.133
to coordinate the development
of the cities and the suburbs.

00:20:16.167 --> 00:20:20.600
And they unified regional sewer planning
and regional transit planning

00:20:20.633 --> 00:20:24.233
and regional land use planning
in one agency.

00:20:24.267 --> 00:20:27.633
Rebuilding the existing communities,
reusing existing communities,

00:20:27.667 --> 00:20:30.033
fixing and maintaining
old infrastructure,

00:20:30.067 --> 00:20:31.733
keeping communities viable

00:20:31.767 --> 00:20:35.333
saved us $27 billion
in infrastructure costs.

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.267
Minneapolis is unique

00:20:41.300 --> 00:20:44.200
because it\'s used
its federal transportation money

00:20:44.233 --> 00:20:46.467
to rebuild a major part
of the central cities

00:20:46.500 --> 00:20:49.000
and the older suburbs.

00:20:49.033 --> 00:20:52.100
Regional transit
and things like light rail

00:20:52.133 --> 00:20:53.467
coordinated with a bus system

00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:57.467
is very, very important
in containing sprawl.

00:20:57.500 --> 00:21:00.900
It creates a vital focus of redevelopment.

00:21:00.933 --> 00:21:04.100
And this is something that any region
in the country could do.

00:21:04.133 --> 00:21:07.433
The flexibility is available
with federal funds.

00:21:07.467 --> 00:21:09.133
You just have to get the political strength

00:21:09.167 --> 00:21:12.400
to use the funds to rebuild the city
and the older suburbs

00:21:12.433 --> 00:21:15.633
rather than to build new highways
at the edge.

00:21:15.667 --> 00:21:17.333
- And then we\'re stuck,
the communities -

00:21:17.367 --> 00:21:20.767
narrator: Inspired by the success
of the Twin Cities model,

00:21:20.800 --> 00:21:26.567
Tom and Richard decide to take action
to save their struggling communities.

00:21:26.600 --> 00:21:28.867
They join with other
first suburban officials

00:21:28.900 --> 00:21:30.567
from around the state

00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:33.933
and make a plan
to take to the legislature.

00:21:33.967 --> 00:21:35.567
- They\'re writing the state budget now.

00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:37.433
They\'re setting the priorities now,

00:21:37.467 --> 00:21:41.000
so November will definitely
not be too late for us to get in

00:21:41.033 --> 00:21:43.900
our thoughts about what we want
and put our agenda forward

00:21:43.933 --> 00:21:45.567
in front of the newly elected -

00:21:45.600 --> 00:21:48.567
- One of the things that could benefit
first suburbs communities

00:21:48.600 --> 00:21:51.700
is having a balanced growth policy
for the region.

00:21:51.733 --> 00:21:53.033
- So that it favored -

00:21:53.067 --> 00:21:56.300
- If we can somehow develop
that balanced growth policy

00:21:56.333 --> 00:22:01.200
and rejuvenate, revitalize,
the first suburbs communities,

00:22:01.233 --> 00:22:04.467
the entire region
will benefit as a result.

00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:10.267
Narrator: Regional planning begins
at the state level.

00:22:10.300 --> 00:22:13.600
A delegation of the group
goes to the state capitol

00:22:13.633 --> 00:22:18.400
to convince lawmakers
that policy change is needed.

00:22:18.433 --> 00:22:22.267
They find that their task
is not an easy one.

00:22:24.567 --> 00:22:27.533
- Senator, one of the problems
that we as a community have

00:22:27.567 --> 00:22:29.233
is maintaining our infrastructure

00:22:29.267 --> 00:22:32.033
and having sufficient tax base
to maintain it.

00:22:32.067 --> 00:22:34.167
Money is being spent
out in growth areas,

00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:36.700
and the maintenance
of our existing infrastructure

00:22:36.733 --> 00:22:37.733
is being left behind.

00:22:37.767 --> 00:22:39.700
- Help me understand why you think

00:22:39.733 --> 00:22:45.867
it\'s more important to do the fix it first
when areas like Dublin, frankly,

00:22:45.900 --> 00:22:49.400
are generating a lot of economic activity
and creating a lot of jobs.

00:22:49.433 --> 00:22:54.433
They\'re places you might call sprawl,
but frankly, you know, I see jobs there.

00:22:54.467 --> 00:22:57.200
And I think there\'s a lot of
economic growth going on there.

00:22:57.233 --> 00:22:59.067
- Why should we supplement areas,

00:22:59.100 --> 00:23:02.200
as you have said yourself,
that are growing and doing well?

00:23:02.233 --> 00:23:05.233
- If there\'s economic development
out in the sprawl areas,

00:23:05.267 --> 00:23:06.733
let them pay for it.

00:23:06.767 --> 00:23:10.267
Why should we the taxpayers
be paying all this money

00:23:10.300 --> 00:23:13.733
into a pool of money,
and it just keeps going further out?

00:23:13.767 --> 00:23:15.533
- We\'re looking for a balance.

00:23:15.567 --> 00:23:19.800
It\'s not so much taking away from others
or us versus them,

00:23:19.833 --> 00:23:21.433
but we\'re looking for a balance.

00:23:21.467 --> 00:23:25.267
We are very much concerned
that we\'re not going to have

00:23:25.300 --> 00:23:27.700
the tax base or the funding
available to us

00:23:27.733 --> 00:23:29.067
to maintain our infrastructure.

00:23:29.100 --> 00:23:30.100
- Sure.

00:23:30.133 --> 00:23:32.567
- We\'re seeing an awful lot
of state transportation dollars

00:23:32.600 --> 00:23:34.433
being used to build new roads

00:23:34.467 --> 00:23:37.333
as opposed to assisting
with infrastructure problems

00:23:37.367 --> 00:23:39.700
that we have
in these smaller communities.

00:23:39.733 --> 00:23:41.967
- We\'re looking to build
some new coalitions

00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.433
and really think regionally
on how we deliver services,

00:23:44.467 --> 00:23:46.867
a very sensitive issue when you
go many to local governments

00:23:46.900 --> 00:23:49.600
and deliver that message
because I\'ve been doing that for 20 years.

00:23:49.633 --> 00:23:51.633
- The further out we build tomorrow,

00:23:51.667 --> 00:23:54.967
those places will be the first suburbs
and deal with the same infrastructures

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:56.667
that the first suburbs are dealing with,

00:23:56.700 --> 00:24:00.567
so it\'s gonna be a perpetuation
of all these difficulties.

00:24:00.600 --> 00:24:03.500
That\'s why its important
that we address them now.

00:24:06.767 --> 00:24:08.967
- This is just the first part of our job.

00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:10.367
We need to go home now

00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:14.200
and to continue to communicate
with our representatives

00:24:14.233 --> 00:24:17.867
and other people who have
some impact on this situation

00:24:17.900 --> 00:24:19.067
and keep the pressure on.

00:24:19.100 --> 00:24:20.733
- It\'s gonna be a tough battle,

00:24:20.767 --> 00:24:25.200
but it\'s something that we can -
we can fight if we keep at it.

00:24:25.233 --> 00:24:27.767
And it\'s something that all communities
all around the country

00:24:27.800 --> 00:24:29.467
are going to have to fight eventually.

00:24:31.633 --> 00:24:36.233
- We have regions that are sprawling off
into the farmland, growing apart.

00:24:36.267 --> 00:24:38.533
We have to grow together.

00:24:38.567 --> 00:24:39.733
- Fix it first.

00:24:39.767 --> 00:24:42.067
Reinvest.

00:24:42.100 --> 00:24:45.467
Make reinvestment a priority
in these older communities

00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:49.167
because that\'s the competitively
and fiscally responsible thing to do.

00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:55.800
- We need a vision that will include
old and new communities.

00:24:55.833 --> 00:25:01.700
We need a new American dream
for the 21st century.

00:25:01.733 --> 00:25:04.500
- [singing]
Oh, life could be a dream.

00:25:04.533 --> 00:25:06.500
Sha-boom,
if I could take you up

00:25:06.533 --> 00:25:07.867
to paradise up above,

00:25:07.900 --> 00:25:09.567
sha-boom
and tell me, darling,

00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:11.567
I\'m the only one that you love,

00:25:11.600 --> 00:25:13.433
then life could be a dream,

00:25:13.467 --> 00:25:14.867
sweetheart, hello, hello again.

00:25:14.900 --> 00:25:16.333
Sha-boom,
and hope we meet again.

00:25:16.367 --> 00:25:17.367
Boom-ba-boom.

00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:23.967
[man scatting]

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.467
Life could be a dream.

00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:27.667
Life could be a dream.

00:25:27.700 --> 00:25:33.033
Do-do-do-do, sha-boom.

00:25:34.967 --> 00:25:38.967
[stirring piano and strings music]

00:26:06.133 --> 00:26:08.000
narrator: This program
has been made possible

00:26:08.033 --> 00:26:13.067
through the generous support
of the Ford Foundation,

00:26:13.100 --> 00:26:18.200
with additional support
from the Surdna Foundation,

00:26:18.233 --> 00:26:21.133
and the George Gund Foundation.