Following the fall of France in 1940 during World War II, the United States rapidly ramped up production for the war effort, prompting massive conversions of existing factories, the construction of enormous new plants, and the recruitment of a vast workforce. Millions of workers and their families relocated from their peacetime homes to fill critical roles in war industries or join the armed forces. With 20% of the U.S. population moving due to job demands and private home construction stifled by the war, a housing crisis of unprecedented scale emerged.
In response, the government launched extensive programs to build housing swiftly. By the end of the war in 1945, approximately 2 million housing units had been constructed to accommodate workers in defense industries and fulfill military needs. Bill Keene, lecturer in urban studies and architecture, explores the development of the crisis, examining the wide range of housing solutions—permanent, temporary, dormitories, and trailers. He also delves into the dynamics and tensions in these new communities and assesses both the challenges these initiatives faced and their successes.
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