In the postwar era, many Americans moved away from cities and into suburbs, helped by GI Bill benefits that guarantied home loans. Techniques of mass production made it possible to build homes faster and cheaper than ever before.

Using an assembly-line system, the construction firm Levitt and Sons built three giant “Levittown” suburbs in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Due to low prices and veterans’ benefits, more Americans could afford to own homes than ever before.