“Yankee Elysium” chronicles the rise and fall of the Elm Tree in New England and New Haven in particular. Campanella sees the planting of shade trees, and Elms in particular, in villages and cities of New England as an intentional design intended to ameliorate the negative effects of urban growth. Incorporating the pastoral into its growing villages and cities was in keeping with the Jeffersonian vision of America as a nation of ‘yeoman farmers,’ and worked as a hedge against the sins inherent in large cities as seen in the Old World. At its pinnacle in the latter half of the 19th century, the stately rows of Elms provided an antidote to the rush of progress in cities across the country. New Haven, dubbed the “Elm City,’ was singled out in praise by leading writers and prominent leaders. These same voices anguished over the devastation of the Elms that progress, abetted by the Dutch Elm Disease and the 1938 Hurricane, brought to New Haven, New England, and the rest of America. In “A Sidewalk Republic,” Rae describes the tenure of New Haven’s mayor, Frank Rice, whose pragmatic and myopic administration resisted the City Beautiful Movement and squandered a chance enact long range plans that might have helped the city weather the decline of urbanism that would come in the mid 20th century.
It was with a certain amount of sadness that I read these two readings. While the intentions of village and city planners were worthy, in practice of relying on one species of shade tree left it vulnerable to the spread of a pathogen. Much more is known today about the negative effects of monocultures versus a diversity of flora. This was probably unforeseen at the time. Yet it does speak to the benefits of longer-term planning. In the case of the Elm, attempting to blend the rus and urbe, however short-lived, had a tremendous benefit on the quality of life for generations. The details of the Rice administration’s attitude toward a grander vision for the city left me thinking about what might have been. Had he embraced the City Beautiful movement and invested in long range planning, would New Haven have been in a better position as the end of urbanism swept the country in the post war decades? It especially seems ironic that the first planned city in America suffered from a lack of a larger vision at such a crucial time.
Good, Brian. From the perspective of the Jeffersonians, what exactly were the "sins" of American cities? What dangers did were they perceived to present? Interesting view of Rice via Rae. You make the argument that Rice squandered an opportunity that might have helped New Haven weather deindustrialization. I'm open to that argument, could you say more about how you see this? Of course, it's relatively easy for us to make this critique with the benefit of hindsight. From Rice's perspective, before the mass advent of the automobile, it would have been hard for him to see the evolution of the future. Perhaps there is a lesson inherent there for municipal leaders now...
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