Cultural Infrastructure: The Legacy of New Deal Public Space

Abstract

The agencies of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration had an enormous and largely unrecognized role in defining the public space we now use. In a short period often years, the Public Works Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and the Civilian Conservation Corps built facilities in practically every community in the country. Most are still providing service half a century later. It is time we recognized this legacy and attempted to comprehend its relationship to our contemporary situation.