Long Island, New York

Abstract

Although geologists refer to the entire area as Long Island, socially and politically Long Island has come to mean the counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Nassau is perhaps best known as the archetype of the post-war American suburb; it was here that the first Levittown (a series of developments of assembly-line style, identical houses constructed by William Levitt) was built in 1947. The east end of Suffolk, known as the Hamptons, is world-renowned as a summer playground for the rich and famous with fantastic beaches. However, like its urban neighbors, Long Island also has a rich engineering and computing heritage.