What She Said

Part III, Case 1: Urban Development

Middle and upper middle class women interested in alleviating city social problems established settlement houses in poor urban areas beginning in the late 19th century. Settlement houses provided needed daycare, education, and healthcare services, but they also worked to assimilate poor urban women and children, including many immigrants, into mainstream American culture. Reformers hoped their work would help beautify and bring moral order to urban spaces, and generate civic loyalty. Their activities framed women as municipal housekeepers, extending their domestic skill sets outside their private households.

New challenges arose in the 20th century as increased urban sprawl, population, and distance between work and home created a need for freeways and alternate transportation due to car congestion and parking issues. The construction of new freeways cut cement wounds through the middle of cohesive communities in often unequal ways, and brought environmental questions to the forefront. There has long been a precarious balance between preserving existing communities while developing sufficient resources for the region's growing population, and women joined in on both sides of the conversation.

The League of Women Voters conducted community studies that examined transportation issues along with land use, housing, and zoning issues for specific neighborhoods, as well as raised awareness of homelessness. Housing women in the city was an early key issue for the YWCA, but housing problems extended beyond gender to also include discrimination and insufficient housing stock. The Destination Ninety Forum hosted at San Fernando Valley State College aimed to bring citizens into the planning process through gathering public input for the creation of a general plan for the entire San Fernando Valley.

Case 2, Environment, is the tall case to the north.

• 1

  Dorothy Boberg's Notes, "Planning for the Future of the San Fernando Valley"Dorothy Boberg Collection

• 2

  Booklet, "Y.W.C.A. Housing: Los Angeles," circa 1900-1910Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of Los Angeles Collection

• 3

  Flyer, Homeless Women and Children in Los Angeles Conference, January 30, 1988League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 4

  Brochure, "Housing Crisis in Los Angeles?"League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 5

  Flyer, Discrimination in HousingLeague of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 6

  Booklet, "From Dream to Reality: El Monte-Los Angeles Busway," 1975League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 7

  Map, Proposed Routes for the 118 Freeway, circa 1960-1977Dorothy Boberg Collection

• 8

  Letter, Dorothy Boberg to Jack Gilstrap of Rapid Transit District regarding the "freeway flyer," February 25, 1977Dorothy Boberg Collection

• 9

  Notes, Speech on Housing Initiatives, circa 1963League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 10

  Dorothy Boberg Speech, "Which Way the Valley - Homes or High Rise?" October 27, 1973Dorothy Boberg Collection

• 11

  League of Women Voters of LA City Planning Definitions, January 1962League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 12

  Committee Guide, "The Urban Crisis Position: Applications and Implications," September 1, 1981League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 13

  Booklet, "Planning in the 70’s," September 1970League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 14

  League of Women Voters Sponsored Study, "The San Fernando Valley and Low-Income Housing: A Community Self Study," circa 1969-1980League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection

• 15

  Booklet, "Neighborhoods in Transition," circa 1976-1979League of Women Voters of Los Angeles Collection