Tales from Urban Forests
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The Public Green and the Poor

Numerous times in American history, reformers have sought to help the poor by putting them amidst nature -- the belief being that physical beauty can make beautiful people. It seems like an odd idea. But Thomas Jefferson believed it fervently. And it's also the reason Central Park exists in New York and the town of Greenbelt exists in Maryland. This program, from Producer Richard Paul, looks at a time in our past when nature was used to uplift the poor.

Resources
Interactive Guide to the World's Columbian Exposition

Information on the Columbian Exposition in Chicago during 1893, which led to the City Beautiful Movement.
The City Beautiful Movement

Background on the roots of this urban movement, and the impact it had on cities across the U.S.
Greenbelt, Maryland

Explore this planned community, which was considered a social experiment in the early 1900s.
Richard Ely Article on Pullman, Illinois in 1885

A detailed account of the social experimentation that took place in Pullman, Illinois.

Photo Gallery (Photos courtesy of the City of Greenbelt)
Photo Gallery
The Roosevelt Center featuring the Greenbelt Theater.
 
 
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