My Favorite Songs: “Little Boxes” by Pete Seeger

Lately I’ve been obsessed with urban planning. To a regular reader of this blog (to the extent that such a person even exists at all), that should come as no surprise. That comprises much of what I’ve written about in recent weeks.

Someone I talk to fairly regularly, whom I’ve come to regard as a friend, suggested that I listen to a classic song from the early 1960s that satirizes suburbia. 

Of course, not all the suburbs are the same. There are the lively small towns of many European countries, as well as the few remaining “streetcar suburbs” in North America that comprise locales like Roland Park and Chestnut Hill. I’ve written more about them here. And of course, you have the car-dependent places that are often criticized for being soul-sucking.

Enter the song “Little Boxes.” It was originally composed by activist Malvina Reynolds and later covered by her friend Pete Seeger, whose version is more famous. The song was inspired, according to Wikipedia, by an experience Reynolds and her daughter had driving through tract housing in suburban San Francisco. 

Aerial view of suburban tract housing in Daly City, California, which inspired “Little Boxes”. Honestly, if not for the ocean views, this could be many places in America. Image taken from Wikipedia.

The lyrics of “Little Boxes” are presented in a singsong, nursery-rhyme tune, which might make it easy for some to dismiss the song’s point. In my view, however, the lighthearted facade the song puts on makes it more powerful as a sort of ridicule. So let’s look at the lyrics, shall we?

Little boxes on the hillside

Little boxes made of ticky-tacky

Little boxes on the hillside

Little boxes all the same

As seen in the image above, Daly City is set on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. That’s not much of a surprise; some would even call it self-explanatory.

The use of the word “ticky-tacky”, almost as much of an “un-word” as “alternative facts”, serves to emphasize the overall childish tone of the song. It kind of reminds me of other happy-sounding tunes that are actually depressing. While it’s not as dark as a song like “Pumped Up Kicks”, “Little Boxes” isn’t nearly as cheerful as the song’s tone implies. 

Additionally, “ticky-tacky” brings to mind materials that aren’t exactly the best for building houses. Given that American infrastructure received a grade of “D+” last I heard, this is again not very surprising. This was a concern even in the 1960s, let alone the 2020s. Perhaps the song criticizes capitalism here when such a system makes it more profitable to build homes out of less durable materials.

In fact, the USA is an anomaly, at least among wealthy nations, in still building homes out of wood. Most European countries use brick and stone for the vast majority of residential construction. That’s one reason why so many homes in Europe are beautiful historic buildings that remain durable for decades, generations, or even centuries.

 In America, fifty years is considered old for a house, and it’ll very often be demolished to build something new. That’s if it isn’t destroyed in a tornado, hurricane, or wildfire - pick your poison among the natural hazards that plague this nation. And again, these hazards (which would occur to some extent regardless) are exacerbated by the climate crisis our government refuses to do anything about. I could write a separate article on that, but I think I’ve made my point for now.

As far as the “little boxes” looking “all the same”, I’ll offer up an anecdote. 

I live in a relatively historic part of the country, where a significant percentage of homes are “old”...that is, they were built prior to World War II. Winning World War II was the event that made America become too big for its britches and believe it could do anything. If they could defeat the Nazis, they could build a sprawling metropolis in the middle of the desert. There’s one thing some people would do well to remember, though: Just because you can afford to do something, financially speaking, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Anyway, when I went off to college, I would occasionally visit home again. Whenever I returned to my hometown for a visit, it always seemed a few more lots had been sold, torn down, and were to be replaced by bigger houses. The “new generation” of homes tends to look more homogeneous, whereas the houses that were here before all looked different. 

And the people in the houses

All went to the university

Where they were put in boxes

And they came out all the same

It’s not just our built environment that feels homogeneous, but also the culture of suburbia. College has been framed as one’s key to the middle class for as long as many people can remember. Leave aside the fact that the country’s average college tuition increases a couple percentage points a year. For all but insane right-wingers, a college education is still seen as desirable.

In general, people live among others of a similar financial status. I can’t speak for anyone in European suburbs, but in the United States, different municipalities are known for being indigent, highly affluent, or somewhere in between. The most desirable towns, often considered as such due to their job opportunities, perceived quality of the schools, or recreational opportunities, tend to be the most expensive. And that’s not a conspiracy - that’s just supply and demand.

American cities are very often segregated. Even if Jim Crow-era racial segregation no longer carries the force of law, economic segregation is very much alive. For instance, in the city of Baltimore, the life expectancy for resisdents of Curtis Bay (one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods) is as much as 17 to 20 years shorter than in Roland Park (one of its wealthiest). I talk more about Baltimore in this article. In many cases, this is a result of redlining, because heaven forbid people of marginally different income levels should live near each other!

And there's doctors and lawyers

And business executives

And they're all made out of ticky-tacky

And they all look just the same

And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry

And they all have pretty children

And the children go to school

And the children go to summer camp

And then to the university

Where they are put in boxes

And they come out all the same

I tend to think of doctors, lawyers, and business executives as being in an upper income class. At least, upper middle. These people generally aren’t struggling financially, particularly if they can afford to play golf and drink martinis. Summer camp is also pretty expensive - though, of course, it varies according to what sort of summer camp it may be. But that’s a pretty minor nitpick, all things considered.

Overall, “Little Boxes” is an effective satire of how modern life, at least in the United States, has become increasingly conforming. The song is over sixty years old at this point, but I would argue that it’s even more relevant today than it was in the 1960s. 

According to Wikipedia, this tune is a protest song. You could argue that it’s a protest song about environmental issues given that suburban areas have higher carbon emissions per capita. And yes, I realize that asking people to please drive less to fight climate change typically goes over like a lead balloon. Some people simply don’t have a choice. 

But the environmental impact of suburbanization has gotten plenty of attention among academics. Thinkers from MIT, one of the country’s most prestigious educational institutions, have even written this page about it.

Going back to the example of the desert metropolis that is Phoenix, Arizona, it’s the epitome of a quote my late grandfather frequently used: Just because something is good, doesn’t mean more is better. Indigenous people once lived in that area, but not millions of them, and they didn’t have water-intensive lawns. 

Of course, there are ways to make Phoenix more sustainable, even if it’s like going from an F to a D. Try as Trump might to reduce the manufacturing and use of electric vehicles, he won’t be able to arrest it entirely. And even if the decision to build Phoenix where it was ended up being idiotic, those of lower income levels suffer far more from that decision. 

But anyway, I’m getting off track. I’d like to thank the person who introduced me to this song. I will not name her here, but she knows who she is. And thank you all for reading.