Best-Laid Plans

“Best-Laid Plans is a thoughtful and incisive account of one of the New Deal’s important programs in the 1930s. Julie D. Turner provides a crisp assessment of how the program—large, messy, and complex—came about and shows what it accomplished in a book that is a pleasure to read.” ~Allan D. Winkler, Professor of History Emeritus, Miami University

“As America enters a new age of economic and environmental crisis, where good housing is becoming increasingly unaffordable, the story of the Greenbelt towns could not be more relevant. This book is an excellent and honest exploration of one of our country’s most interesting attempts to create true social democracy.” ~Robert Gioelli, Associate Professor of History, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash

“America's three New Deal Greenbelt Towns are built monuments to the vision, creativity, and problem-solving of one of the nation's most challenging moments. While far from perfect, they were bold innovative solutions to aging urban housing and nationwide unemployment. Julie Turner's new study asks all the right questions to place these national landmarks in their larger context and skillfully combines excellent research and compelling prose to build an engaging exploration of Greenhills, Greendale, and Greenbelt.” ~Anne Delano Steinert, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, University of Cincinnati; co-creator the New Deal Neighbors oral history project