Company town
Traditional settings for company towns were where extractive industries – coal, metal mines, lumber – had established a monopoly franchise.
Paternalism, a subtle form of social engineering, refers to the control of workers by their employers who seek to force middle-class ideals upon their working-class employees.
[2] Although economically successful, company towns sometimes failed politically due to lacking elected officials and municipally owned services.
Ultimately, this political climate caused resentment amongst workers and resulted in many residents losing long-term affection for their towns; such was the case at Pullman.
The entirely company-owned town provided housing, markets, a library, churches, and entertainment for the 6,000 company employees and an equal number of dependents.
A national commission formed to investigate the causes of the strikes found that Pullman's paternalism was partly to blame and labeled it "Un-American".
[6] Historian Linda Carlson argues that the managers of corporate towns in the early 20th century believed they could avoid the mistakes made by George Pullman in the 1880s.
[citation needed] Despite income inequalities and a relatively low standard of living conditions amongst factory laborers, the prosperity of the 1920s saw workers' material well-being improve significantly.
A strong post-war American economy meant installment buying was accessible to low-wage earners who could now purchase previously unattainable goods like automobiles and radios.
[citation needed] This was well received by some employers as the idea of 'laissez-faire' individualism, which promoted entrepreneurial virtues of hard work being rewarded rather than direct charity, began to shape new-age paternalism.
[citation needed] During the late nineteenth century, model company towns materialized as enlightened industrialists recognized that many poor workers were living in appalling conditions.
[11]: 440 The paternalism of the enlightened industrialist was exhibited in his desire to provide an environment for his employees that was aesthetically appealing and which included well-designed residences, parks, schools, libraries, and meeting halls.
[12] Model company towns around the mid-nineteenth century, such as Copley (1849), near Halifax, and Saltaire (1853), close to Bradford, had improved dwellings for workers, which contrasted with working-class housing in other industrial villages and cities.
[10]: 47 Port Sunlight catered for the Lever Brothers employees with improved housing (cottages of varying designs and materials) and gardens, as well as social and community facilities, including an auditorium, a school, tennis courts, and bowling greens.
George Cadbury, a Quaker, preached Christian values, such as respectability, thrift, and sobriety, and sought to unify the Bournville community through rituals such as gift-giving between employer and employee.
[14] Bournville represented the union of industry and nature[clarification needed] as the company town boasted the attractiveness of the countryside and low-density development with well-built and visually appealing dwellings.
[10]: 49 Bournville illustrated how, towards the end of the nineteenth century, low-density development was being punctuated[clarification needed] along with the provision of open air, space, and sunlight.
[12]: 317 Bournville's gardens, parks, tree-lined streets, sense of spaciousness, and country setting enhanced its aesthetic appeal and demonstrated George Cadbury's endeavour to provide workers with a healthy, beautiful, and well-ventilated environment.
The Bolsover Company provided facilities deemed beneficial for employees at both villages, including clubhouses, bowling greens, cooperative society stores, cricket pitches, and schools.
In addition, the Catalan rivers (with little volume but a very steep sloping run) provided free and almost inexhaustible energy, which was lacking only in times of drought.
[16] The industrial colonies' system began to collapse in the 1960s due to their inflexible capital structure and social changes, such as the desire for workers to own appliances, cars, or homes, the declining influence of religion, and the opportunities offered by towns.
Having bought the mining concession of Grand-Hornu in 1810, French industrialist Henri De Gorge soon realized the need to accommodate the growing workforce of his expanding business.
A notable example is Siedlung Eisenheim in Oberhausen from the mid-19th century, once home to 1200 steel smelters of the Gutehoffnungshütte, which is now protected as a historic monument.
Indigenous workers were coerced into signing yearlong contracts in caged-in factory compounds, which they were not allowed to leave without permission, with movement strictly controlled by Pass laws.
Svit in Slovakia was founded in 1934 by business industrialist Jan Antonín Baťa following his policy of establishing well-organized model communities for his workers and other employees.
The city of Pripyat in Ukraine was established in 1970 solely to house the workers at the adjacent Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and their families.
It offered adequate housing and promoted upward mobility through its sponsorship of a YMCA Center, an elementary school, some small businesses, and a company store.
[29] In the present-day United States, it is relatively rare for any place in which a single company owns all the property to be granted status as an incorporated municipality.
Bryce Canyon City, Utah is a current company town incorporated in 2007, consisting solely of Ruby's Inn's property and its third-generation owners, the Syrett family.
By allowing tech corporations to establish their governments, the plan is hoped to bring in new businesses at the forefront of "groundbreaking technologies" without the state cutting taxes or paying economic rent that previously helped Nevada attract companies like Tesla Inc.[34] In March 2021, Elon Musk announced plans to incorporate the Boca Chica area of far southeastern Texas, the site of a SpaceX rocket manufacturing and launch facility, as the city of "Starbase".
