Question

To what “housing problem” is Levitt referring?

To what “racial problem” is Levitt referring?

We can solve a housing problem, or we can try to solve a racial problem. But we can’t

Answer 1

He’s William Levitt, the mass‑producer of postwar suburbs (Levittown).

- By the “housing problem” he meant the urgent post‑World War II shortage of affordable, quickly built single‑family homes for returning veterans and growing middle‑class families — the practical task of supplying large numbers of houses cheaply and rapidly.
- By the “racial problem” he meant residential racial integration — selling to Black families and deliberately mixing neighborhoods that until then had been kept white by practice and restrictive covenants.

When he said “We can solve a housing problem, or we can try to solve a racial problem. But we can’t…,” he was saying he would prioritize building and selling homes efficiently and profitably over confronting segregation; integrating would, in his view, undermine marketability and provoke white backlash. The quote reflects why Levitt’s developments used discriminatory sales policies and helped entrench suburban segregation.