We almost had daycare on the roof
Early 20th century feminists thought it was a good idea. And it still is.
There are three current crises happening right now—particularly where I live in NYC—that make me think about a genius plan proposed by feminists in the early 1900’s that could help solve all three at once. First, the problems: A massive vacancy in office space, a massive shortage in affordable housing, and a severe shortage of quality, affordable childcare. The answer involves daycare on the roof.
I read about this genius plan in the book Hotbed: Bohemian Greenwich Village and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism which is a title that includes all my favorite keywords and just screams maya rodale auto buy in hot pink letters (literally).
Listen to this dream house from the Feminist Alliance, as presented in the chapter titled “The Baby is the Great Problem” (love them but truth) in 1914:
Their scheme was a dedicated apartment complex, accommodating 250 families, in which cleaning, cooking, and childcare were organized communally and undertaken by trained professionals. The building would have a laundry and kitchen in the basement, where a dedicated nutritionist would plan meals to be prepared and delivered to individual apartments…the apartments would have tiny “kitchen closets,” but otherwise, food preparation wouldn’t take up space, mental or physical, in working women’s lives.
Can you imagine begin freed from the daily work of cooking and cleaning? Both the mental planning, necessary shopping and actual doing of the work can be time-consuming and stressful. As such, it can be as source of of strife in a relationship, especially if one is trying to break out of traditional gender roles and expectations.
I do want to note that the folks dreaming this stuff up and advocating for it were not trying to be exploitive of the people who would actually do the work of cooking, cleaning and childcare. These were often the same people who were also advocating for equal pay, fair wages and safe working conditions. This was also the era where things like cooking, cleaning and childcare were beginning to be seen not just as unspecialized drudgery, but vital work that could be done expertly and efficiently based on scientific research.
For working families, especially those with tiny humans, childcare is really the biggest and most expensive problem. Omfg childcare!
Which brings me to the next detail in this brilliant communal living plan:
What set the feminist apartment concept apart was the twenty-four-hour child nursery, Montessori school, and playground on the roof. Up above the choked, polluted streets, the children would cultivate their own garden plots and play on swings and in sandboxes—at one point, the Feminist Alliance lobbied for a state law requiring similar playgrounds on all New York apartment rooftops. All of these amenities…would free up women to go out of the home and earn a living, enjoying both independence and—in the hours outside of work—a more concentrated, pleasurable, and enriched version of motherhood.
Can you imagine being so communally supported in your life?
These days, there is talk of converting empty office space to residential space. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as throwing up a few extra walls—this New York Times piece shows how and why some buildings are better suited than others. While we’re considering if and how to do it, maybe we can also reconsider our ideas about living space. Maybe we don’t all need our own massive kitchens if there is a professional kitchen ready to send up dinner. Especially in New York, where people famously use their oven as closet space.
We need this type of housing more than ever. Families need this kind of support more than ever. Now might be the perfect time to try to, say, build back better.
The Feminist Alliance who first proposed this communal living were inspired by the work of feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, who wanted women freed from the tyranny of housework, so they could work and earn their own money, leading to financial independence, which would lead to equality with men. It is and was a feminist agenda. But that doesn’t mean that men wouldn’t benefit from arrangements like this, too. We’re all human, we all need to eat and clean and raise kids, and it’s a lot more enjoyable to do it with the support of a community.
FURTHER READING:
I’m not the only one these days thinking about communal living. This Substack post from Anne Helen Petersen has more.
Hotbed: Bohemian Greenwich Village and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism