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- The Living New Deal is a research project and online public archive documenting the scope and impact of the New Deal on American lives and the national landscape. The project focuses on public works programs, which put millions of unemployed to work, saved families from destitution, and renovated the infrastructure of the United States. What is more, most New Deal public works - schools, roads, dams, waterworks, hospitals and more - continued to function for decades and tens of thousands still exist today. The centerpiece of the Living New Deal is a website that catalogs and maps the location of public works projects and artworks created from 1933 to 1943 under the aegis of federal government during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This online catalog identifies thousands of New Deal sites and pinpoints them on an interactive map. Sites can be searched by name, city, state, category, and agency. The website and its growing database show the vast imprint the New Deal had across the nation. The Living New Deal website was selected as one of the 10 best new sites on the web for 2014 by Slate Magazine, and has been mentioned in the Boston Globe, Vox, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other news outlets. A constellation of economic stimulus policies and social programs enacted to lift America out of the Great Depression, the New Deal touched every state, city, town, and rural area. Yet, there is no national record of what the New Deal built, only bits and pieces found in local and national archives, published sources, and on occasional plaques and markers. This represents an enormous gap in the historic record and a collective failure of memory. The Living New Deal's goal is to uncover every New Deal public works site in all fifty states and build a public archive of photographs, documents, films, and stories from this pivotal period. As of mid-2017, the project had reached a total of 13,000 documented New Deal sites. In addition to the online archive, the Living New Deal works to highlight the legacy of the New Deal by:
* Acting as a clearinghouse for New Deal news and discussion.
* Gathering stories of families whose lives were touched by the New Deal.
* Engaging the public to protect New Deal public works sites from neglect and destruction.
* Publishing articles, newsletters and teaching aids about the New Deal and its legacy, including the public television produced app 'Lets Get Lost' on New Deal Murals.
* Compiling bibliographies and web links to sources of information about the New Deal.
* Creating a New Deal online film archive.
* Publishing pocket maps of New Deal sites in key cities, such as San Francisco and New York.
* Sponsoring New Deal tours, lectures, conferences, film series, and other events.
* Writing summaries of New Deal programs, and biographies of leading New Dealers.
* Envisioning a national New Deal museum to record and celebrate the achievements of the era. The ultimate aim of the Living New Deal is to educate the general public, civic leaders and politicians about the New Deal and to show that it provides a proven model for reviving the economy in hard times, dealing with unemployment (especially among youth), rebuilding communities all across the country, restoring faith in government and renewing a sense of national purpose. In a time when so many people and places are hurting for good jobs and economic renewal, and the infrastructure of the country is crumbling, the New Deal can serve as an example for the present day. (en)
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- The Living New Deal is a research project and online public archive documenting the scope and impact of the New Deal on American lives and the national landscape. The project focuses on public works programs, which put millions of unemployed to work, saved families from destitution, and renovated the infrastructure of the United States. What is more, most New Deal public works - schools, roads, dams, waterworks, hospitals and more - continued to function for decades and tens of thousands still exist today. (en)
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