The Westacres subdivision of West Bloomfield Township is often recognized as the forerunner of modern suburbanization and residential development, not just for the township but countywide. A revolutionary concept in neighborhood design, the Westacres development was intended to provide affordable housing for factory-wage families and to boost a sagging economy as part of FDR’s New Deal. Land in other areas of Oakland County had been subdivided prior to 1936, but mainly by land speculators who anticipated future building. Senator James Couzens and the New Dealers paved the way for modern residential development, but “Westacres was the first in which one company designed, platted, built and sold the properties.”