Catherine Bauer Wurster facts for kids

Catherine Krouse Bauer Wurster (born May 11, 1905 – died November 21, 1964) was an important American who worked to create affordable homes for everyone. She was a strong supporter of public housing, which means homes built or supported by the government for people who need them. Catherine also taught future urban planners (people who design and organize cities).

She was a key member of a group called the "housers." This group believed that all families, especially those with lower incomes, should have access to good, affordable housing. Catherine Bauer Wurster greatly changed how social housing was built and managed in the United States. Her famous book, Modern Housing, published in 1934, is still considered a very important book in the field of housing and city planning.

Catherine's Early Life and Education

Catherine Krouse Bauer was born on May 11, 1905, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Her mother, Alberta Krouse Bauer, was a homemaker. Her father, Jacob L. Bauer, was a state highway engineer. He was a pioneer in building superhighways and helped create the first cloverleaf interchanges (special road junctions) in America. Catherine's younger sister, Elizabeth Bauer Mock, became a curator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Her brother, Jacob Louis Bauer, Jr., was also an engineer.

Catherine went to the Vail-Deane School in her hometown. She first studied at Vassar College and then spent a year studying architecture at Cornell University. She later returned to Vassar College and earned her degree in 1926.

In 1926 and 1927, Catherine lived in Paris, France. There, she met famous artists like Fernand Léger and Man Ray. She was very inspired by the ideas of French architect Le Corbusier, who had visions for modern city planning. Catherine even wrote an article about his worker's apartments in a Paris suburb.

Catherine's Career and Impact

When Catherine returned to New York City in 1927, she worked for several publishing companies. She soon began working with Lewis Mumford, an American writer who studied cities. He encouraged her to learn about the architects who were rebuilding Europe after World War I. These included important figures like Ernst May and Walter Gropius.

Catherine believed that well-designed social housing could lead to better communities. Seeing the struggles caused by the Great Depression (a time of severe economic hardship), she became a strong leader in the movement to provide homes for the poor. In 1934, she became the Executive Director of the new Labor Housing Conference in Philadelphia.

Her book, Modern Housing (1934), shared what she had learned about successful housing projects in Europe. It also explained how the United States could use these lessons. This book caught the attention of leaders involved in the New Deal (government programs designed to help the country recover from the Depression). They wanted to boost the economy by building more housing. In 1936, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed her to study housing in Europe and the Soviet Union.

Catherine Bauer Wurster was the main writer of the Housing Act of 1937. This important law helped create public housing programs in the U.S. She also advised five different presidents on housing and city planning. After the Housing Act was passed, she became the Director of Information and Research for the United States Housing Authority. This was a new federal agency created under the New Deal. She worked as a consultant for many housing and planning groups from the 1930s to the 1960s. She also played a big part in creating the important documentary film The City, which was shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

In 1940, Catherine started teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. During the 1940s and 1950s, she gave lectures and led classes at other universities like Harvard University and Cornell University. In 1950, she joined the architecture department at University of California, Berkeley. She married William Wurster, an architect from the San Francisco area, whom she met at UC Berkeley. During the 1950s, they faced accusations of disloyalty during the Red Scare (a time when people were very worried about communism). Catherine Wurster helped establish the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design. She also helped found Telesis, a group that researched progressive architecture.

Catherine Bauer Wurster died on November 21, 1964, after falling during a solo hike on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California.

Catherine's Lasting Legacy

Catherine Bauer Wurster's work continues to inspire people today.

• A statue of her can be found in the Environmental Design Library at UC Berkeley.
• Another statue of Wurster, made by Oscar Stonorov, is in the main lobby of the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington D.C.
• The UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design created the Catherine Bauer Wurster Award for Social Practice. This award recognizes alumni who have made important contributions in their careers.
• In 2020, the building that houses the College of Environmental Design at Berkeley was renamed the Bauer Wurster Building. This was done to honor both William Wurster and Catherine Bauer Wurster for their important contributions.

See also

In Spanish: Catherine Bauer Wurster para niños