What motivated the large-scale postwar migration to the Sunbelt and the suburbs? To what extent were these movements a result of social changes like the baby boom, and to what extent were they a result of intentional federal government policies like federal housing loans, military spending, and the interstate highway system?

The process of suburbanization and migration to the Sunbelt that took place since the 1950s was the consequence of a series of social processes that meant the saturation of the country's large industrial cities, and the search for many families for friendlier places to raise their children:

-On the one hand, the baby boom that occurred after the end of World War II caused families to expand, which meant that they needed more space, that is, the possibility of having a house instead of an apartment. But these costs were impossible to bear in the big cities, so many of these families began to move to the suburbs or the southern states, where the land was significantly cheaper.

-On the other hand, upon the return of the combatants, the government decided to grant financial aid to them, with the aim of providing stability in the first years of social reintegration after having been in combat. In addition, soft loans were granted in order to guarantee the purchase of homes, which, again, were much cheaper in the suburbs.

-Lastly, government's investments in connectivity (routes, highways, airports, railway connections, etc.) allowed for greater mobility of people, who could now go faster and further. In this way, the development of once remote towns was allowed.

small european communities with shared traditions consolidated into large new states (apex)