"...a city that prides itself on its heritage as a New Deal-era social experiment..."
...that's not one of them!
Yes, there were four such experiments. Greenbelt was also known as Tugwell Town. What saved the city from turning into a typical failed Federal Housing project was the after WWII the project was sold by the Government to the Greenbelt Cooperative. For years the cooperative controlled the buying and selling of the townhouse units. Real Estate interest eventually broke the Coop’s control. The city has always been a bastion of Roosevelt Democrats.