Cities Grow and Change AIM: What were the causes and effects of the rapid growth of cities?

Urbanization Urbanization is the rapid growth of city populations. In 1860, 1 in 5 Americans lived in a city. By 1890, 1 in 3 lived in a city. Cities attracted industry, and industry attracted people. Farmers, immigrants, and African Americans from the South all migrated to cities in search of jobs.

What did the location of cities have to do with their growth? Many fast growing cities were located near waterways. NY and San Fran had ocean harbors, Chicago rose on the shores of Lake Michigan. Cities near waterways could provide easy transport of goods.

Growing Out and Up New technologies helped cities grow. Elevated trains carried passengers over crowded streets. Electric streetcars appeared in Richmond, Virginia. In 1897, the nation’s first electric subway began running beneath Boston.

Growing Out and Up Public transportation gave rise to suburbs, living areas on the outskirts of a city. The Brooklyn Bridge was completed in 1883, linking Manhattan to Brooklyn. In 1885, architects in Chicago built the first skyscraper. By 1900, steel-framed skyscrapers up to 30 stories high towered over cities.

Growing Out and Up As cities grew outward from their old downtown sections, living patterns changed. Poor families crowded into the oldest sections at the cities center. Middle class people lived farther out in row houses or new apartments. The rich built fine homes on the outskirts of the city.

Problems of Urban Life Rapid urbanization brought many problems. Fire was a constant threat in tightly packed neighborhoods. In 1871, fire engulfed Chicago, leveled 3 square miles of downtown, killed 300 people, and left 18,000 homeless.

Tenement Life In downtown slums, the poor crowded into tenements, or buildings divided into many tiny apartments. Many apartments had no windows, heat, or indoor plumbing. 10 people might live in a single room. Slum streets were littered with garbage. Outbreaks of diseases were common, and babies ran the greatest risk.

Improving City Life In the 1880s, cities began attempts to improve urban life. Cities installed streetlights and set up fire, sanitation, and police departments. Public health officials tried to wage war on diseases. Religious groups began to serve the poor. Catholic nuns set up hospitals and clinics for people who could not afford doctors. The Salvation Army gave food, clothing, and shelter to the homeless.

Settlement Houses Jane Addams worked hard for poor city dwellers. In 1889, she opened Hull House, a settlement house in the slums of Chicago. A Settlement House is a center offering help to the urban poor. Soon, women in other cities started opening settlement houses. In the houses, volunteers taught English to immigrants, sponsored music and sports for young people, and provided nurseries for children of working mothers.

Jacob Riis Jacob Riis was also a leading social reformer. Riis was a Danish immigrant who arrived in NYC in Newspaper reporter who became acquainted with city slums and its people. Wrote shocking articles about the lives of slum dwellers. His photographs and writing in his book How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York give us a glimpse of tenement life.

Bandit’s Roost Playground

One of the four peddlers who slept in the cellar of 11 Ludlow Street Rear cents a spot

Homeless Children