Urbanization: Changes in the Nature of Cities (GEO, SOC) (apr 11, 1880 – apr 11, 1910)

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With the growth of industrialization came the movement from rural America to urban America (urbanization) and plenty of changes in the nature of cities. Both immigrants and people living in America were settling more avidly in urban centers. As being a farmer became less profitable, many Americans sought new profits in the urban centers of the U.S.. Cities in the United States underwent drastic changes as well. One of the most significant was the change in transportation. Where people would have to walk to walk from one place to the other, the creation of the electric trolly, subways, and trolley began replacing walking and horse-drawn cars. The purpose the person was using the electric trolley or any of the new innovative transportation methods was indicative of their economic status. Usually the middle class and upper class used the transportation to escape the pollution of the cities while the laborers would use the transportation to get to their jobs in the city. Moreover, with the introduction of a larger supply of steel into the economy and the limited land availability, many architects began constructing skyscrapers. Not to mention, the Otis elevator made moving up the levels of these skyscrapers easier. Furthermore, in the midst of all the innovations and change to the visuals of urban centers, these cities segregated the laborers and working class from the wealthy upper and middle class. Where the workers lived in cramped up, windowless, tenants that prompted the spread of deadly diseases, in a polluted urban landscape, the wealthy settled in the spacious, green, suburbs, where they could enjoy privacy and fresh air. In the suburbs, land cost was low and transportation was inexpensive and the building cost was low, but being able to maintain a steady flow of income was difficult for the average worker at the time. In the cities, many immigrants who were prejudiced from the white worker would create ethnic communities where they could practice their faiths and speak their languages without the judgemental watch of the whites. All in all, cities during the late 19th century were composed of mainly trashed ghettos, where living conditions were harsh and working conditions were harsher and pay was direly low, prejudiced from the wealthy who lived a lavish lifestyle away from the pollution of the cities, in the greenery of the American landscape.

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