The Great Levittown Impact
The third listing for the definition of sprawl in the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary is as follows: “to spread or develop irregularly”. Unfortunately, this is the pattern, or lack thereof, with which America’s development is following. Every single day the world population rises, and these new babies have to live somewhere. Due to the fact that the birth rate is larger than that of the death rate in America (http://www.bartleby.com/151/a24.html), new homes and communities must be developed to accommodate all of the incoming people. This fundamental concept is coupled by another very powerful driving force prompting people to live in the suburbs of America, and that is greed. The economy makes
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This leader provided the town with sustenance, protection, and leadership that the people needed to function properly. As the town’s diameter grew larger towards the city walls, space became scarce, and the walls were knocked down and expanded to accommodate more people. And when the town grew too big for its walls, another town was created in a new location. As time progressed, so did the expansion of human developments and technology. Man developed the boat, the railroad system, and most importantly, the steam engine. These things greatly broadened the horizons of travel, trade, and economic prosperity. In the mid 1800’s, America experienced the start of the industrial revolution, and wealth became abundant to the merchant class (the owners of product developing companies). With this new wealth, the business leaders found that life in the busy cities was not to their liking, so they began the suburban movement to the country. Here they found life to be much more tolerable and rewarding. However, this life was only shared among the economically elite, (which was only a fraction of the total population), and did not see a massive interest until William Levitt created Levittown.
William Levitt was the son of an architect, and the brother of a businessman. He was a dreamer on a grand scale, and happened to concoct one of the most influential and prosperous business decisions in
In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the United States experienced a large increase in political, economic, and social reforms. During this time, there had been an increase in urbanization, and industrial factories within the larger cities throughout the United States, particularly in the northeastern cities. With the addition of the industries and factories too populated also came a growing number of immigrants, and seekers of wealth and employment. As a result, the population increase would result in major issues which would overshadow the economic gains that came from industrialization. In addition, the rise of industrialization also brought about major issues within the populations of the city. After seeing
Sprawl helped me understand what happened in St. Louis because it effected what the government was planning for. They were planning for Pruitt-Igoe to be over populated, and that is how it was going to paying for itself, but with sprawl people where moving away from the area cause them to have to cover charge the people living in Pruitt-Igoe and that is when it started
He was known as a railroad baron, owning in total 13 major railroads, dominating the New York City to Great Lakes area. “He took these small little railroad lines and began to take them over, to merge them, to connect them and convert them to large almost continental stradling networks.” “Railroads allowed America to push west and farms grew rapidly where they went. This allowed for more raw materials to be produced, and then brought to the northern factories on the trains, greatly improving America's economy. (Brinkley, 255-257),” considerably reducing cost (“Transportation” 2011). Not only were railways used to transport goods, they made access to the west easy. Ultimately populating it, developing more opportunities for industrialization across America. Railroads themselves required large amounts of iron and wood, causing the demand in the iron and lumber industries to
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, during the climax of the American Industrial Revolution, there was a small group of men who owned the major businesses and were leaders of their industries. They owned factories, railroads, banks, and even created company towns for the sole purpose of housing their workers. Due to the efforts of these few men, the U.S. economy became the envy of the world, and America became a leading world power. They provided the public with products that were in high demand for reasonable prices, and opened their markets to countries overseas. Although many people believe the early industrialists were Robber Barons who exploited the poor, these great men were truly Captains of Industry who created new ways of doing
During the late 1700s, production and manufacturing were centralized around people’s homes and farms. The majority of the work produced was done to provide for individual or community use; often hard labor, basic machines, and hand tools were used to carry out tasks. An era of powered machines and factories created the Industrial mark across the nation. Textile and iron industries developed the steam engine to help improve transportation and exchange to increase manufactured goods. While the impact improved the standard of living for a small majority, others a large majority remained poor and living in poverty. Urban cities that housed large manufacturing plants that provided jobs in often overcrowded cities and poor living conditions.
The United States post-Civil War era from 1875 to 1900 experienced massive economic and industrial growth, especially in the North. The rise of new machines, industries (railroad, oil, steel), and buildings contributed to a major upsurge in the prosperity of the American nation. In 1860, no American city had a population over one million; by 1890, three cities had passed the million mark. New York City became the second largest city in the world after London in 1900. The substantial growth of the U.S economically can be contributed to a group of wealthy capitalists that ran businesses/industries and stimulated economic growth. However, historians have argued over whether these capitalists were “robber barons” that were corrupt and took advantage of the American people or “captains of industry” that helped the U.S grow at unparalleled speeds. Wealthy capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were indeed “captains of industry” who enlarged American industry and businesses, used their wealth to better their communities, and elevated the United States to new heights as one of the leading industrial powers of the entire world.
With the growth of industry in the United States, the population of cities began to grow substantially (Tovanche Lecture). They started providing job opportunities in factories, offices, and other places as well. The cities became the main center of wealth and also poverty. A huge class of the impoverished lived in slums. Some even lived underground in the sewers, and a huge percentage of the poor came from newly arrived immigrants who were coming to America in large numbers from poor
There was an abundance of natural resources during this time period. The forests provided the wood needed to heat the rising growth of the factories and to supply paper for the increase of books and newspapers. The transportation growth provided people with a way tp receive literature in distant areas. Sawmills had to use the waterwheel for power. The steamboats pummeled a pathway through the rivers, but also deforested the land in their pathway. This brought about America’s first issue with air pollution.
Most eighteenth century Americans lived in self-maintaining rural areas. The Industrial Revolution saw the advancement of large urban hubs, such as Boston and New York City, and impelled an enormous migration of workers. “From the beginning, cities formed part of the western frontier. Western cities like Cincinnati and St. Louis that stood at the crossroads of inter-regional trade experienced
economy. Technological advances, expanding population, and new business practices combined to fuel economic growth. Improved agricultural innovation, for example, led to lower food prices (Document A). Mining and lighting innovations led to lower fuel and lighting costs. The invention of electricity also contributed to increased production of goods, because workers could now work for longer late into the night. Inventions like the electric typewriter and telephone increased employment for white women, and created a sort of equality about working in a mass production environment (Document J). Growing urban population also contributed to economic advancement at this time. Among the new urban residents were immigrants, primarily from Southeastern Europe. People also came from rural areas in the U.S. One reason for the influx of people to urban areas was the increased job availability due to technological inventions through which people were able to produce goods faster and cheaper. Another reason was that people were attracted to the conveniences and excitement city life offered. For example, part of the urban glamor of the city laid in the department stores. According Theodore Dreiser's’, Sister Carrie, department stores were “handsome, bustling, successful affairs… a showplace of dazzling interest and attraction” (Document I). New business tycoons like John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie,
Cornelius Vanderbilt was also and industrialist, he was the Captain of Industry of the railroads. With him making railroads, that's allowing people and cargo to get places at a quicker rate. Eventually we got the transcontinental railroad, which connected the West to the East, and created the National Market.
The English settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, was founded on May 14, 1607 by Captain Christopher Newport and his fleet of a hundred or so Englishmen. During the next nine decades, this settlement would begin as "a verie fit place for the erecting of a great cittie(Tyler, 33)", and develop into "nothing but Abundance of Brick Rubbish, and three or four good inhabited houses(Miers, 107)." Two major factors led to the gradual decay and destruction of Jamestown: (1) The profit-before-survival attitude of the English settlers, and (2) the persistence of the Indians of the area to drive the English from their native lands.
“As the growth of industrial development increased so did the accumulation of massive industries and corporations”. This had changed The United States of America into being urbanized instead of being a rural area. Then many businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, and Cornelius Vanderbilt had big industrial tycoons which had a massive benefit for them and for their society because they had an increase in mass production which ultimately changed the face of the United States of America from being a rural society into being an urban society.
People during this time mainly lived on farms and did not have a fast way to get into town. So people started moving to the cities because more jobs were available and over all better lives. The Automobile was so affordable in America that it started an industrial powerhouse. At first there was an American inventor Sylvester H. Roper invented
After World War II, the United States of America became a much wealthier nation. As America gained wealth and the populations in urban cities and transportation technology increased, many Americans spread out, away from the urban cities, to fulfill the common dream of having a piece of land to call their own. The landscape constructed became known as the suburbs, exclusive residential areas within commuting distance of a city. The popularity and success of the suburban landscape caused suburbs to sprawl across the United States, from the east coast to the west coast and along the borders between Canada and Mexico. By the 1990s, many suburbs surrounding major urban cities developed into being more than merely exclusive residential areas.