Lecture 10 Flashcards
What % urbanization is North America?
85%
Where was the birthplace of the megalopolis?
North America
What is deindustrializing?
○ And decentralizing but still heavily apart of globalization
○ Outsourcing offshore
How old are cities in NA?
almost all cities less than 300 years oold
When did the first regions started to grow?
around 16-17 hundred
What re the different historical periods of NA?
- Precolonial period (pre 1600)
- Colonial mercantilism (1600-1840)
- Industrial capitalism (1840-1970)
- Post-industrial capitalism (1975-)
When and what happened in the pre colonial period?
• Little evidence of significant urbanization
• Permanent settlements arise around 1000CE
○ Indigenous people had a nomadic existence but some permanent settlements but not of the size that we have seen in other regions
• Important centres north of Mexico (Cahokia, Acoma Pueblo, Taos Pueblo)
What is Cahokia?
(largest city pre colonial time in NA)
• Economic powerhouse (1050 to 1200 CE)
• Influence extended from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
• Population of 20,000 people (1,600 ha with 120 human-made mounds)
• 15km from present day st louis
• Ruled over large territory
• City had differentiated functions (where commoners lived, ceremonial mounds, admin, trading)
What are Acoma and Taos?
(further south villages/smaller towns)
• continuously inhabited settlements for a long time (since 11thC)
• Acoma Pueblo (Sky City) built in current form in 1144
What is the colonial mercantilism?
1600-1840)
• Spanish, Dutch, French, British ruled over these lands (F and B main powerhouses but other 2 were first)
• Trading for raw materials, and eventually plantations
Where were the first cities located in NA?
frist cities on the sea front or along St laurence in canad
What is the physical layout of the first European cities?
- French cities: narrow, winding streets (how they gbuilt)• British, Spanish used the grid (how they built)
- All walking cities regardless of layout
- All of them next to water
What is the industrial capitalism?
Industrial capitalism (1840-1970)
• First mechanized factory gets going in 1793
• Industrialization results in urbanization (why?)
○ Steam engine powered by coal allows you to make and transport more things
○ Need people to run factories, people drawn to new prospects, hope that the city life will give a better life
• North America’s era of 5%+ growth
○ Because most of NA was Agrarian landscape
• Heavy industry transofrmed landscape
How did transportation networks grow in NA?
- Coal fueled transformation and industrial activity as well as transport
- Building more cities inland via railroad
- Extranded natural waterways with canals
What were the new materials introduced in NA?
- Structural steel for highrises/skyscrapers
- Coal
- Elevators
- Building up as opposed to out maintained compact size of cities