Urban Development in the United States in the 19th Century

In discussing the growth of cities in the United States in the nineteenth century, one cannot really use the term “urban planning,” as it suggests modern concerns for spatial and service organization which, in most instances, did not exist before the planning revolution called the City Beautiful Movement that began in the 1890s. While there certainly were urban areas that were “planned” in the comprehensive contemporary sense of the word before that date, most notably Washington, D.C., these were the exception. Most “planning” in the nineteenth century was limited to areas much smaller than a city and was closely associated with developers trying to make a profit from a piece of land. Even when these small-scale plans were well designed, the developers made only those improvements that were absolutely necessary to attract the wealthy segment of the market. Indeed, it was the absence of true urban planning that allowed other factors to play such an important role in shaping the nineteenth century American city.

Three forces particularly affected the configuration of urban and suburban areas in the nineteenth century: economics, transportation technology, and demographics. Added to these was the characteristic American preference both for independent living, usually associated with having an individual, free-standing home for one’s family, and for rural living. Economics affected urbanization in two ways. First, economic considerations influenced location decisions for business and industry, which often preempted choice sites. Second, industrial growth generated higher incomes for large segments of the population, which in turn provided more money for larger homes and commuter transportation. Related to economics (since costs to individuals always played a role) were improvements in transportation, from the first horse-drawn buses of the 1820s to electrified street railways at the end of the century. Each transport innovation extended the distance that a person could reasonably travel as a commuter or shopper, while constant system improvements and increased ridership lessened costs.

Demographic patterns also affected urbanization in two ways: first, urban populations grew steadily throughout the century due to immigration from rural areas, principally by those seeking factory work, and emigration from abroad. Therefore cities expanded as new housing had to be provided. Secondly, at the same time that new residents were surging into cities, many urbanites, particularly those of the middle classes, began to leave. While a preference for rural living explained part of this exodus, it was also due to the perception that various urban problems were becoming worse.

Many nineteenth-century urban problems were those that continue to plague cities today—crime, pollution, noise—but others were the direct result of lack of planning and regulation, such as threat of fire, poor sanitation, and shoddy building construction. Fire was a significant problem in urban areas of North America from the time of the first European settlement. Construction with combustible materials coupled with close placement of buildings and the use of open flames in heating, cooking, and lighting meant that the potential for raging fires was ever present. Lack of sanitation, and the ensuing public health problems it created, was a more constant, if less dramatic, urban issue it was not until the 1860s that any serious, concerted effort was made to develop proper systems for water delivery and sewage removal. In spite of remarkable strides made in the 1870s and 1880s by the newly established profession of sanitary engineering, the common nineteenth-century pattern of individual unprofessionally planned and installed cesspools (underground tanks for holding household sewage) continued. This led to water contamination and the spread of disease by rodents and insects.

Problems of the fire and poor sanitation were inextricably linked with the last major urban problem of the nineteenth century—lack of coordination in the physical expansion of cities and their infrastructure systems (systems for providing services such as water, gas, electricity, and sewage). Typically, development was both unplanned and unrestricted, with landowners making all choices of lot size, services, and street arrangement based only on their individual needs in the marketplace. Distortions of streets and abrupt changes in the distance of houses from the street in urban areas, which so clearly delineate where one development ended and another began, were just the most obvious problems that this lack of coordination created.

►In discussing the growth of cities in the United States in the nineteenth century, one cannot really use the term “urban planning,” as it suggests modern concerns for spatial and service organization which, in most instances, did not exist before the planning revolution called the City Beautiful Movement that began in the 1890s. While there certainly were urban areas that were “planned” in the comprehensive contemporary sense of the word before that date, most notably Washington, D.C., these were the exception. Most “planning” in the nineteenth century was limited to areas much smaller than a city and was closely associated with developers trying to make a profit from a piece of land. Even when these small-scale plans were well designed, the developers made only those improvements that were absolutely necessary to attract the wealthy segment of the market. Indeed, it was the absence of true urban planning that allowed other factors to play such an important role in shaping the nineteenth century American city.

►Three forces particularly affected the configuration of urban and suburban areas in the nineteenth century: economics, transportation technology, and demographics. Added to these was the characteristic American preference both for independent living, usually associated with having an individual, free-standing home for one’s family, and for rural living. Economics affected urbanization in two ways. First, economic considerations influenced location decisions for business and industry, which often preempted choice sites. Second, industrial growth generated higher incomes for large segments of the population, which in turn provided more money for larger homes and commuter transportation. Related to economics (since costs to individuals always played a role) were improvements in transportation, from the first horse-drawn buses of the 1820s to electrified street railways at the end of the century. Each transport innovation extended the distance that a person could reasonably travel as a commuter or shopper, while constant system improvements and increased ridership lessened costs.

►Demographic patterns also affected urbanization in two ways: first, urban populations grew steadily throughout the century due to immigration from rural areas, principally by those seeking factory work, and emigration from abroad. Therefore cities expanded as new housing had to be provided. Secondly, at the same time that new residents were surging into cities, many urbanites, particularly those of the middle classes, began to leave. While a preference for rural living explained part of this exodus, it was also due to the perception that various urban problems were becoming worse.

►Many nineteenth-century urban problems were those that continue to plague cities today—crime, pollution, noise—but others were the direct result of lack of planning and regulation, such as threat of fire, poor sanitation, and shoddy building construction. Fire was a significant problem in urban areas of North America from the time of the first European settlement. Construction with combustible materials coupled with close placement of buildings and the use of open flames in heating, cooking, and lighting meant that the potential for raging fires was ever present. Lack of sanitation, and the ensuing public health problems it created, was a more constant, if less dramatic, urban issue it was not until the 1860s that any serious, concerted effort was made to develop proper systems for water delivery and sewage removal. In spite of remarkable strides made in the 1870s and 1880s by the newly established profession of sanitary engineering, the common nineteenth-century pattern of individual unprofessionally planned and installed cesspools (underground tanks for holding household sewage) continued. This led to water contamination and the spread of disease by rodents and insects.

►Problems of the fire and poor sanitation were inextricably linked with the last major urban problem of the nineteenth century—lack of coordination in the physical expansion of cities and their infrastructure systems (systems for providing services such as water, gas, electricity, and sewage). Typically, development was both unplanned and unrestricted, with landowners making all choices of lot size, services, and street arrangement based only on their individual needs in the marketplace. Distortions of streets and abrupt changes in the distance of houses from the street in urban areas, which so clearly delineate where one development ended and another began, were just the most obvious problems that this lack of coordination created.

Three forces particularly affected the configuration of urban and suburban areas in the nineteenth century: economics, transportation technology, and demographics. Added to these was the characteristic American preference both for independent living, usually associated with having an individual, free-standing home for one’s family, and for rural living. ⬛ Economics affected urbanization in two ways. First, economic considerations influenced location decisions for business and industry, which often preempted choice sites. ⬛ Second, industrial growth generated higher incomes for large segments of the population, which in turn provided more money for larger homes and commuter transportation. ⬛ Related to economics (since costs to individuals always played a role) were improvements in transportation, from the first horse-drawn buses of the 1820s to electrified street railways at the end of the century. ⬛ Each transport innovation extended the distance that a person could reasonably travel as a commuter or shopper, while constant system improvements and increased ridership lessened costs.