Challenges of Urbanization Homework

The People: why were the three groups below drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest? 

1. Immigrants

Immigrants were drawn to cities in the Northeast and Midwest because of the new opportunities for work. Natural and economic disasters hit farmers in Europe and the promise of industrial jobs in the United States drew millions of people to American cities. 

2. Farmers


Farmers were drawn to the cities in an effort to find whatever work they could. Due to rapid improvements in farming technology and inventions work was scarce for farmers. The invention of the McCormick reaper and the steel plow required fewer laborers to work the land. Farmers were forced to move to cities to find whatever work they could.

3. African-Americans 


African-Americans were drawn to the cities in the Northeast and Midwest especially Chicago and Detroit in an effort to escape racial violence, economic hardship, and political oppression. Many of the Southern farmers who lost their livelihoods were African Americans. Once they had moved, job competition between blacks and white immigrants caused further tension.  


The Problems: What was done in response to the following five problems? 

4. Lack of safe and efficient transportation

With the population rapidly increasing, it had been hard to create an efficient transportation system. With the innovations in mass transit, transportation systems designed to move large numbers of people made transportation a whole lot easier. Street cars were introduced in San Francisco in 1873 and electric subways in Boston in 1897. By the early 20th century, mass transit systems linked city neighborhoods to one another and to outlying communities.   


5. Unsafe drinking water

With the expanding population, cities faced the problem of supplying safe drinking water. Many cities built waterworks however, many of the residents had grossly inadequate piped water. In response to this rising problem, filtration was introduced in the 1870's and chlorination, the method of purifying water by mixing it with chlorine, in 1908. 

6. Lack of sanitation 

As the cities continued to grow, so did the challenge of keeping them clean. The streets were being piled with horse manure, sewage flowed through open gutters, and factories spewed foul smoke into the air affecting the resident's health. In response to the lack of sanitation, many cities developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments. 


7. Fire Hazards

The spread of fires was a leading problem in most cities. With limited water supplies in many cities major fires occurred in almost every large American city. Most cities were packed with wooden dwellings and the use of candles and kerosene heaters posed a fire hazard. Most of city firefighters were volunteers and not always available when needed. Cincinnati, Ohio, established the nation's first paid fire department in 1853 and by 1900, most cities had full-time professional fire departments. With the addition of fire departments and the introduction of a practical automatic fire sprinkler, cities became safer.

8. Crime


With the increasing population, the number of pickpockets and thieves flourished. New York City organized the first full-time salaried police force in 1844 however, many other cities' law enforcement units were too small to have much impact on the crime.