 |
C O U R S E L E C T U R E Cities in the Industrial Revolution Notes taken on October 13, 2014 by Edward Tanguay |
while every city before the Industrial Revolution had a different location and culture, pre-industrial cities also had a lot in common
if a resident of 5th century BC Athens were transported to London in 1750, the difference would have been amazing but still understandable
buildings only a few stories high
but if you transport the same person from 5th century BC Athens to any modern city in the 20th century, his experience of taxis, asphalt, street lights, noise, cars, trains, planes, and skyscrapers would be bewildering
the way we live in cities in our modern age has little similarity to how humans have lived in towns and cities for the past 3000 years.
because of the new international trading patterns that had been developing since the Middle Ages
the deep transformational changes in cities over the last 250 years is tightly aligned with the development of capitalism and the industrial revolution
in the 17th and 18th centuries, population growth began to rise rapidly in Europe
one of the first international trading cities
at one point the world's leading trade metropolis
increase in wealth for some
crowded living conditions for many
crowded, trading metropolises
some the size of modern cities
had none of the amenities which we take for granted
urbane, fashionable houses in West end of London
because of wealth created by trade
still cows and livestock very close
first industrial buildings
factories for making cloths
not located in the cities at all
almost always upstream from major cities which were built around ports
e.g. New Lanark, Scotland, upstream from Glasgow
used waterfall to turn a water wheel
in the past had connected bodies of water
in the industrial age, connected factory towns directly to the open sea or to other port towns
this system worked until replaced by railroads
the Erie Canal connected the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and the developing West
major reason why New York pulled ahead of Boston and Philadelphia as a major transportation hub
canals changed elevation by using locks
first were used to pump water out of mines
1807 Robert Fulton put a steam powered boat The Clermont on the Hudson
1825 George Stevenson was first to put a steam engine on rails, Stockton and Darlington
1830 first passenger line from Liverpool to Manchester
railroad technology in the 19th century was adopted as quickly as computer technology in our own time
between 1830 and 1860 railroad networks were completed in most European countries and in the United States
France was relatively slow
by the 1850s, trains could run at 60 to 70 miles per hour
railroads completely changed cities along the line
trips that took days could now be completed in hours
widened the trading area of cities
intensified development in city centers around the train station
1869 Transcontinental Railroad
travel time across the country was reduced from six months to six days
cities along the railroad such as Omaha and San Francisco
steam engine also allowed factories to move from places with water power to cities
where the customers were
more people began to move to cities in order to work in the factories
railroad led to intensification of development
trains, factories and smoke become prominent in the city
once you got off the train, you were back to the means of pre-industrial transportation: walking, riding a horse, or riding in a horse-drawn conveyance
1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
deadliest industrial disaster of New York City
killed 146 garment workers, most immigrant women ages 16 to 23
became a call for reform
a characteristic of cities formed by the Industrial Revolution
mass production of steel
the ability to make large sheets of glass
accessibility from a larger geographical area by street cars and trains
Chicago within the Loop
typical development of American city, e.g. Kansas City
1840 before railroad came, it was one of a cluster of small villages, others included:
gateway to Sante Fe trail
wagon trains set off here for the west
1869 after arrival of railroads
1880s streetcars led to suburbs away from the industrial pollution of the city's center
1906 5-story buildings, electric streetcars, some early automobiles