Geography Ch. 7 Megalopolis

Pennsylvania

-The first planned city in the U.S. • William Penn, Quaker, established city based on tolerance • Large lots, broad streets, greenbelts, gardens, parks • Recruited settlers from across western Europe • Largest, most cosmopolitan city in the Thirteen Colonies

Industrialization & Deindustrialization

Industrialization • Industrial revolution - Occurred around the same time as settlement of N.E. • large concentration of capital • Dense pops. for labor Deindustrialization • Hit less strongly than in Great Lakes • Less dependent on heavy industry • Larger variety of light & tech. industries • Developed as center for high tech., medical,

Emergence of NY & D.C.

N.Y. • Easy access to interior - Hudson & Mohawk rivers - Great Lakes • Erie canal • Excellent harbor D.C. • Founded as new capital city • Compromise between N & S • Built on land ceded from Maryland • Center for government

Physiographic Provinces

The Appalachians - Mountainous • The Piedmont - Low rolling hills - The fall line (eastern boundary) • The Atlantic Coastal Plain - Estuaries - Marshes - Beaches

Settlement of Megalopolis

• 17th & 18th Centuries - Settlement from Western Europe steadily increases - Many were religious dissenters • 19th Century - Dominant immigrant groups • English, Irish, Welsh, Scots, and Germans

NYC

• 20 million people, 3 states • Five boroughs - Manhattan • Outer Boroughs - The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, & Staten Island

Port Cities

• Colonial Port Cities - Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore - Colonial economy was focused on the export of raw materials to Europe - All of the 10 largest cities in the first 1790 U.S. census were port cities

Water Issues

• Farm & forest lands collect water for urbanized areas • 19 reservoirs provide water for more than 9 million people in New York city

Early European Settlements

• Fort Nassau - Dutch fur traders - Located at present day Albany, NY • New Amsterdam - Dutch settlement - Taken over by British in 1664, renamed New York • British Puritans - Settle Cape Cod area - Boston • William Penn, - British Quaker founds Pennsylvania • Maryland settled by British Catholics

Historical Settlement -Native Americans

- Eastern Woodland culture complex - Agriculture, hunting and gathering • Cultivated beans, corn, squash • Hunted deer and other game • Cleared trees for farming, fuel, building homes, and making tools

Natural Hazards

• Hurricanes - Move from South along Atlantic Coast - Potential for heavy property damage - Warning systems prevent loss of life • Heavy Snowfall - Property damage - Power outages - Injuries & occasional fatalities - Disruption of aviation and surface transportation • Flooding - Summer thunderstorms - Urban areas with impervious surfaces worsen flooding

Other Cities

• Large cities in Megalopolis linked by many smaller urban centers • Ex.: Portland, Providence, Hartford, Albany, Trenton, Richmond

Late 19th Century Settlement: Ellis Island

• Late 19th Century - Increasing numbers of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe • Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, Austro-Hungarian Empire • Italy, Greece • Arrived and were processed at Ellis Island • Some sought employment in mines and factories of Pennsylvania & Great Lakes region • Others stayed in Boston, NY, and Philadelphia, adding to the population of those cities

Cities & Suburbs

• More people in the region now live in suburbs than central cities • Post-industrialization accompanied by suburbanization • Post-WWII - Levittown

20th Century Settlement of Megalopolis

• Post WWI, strict immigration quotas limited new foreign-born migrants • Millions of African-Americans from the South moved to Megalopolis because of employment opportunities • 1960s immigration laws were liberalized - Millions of new immigrants and refugees - From Latin America, Asia, Africa

Diversity in Suburbia

• Prior to the 1960s, suburbs were overwhelmingly white • Discriminatory housing policies - Racial covenants end in 1948 - Late 1960s fair housing laws • Ethnic enclaves weaken • Heterolocalism develops

Baltimore

• Racial tension • Urban decay • White flight • Urban redevelopment

Atlantic City

• Revitalization of 19th century tourism center • Can Atlantic City meet the needs of tourists and locals? • Atlantic City casinos and hotels image from box.

Climate

• Temperate, year round precipitation - Northern: long cold winters, short, relatively cooler summers - Southern: humid subtropical, hot, humid summers, mild winters

Philadelphia

• The "City of Brotherly Love" • William Penn • Key role in the American Revolution • 2.1 million in 1950 • ~1.6 million now

The Fall Line

• The eastern boundary between the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain • Area of steep cliffs, rapids, and waterfalls • Marks the highest navigable point on rivers • Provided power for water mills, early factories • Early settlements along the fall line included: Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond

Land Cover

• Three Dominant Types - Urbanized - Farmland - Forest land • Megalopolis is the most highly urbanized region in North America • Much of the land cover is still farm and forest

Estuaries

• Transition zones between river and ocean systems (bays, marshes, deltas) • Rich plant and animal life • Many formed by the flooding of glacial valleys after the last Ice Age (when sea levels were lower) • Often highly threatened by urbanization - They provided early human settlements with abundant resources and easy water transport

D.C.

• World' first planned capital in modern times • Major industries - Federal gov. - Tourism - Legal, consulting, high tech. • Large African-American pop.