CH 7 Megalopolis

Fall line

A line where rivers descend from the piedmont onto the coastal plains over rapids and waterfalls

Long Island Express

A major hurricane that occurred on Sept 21, 1938 that killed 700 people

Piedmont

A plateau region between the Atlantic coastal plain and the Appalachian mountains.

Quota Laws

After WWI, quota laws restricted how many people were allowed to enter into the United States. Allowed millions of African Americans from the South to fill employment needs in megalopolis. These quota laws were liberalized in the 1960s, allowing millions of new immigrants to megalopolic

What are some of the environmental impacts of the dense populations and historical legacy of industrial development in Megalopolis?

Air quality is poor. Need for a mass transit system. A land use planning approach is also lacking which could resolve some of the environmental issues associated with the region.

White Flight

As African Americans and other races moved into urban areas, white citizens moved out

Why were the port cities so strategic to the economic success of Megalopolis in its early years of EuroAmerican settlement and expansion?

Because the valuable resources of America were shipped to Europe through the major port cities. New York became important because of its easy access to the Hudson and Mohawk rivers to the Great Lakes and other interior locations

Truck Farming

Farmers markets. Important form of agricultural production in the area. farmers transport their own produce to market in trucks.

Ellis Island

Historical gateway for millions of immigrants to the US from 1892 to 1934

Racial Covenants

In 1948, racial covenants made it unconstitutional to discriminate based on race when selling houses.

Farmland Assessment Law

Issue where high land prices forces out many farmers who cannot pay the high taxes. In Maryland, the Farmland Assessment Law requires that the assessed value of the productive farmland be based on the agricultural productivity of the land alone

What geographer first came up with the term Megalopolis, and how have geographers used this concept to understand urban patterns in the Atlantic Northeast?

Jean Gottmann. Used it to describe how major cities in the region have become one large metropolitan area. Used to explain conurbanation.

Quakers

Led by William Penn, the Quakers established Pennsylvania, an area along the Delaware river in 1682.

Planned Cities

Penn. was one of the first planned cities. Planned cities are typically constructed in a previously underdeveloped area.

Puritans

Religious group that founded Massachusetts in the 1630s. They founded the city of Boston and established settlements throughout central and southern New England.

What is "white flight," and how did this process help determine the socioeconomic and racial character of U.S suburbs in the immediate post-World War II years?

The mass migration of white families to the suburbs outside of the city. The middle class families that could afford to leave the cities moved to suburbs, dividing the suburbs along economic and racial lines as well.

Louisiana Purchase

The purchase of a lot of western land from france in 1803. Encouraged westward settlement and established New York as the dominant economic center of the US because of its access to the interior through rivers.

What are three of the most important specialty crops grown in the rural parts of the Megalopolis region?

perishable foods. cheese, tomatoes, blueberries, cranberries

Conurbanation

an extended urban area, consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more major cities

Deindustrialization

after WWII, the reduced need for industrial labor, leading megalopolis to shift to a more service based economy. Succeeded because it was less dependent on heavy industry and had a larger variety of lighter and more sophisticated industries