1. Urbanization

2. Americans Migrate to the Cities • The city offered many things that the rural areas did not • electricity, running water, modern plumbing • Many people came from rural areas looking for better jobs and better pay • Immigrants already living in the cities did not have the money or resources to move out • Urban life quickly spread throughout the US

3. The New Urban Environment • Skyscrapers • The price of land greatly increased with city population • business owners found it easier to expand ‘up’ rather than ‘out’

4. The New Urban Environment • As the streets became more crowded, the use of mass transit became a very popular mode of transportation

5. Mass Transportation • Cable and trolley cars (earliest forms of mass transit)

6. Mass Transportation • Chicago was the first city to build an elevated railroad

7. Mass Transportation • Boston (then NY) were the first to install subway systems

8. Separation by Class • The wealthiest families established fashionable districts in the hearts of cities • They built extravagant homes that overshadowed the lower-class citizens • This group became known as the ‘high society’

9. Separation by Class • Industrialization, through job creation, greatly helped create a growing middle class • Many people in the middle class took advantage of mass transit, and moved out of the cities to the suburbs.

10. Separation by Class • The lower/working class were the majority of city populations • 3 out of 4 city-dweller lived in tenements • In order to supplement their low income, families sent their children to work

11. Urban Problems • Crime was an increasing problem in cities • Only got worse as the population grew • Much was to blame on an increase in alcohol abuse

12. Urban Problems • Disease and pollution also became topics of concern • Poor sewage disposal caused sever sickness • horse waste covered the streets • Smoke and soot filled the air ( accumulated from coal and wood fires)

13. Urban Politics • Thepolitical machine came about because cities grew faster than their government • Inexchange for votes, party bosses would supply city-dweller with jobs, food, protection, etc.

14. Urban Politics • Party bosses not only controlled the political machine, they controlled the city’s finances • Many became rich through fraud or graft • Bosses accepted bribes and gave control over public utilities to their friends