The United States and Urbanization: How the US Redefined the Way We Congregate

Looking at the history of urbanization, the United States proves an interesting case. Prior to the settlement of the colonies, cities had been established around the world for some millennia. From the time of ancient civilizations such as Athens, Greece, and Rome, people have been coming together and organizing themselves around a central figure. In the earliest cities this central figure was often religious ideals or religious structures. Congregating, a term which we often associate with a religious gathering, implies a gathering of people, and the historical ties of congregations to religious beliefs remains. Yet today our congregations gather for much different purposes. While religious figures were often at the forefront of urban development in its earliest days with cities designed to appease and pay homage to the gods, religious ideologies continued to have an effect on the development of cities long after these ancient cities were gone and long after the center of cities had shifted from the church to the market. During the 14th and 15th century in Western Europe, particularly England, an ideal based on a search for divine recognition began to reshape the way people conducted business from the time when feudal lords began to capitalize on the labor of a developing working class. What later became a quest for material acquisition began with a quest for salvation. The idea of asceticism, according to Weber, was largely responsible for this. The protestant ethic, derived from puritanism, suggested that wealth and capital gain had not intrinsic worth in their purchasing value but in their spiritual value, as a recognition from God of salvation (Weber 1905). While this new way of thinking certainly influenced the development of cities in Western Europe, it would have even greater influence in the development of the United States.

Unlike cities in Western Europe which had been established for some time, the construction of the cities in the colonial United States took place in a land characterized by abundant space and without many of the political and economic limits facing other urban spaces. Most notable among early colonial developments was the use of port cities for their access to water and resulting ability to trade. While this was a necessity for any city at this time, key differences in the development of cities in the colonial United States meant the growth was much more prominent and rapid. The “absence of an autonomous government”, lack of “independent city economic rights”, and construction without city walls, all made the United States a prime location for immense urban development (Gottdiener, Hutchinson, Ryan 2015). As real estate drove this growth, more and more settlements began to develop throughout the continental United States. As political centers were established, city construction happened quickly throughout new establishments in the continental US, followed closely by an influx of citizens (Gottdiener et al. 2015). Advances in construction technology during the 19th and early 20th century allowed cities to become more dense as cities began to grow upward with the development of highrises and eventually skyscrapers. Shortly after urban development took a major turn as it became known for its metropolitan regions which now encompassed not only developments revolving around business but also social, residential, and recreational areas (Gottdiener et al. 2015). This largely created the urban areas we are familiar with today shortly followed by the expansion and movement of families into the suburbs.

While urban expansion has primarily been driven by various forms of capitalism in the United States there have been major changes as to how we understand urbanization and urbanism. What started as a harvesting of abundant resources and land has turned the United States overwhelmingly into an urban and suburban society. As cities have expanded so have the suburban regions around them; most notable and relevant for our generation, the suburbs have experienced immense growth in our lifetime changing urban sociology so that we now recognize the multi-centered structure of these urban regions. Although we are most recently familiar with the influx of people into the suburbs, I believe we are also on the brink of another shift, primarily occurring within the millennial generation. Although the suburbs proved to be prime areas for our parents to raise a family during a time of primarily economic growth, millennials from these areas have been raised largely in a prosperous affluent lifestyle while also facing challenges of a tough job market and today are returning to the city (Frizell 2014).While cities have often attracted many young people, it seems something may be different this time, with many in the younger generation staying within the city limits and growth expected to continue (Podmolik 2015).

Links:

Frizell, S. (2014). The New American Dream Is Living in a City, Not Owning a House in the Suburbs. Time.Com, 1

Podmolik, Mary Ellen. 2015. "Record Number of Downtown Apartments to Arrive This Year." chicagotribune.com, February 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015 (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/ct-downtown-development-0211-biz-20150210-story.html)