The Growth of a City

by Eleanor Joyce, City of Salem Schools

and

edited by Cheri LaPorte Augusta County Schools

Staunton: Reasons for Growth

• State movement for care of the insane 1825

• National trend toward education, especially for women 1820 Western Lunatic Asylum 1828

VA Inst. For Deaf, Dumb and Blind 1828Augusta Female Seminary 1842Virginia Female Institute 1846Wesleyan Female Institute 1850.

• Improvements to travel 1830’s – Valley Turnpike

• Availability of fresh water 1848

• Safety from danger of invasion

• Internal improvements hotels, banks, cemeteries, churches, attractive architecture

• VA Central Railroad reached Staunton 1854 Staunton Depot and American Hotel

• Vital Industriesgrist and saw mills, factories that made wagons, boots, shoes, woolen clothing, and blankets

• Telegraph and gas lines 1850’s

• Mobilization Center for the Confederacy during Civil War Arsenals, workshops and warehoused erected

Functions of Towns and Cities

• Security, defense

• Religious Centers

• Trade Centers

• Government Administration

• Manufacturing Centers

• Service Centers

Influences of Urban Areas

• Nation-building (monuments/symbols)

• Transportation/Communication Hubs

• Magnets for migration

• Seed beds for new ideas and technologies

• Diversity leads to creativity in the arts

• Education centers (Universities)

• Corporate Headquarters/regional offices

• Media Centers (News/entertainment)

Problems Associated with Urban Growth

Urban Problems

• Transportation issues

• Rich and poor neighborhoods isolated from each other

• Providing essential services – water, sewage, electricity, schools, clinics

• Pollution

• Sprawl – loss of agricultural land

What is the best location for a large city?

• Near Water

• Near Resources

• Where else?...........

Patterns of urban development occur according to the site and situation of locations:

Where it is and what’s around it.

Site and Situation

Patterns of urban development occur

according to the site and situation of locations: Where it is and what’s

around it.

What is meant by site?

Site is the actual location of a city.

Cities will grow and prosper in locations that offer some advantages.

Examples of Site• Harbor sites: the site of a natural harbor• Island sites: the site of islands in strategic

locations• Fall line sites: the site where a river meets a line

of falls• Confluence sites: the site where rivers converge• Hilltop sites: the site at the top of a hill• Oasis sites: the site in the desert where

caravans stopped for water• Sites where rivers narrow

New York City became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Alexandria, Egypt became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Istanbul, Turkey became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Paris, France became a major city because it is

located on an Island in the Seine River.

Hong Kong, China became a major city because it is located on an Island.

Singapore became a major city because it is located on an Island.

Richmond, VA became a major city because it is located on the fall line of the James River.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania became a major city because it is located at the site where three rivers

converge (confluence or the Ohio River, the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River).

Khartoum, Sudan became a major city because it is located at the site where two rivers converge (confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile

Rivers).

Rome, Italy became a major city because it is located at on a hill overlooking the city.

Athens, Greece became a major city because it is located at on a hill overlooking the city.

Jerusalem, Israel became a major city because it is located on a hill overlooking the city.

Damascus, Syria became a major city because it is located at the site of an oasis.

Siwa, Egypt became a city because it is located at the site of an oasis.

London, England became a major city because it is located at the site where the Thames River

narrows.

Quebec City, Quebec became a major city because it is located at the site where the St.

Lawrence River narrows.

What is meant by situation?

Situation is another name for relative location—the location of a city with respect to other geographic features, regions, resources, and transport routes.

• Command of land between rivers

• Command of straits and land bridges

• Focal point of religious pilgrimage

• Along trade routes

• Supply station for ships

• Along the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad

• Along the Trans-Siberian Railroad

Examples of Situation

Baghdad, Iraq became a major city because it

commands the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Istanbul, Turkey commands the straits and land bridge between Asia and Europe.

City of religious pilgrimageMecca, Saudi Arabia—Muslims-Hajj

Muslims on a Hajj to Mecca

City of religious pilgrimageVaranasi (Benares), India --Hindu

Hindus bathing in the Ganges River

Samarkand, Uzbekistan and Xi’an, China developed along the Silk Road, an ancient trade

route across Asia

Timbuktu, Mali developed along the trans Sahara trade route where salt was traded for gold.

Timbuktu

Singapore is the site of maritime

(sea) trade because of it’s location on the tip of the Malay

peninsula.

Cape Town, South Africa grew up on the southern tip of Africa because it supplied

ships when they traveled from Europe

to Asia

Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California developed on the Transcontinental railroad in

the USA

Omaha, Nebraska

Sacramento, California

Novosibirsk, Russia and Vladivostok, Russia grew up along the Trans-Siberian Railroad.