Stilgoe, John R. Borderland: Origins of the American Suburb, 1820-1939. West Hanover, MA: Halliday Lithograph, 1988. 129-49. Print.
These 21 pages cover the development of the suburbs of Philadelphia and Chicago in the mid 1800s. Both of these cities' suburbs were developed as a result of the expansion of mass transportation to the surrounding land. In Philadelphia, it was horsecar service that brought people out to the suburbs, while in Chicago, it was the railroads. These new towns offered low cost living (similar prices to that in the city), with a greater amount of space, scenic vistas, and a convenient way of reaching the city. In addition, during this time, it became very profitable to invest in land in these new suburban areas as transportation started to reach out to them. For example, once the first horsecar line reached the edge of Jefferson Township outside of Chicago, land values skyrocketed.
These new suburbs made sense for two big reasons. One reason was that property values were extremely low. Houses with yards and working sewers in the suburbs could be bought for the same prices as an older, cramped apartment in the dirty city. This meant that working class families could move out to the outskirts of the city and live in a more upper-class environment. The fringes of town were no longer for the wealthy. The other reason that the suburbs were so successful was that there was a quick and convenient mode of transportation to reach the city. While low housing prices were important, this cannot be overlooked. If new houses were built, but no railroad or horsecars reached the suburbs, no one would buy them. In addition, if the transportation was either slow or infrequent, the houses still would not be purchased. The horsecars or railroads allowed commuters, these working class men who just purchased houses, to be able to travel with ease into and out of the city for an affordable price.
This process in Philadelphia and Chicago shows the beginnings of suburbanization, as a result of low cost housing and mass transit. More importantly, though, this demonstrates that this is not a new phenomenon. Sure, the idea was developed in the 19th Century, but still has an impact on our lives today.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Introduction and Project Summary
Hello everyone.
I figure I will kick this blog off with introduction of myself. My name is Chris Henchey. I am currently a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University and I am studying Geography with (hopefully) a minor in German. I am originally from just outside Boston, Massachusetts, in a suburb called Melrose. I am a 3 season distance runner at OWU, and I also enjoy photography, trains, hiking, and photographing trains.
Enough with the introductions. So, the main question is: what is this project all about? This project will be the study of public transportation and how it alters the urban and suburban landscape in the cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Now, after reading this, you may be asking: why this? As previously stated, I have a deep interest in trains, which stems back from when I was a little kid, living across the street from the train. I would sometimes run to the door to watch it go by, always fascinated. My father helped in the situation, as he was a train-buff as well, and so was my grandfather. While I enjoy trains, I am also of the opinion that they are a preferable transportation mode as opposed to cars because transit is more environmentally friendly, low-stress, and in some ways, quicker. In this case, trains includes light rail, rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and high speed rail.
With this project, I am looking to see how the building of public transportation affects the communities it serves in terms of tangible elements, such as new houses, new retail space, new roadways/bikepaths, etc., rather than intangible aspects, such as average income, population growth rates, congestion rates, air pollution, etc. This will be done by a photography method called rephotography, which involves taking an old photograph and retaking it in the present day to demonstrate changes over time. Of course, not all places, like suburbs, will have ground photographs available. Instead, aerial photographs may be used to cover those places. In a way, this project is a challenge to opponents of public transit. If the growth and development is positive for the community and makes life easier for people, then why isn't this being done in other big cities like Columbus and Indianapolis?
This project is currently in its beginning stages, so I will have more information and detail in the coming weeks and months. Until then, if you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me at cahenche(at)owu (dot)edu (just replace the at with @ and the dot with .).
Cheers!
-Chris
I figure I will kick this blog off with introduction of myself. My name is Chris Henchey. I am currently a sophomore at Ohio Wesleyan University and I am studying Geography with (hopefully) a minor in German. I am originally from just outside Boston, Massachusetts, in a suburb called Melrose. I am a 3 season distance runner at OWU, and I also enjoy photography, trains, hiking, and photographing trains.
Enough with the introductions. So, the main question is: what is this project all about? This project will be the study of public transportation and how it alters the urban and suburban landscape in the cities of Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Now, after reading this, you may be asking: why this? As previously stated, I have a deep interest in trains, which stems back from when I was a little kid, living across the street from the train. I would sometimes run to the door to watch it go by, always fascinated. My father helped in the situation, as he was a train-buff as well, and so was my grandfather. While I enjoy trains, I am also of the opinion that they are a preferable transportation mode as opposed to cars because transit is more environmentally friendly, low-stress, and in some ways, quicker. In this case, trains includes light rail, rapid transit, commuter rail, intercity rail, and high speed rail.
With this project, I am looking to see how the building of public transportation affects the communities it serves in terms of tangible elements, such as new houses, new retail space, new roadways/bikepaths, etc., rather than intangible aspects, such as average income, population growth rates, congestion rates, air pollution, etc. This will be done by a photography method called rephotography, which involves taking an old photograph and retaking it in the present day to demonstrate changes over time. Of course, not all places, like suburbs, will have ground photographs available. Instead, aerial photographs may be used to cover those places. In a way, this project is a challenge to opponents of public transit. If the growth and development is positive for the community and makes life easier for people, then why isn't this being done in other big cities like Columbus and Indianapolis?
This project is currently in its beginning stages, so I will have more information and detail in the coming weeks and months. Until then, if you have any questions about it, feel free to contact me at cahenche(at)owu (dot)edu (just replace the at with @ and the dot with .).
Cheers!
-Chris
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