Globalization is the main marker in American Cities, while European cities are continually growing into that trend. It’s true that no American City has the history that European Cities have, but American Cities grew out of a New World filled with different people and commerce, while European Cities have to adjust their workings to fit into this perspective.  I enjoyed visualizing Manhattan as a medieval village. I do see medieval styled building in Greenwich Village with its strange streets. It’s also strange to visualize early American cities having homologous populations of people with the same background and religion. Now, every American major city has many ethnic enclaves. It’s interesting that America’s diverse population does truly come from people seeking opportunity, as America’s diversity began to increase during the late 1600’s- 1700’s due to its increased economic strength. America became America when it built efficient centers of commerce. My AP US History teacher made sure to stress that the Revolutionary War was not mainly do to ideological reasonings, but financial reasons. As soon  as it became more profitable to separate, Americans began to oppose the British.

Cities can only grow with innovation, as evident in their boom after the Industrial Revolution. As commerce increased and technology increased, cities increased. Populations grew as the buildings grew. Those who did not grow and look forward to change fell behind. North Eastern Cities grew economically and culturally, while the South did not move forward and stuck to its traditional way of life. The differences between the North and South are still visible today, as the South is generally poorer with worse education and the North generally does better in these areas. Cities, as hotbeds of opportunity, could not support all the people it drew. The cities grew to surrounding areas. As the city expanded, ethnic and economic lines of its people deepened. Wealthier on the outside and poorer on the inside As the cities’ growth slowed, these divides became more evident. I wonder why Toronto is not as greatly affected by these divides?  This trend is starting to reverse and wealthier people are moving back to cities and poorer people are moving further out. When did moving back to the city become more desirable?

Discussion Question: How has technology benefited the city, bringing people together, and how does technology create a divide in the city?