America Becomes Urban: The Development of U.S. Cities and Towns, 1780–1980

by Eric H. Monkkonen

America's celebrated by poets, courted by politicians, castigated by social reformers. In their numbers and complexity they challenge comprehension. Why is urban America the way it is? Eric Monkkonen offers a fresh approach to the myths and the history of US urban development, giving us an unexpected and welcome sense of our urban origins. His historically anchored vision of our cities places topics of finance, housing, social mobility, transportation, crime, planning, and growth into a perspective which explains the present in terms of the past and ofers a point from which to plan for the future.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 1988

Reviews

[May Ling]

I never took so many notes!

I am not an urbanization expert, but my goodness Monkkonen is wonderful in this book. What he's saying is quite profound as relates to how you make a city work and what city actually is, a reflection of the people not the other way around. The city makes the people and the city is a technological advancement in and of itself. Brilliant!

One of the better historical references if you're trying to understand very simply and directly, why are cities what they are vs. rural parts of the US. Great great stuff!

[Timothy]

Monkonnen an urban historian who has written on policing, wrote this general history of cities and towns in the United States, arranged topically rather than chronologically. Rejecting Humanists (like Mumford) who lack demographic background, and "New Urban Historians" (like Stephen Thernstom, and Sam Bass Warner, Jr) who use vast statistical arrays applied to narrow perspectives, Monkennen utilizes both perspectives to draw a picture of urbanization that incorporates both the internal dynamics of the city and external forces that shaped the
urban experience. Knowing the city, argues Monkennen, is critical to
knowing the American experience.

His thesis: The city went from a regulatory corporation to a service-oriented city. In 1780, legislation detailed that the public take care of sidewalks, patrol streets at night, and encourage volunteer firefighters. By 1880, cities created professional institutions such as police forces, firefighting companies, and building codes that provided knowledge, service, and skills to
residents of cities. Outside forces such as electricity, streetcars, and automobiles made a lasting impression on the urban experience that was created, encouraged, and altered by the autonomous will of the individual cities. Believes that urbanization is the essence of the American experience