Chapter 3: The Foundations of the American Urban System

Frontier Urbanization

The colonization of America by the British gradually led to the colonies establishing themselves in the trade system. Several cities became known as entrepots, which were intermediary centers of trade and transshipment. Some such cities included New York, Boston and Newport. These cities dominated the market area which were dependent on them, which became known as the hinterlands. 

Following the American Revolution, colonists created a Constitution that favored the growth of cities and allowed for a great deal of free trade amongst the states and people. With this new government came many important changes, including that there was more interstate commerce, rather than international trade back to a mother country. Also, as there was more westward expansion, new important cities developed, usually those close to rivers such as New Orleans and Buffalo. 

Furthermore, there became an increase in specialization of cities, as certain regions became known for specific exports. For example, eastern cities became known for manufacturing especially Newark, Providence and Lowell. This was due to their comparative advantage, which meant the best way for a place to efficiently utilize their resources (for example, the rivers which a city was located on would allow it to build factories). 

Vance's Mercantile Model

Urban geographer James Vance, Jr. came up with a theory of the evolution of America

n urban systems:

1. Exploration - this was time in which discoverers came to America from the Old World in search of new places to colonize and new trades in which to invest in 
2. Exploitation of natural resources - during this time, settlers discovered the natural resources available to them in their new habitats (New England - timber and beaver pelts, Newfoundland - codfish)
3. Farm based production - during this time, settlers began to produce many staple products (tobacco, cotton, grain) and the excess crop was sold for export. It was in this manner that many of the gateway cities began to emerge because of the great deal of goods that they exported. 
4. Establishment of interior depot centers - demand for staple exports remained steady, yet the population continued to grow. Thus there was a build-up of cities further from the waterfront, increasing the need for travel routes.  Gradually the interior cities became known as wholesale collection centers. 
5. Economic maturity and central place infilling - There are established areas for manufacturing, such as the inland gateway cities and the gateway ports. Agricultural settlements begin to be established further inland, along the trade routes, becoming market towns. 

Vance offers a clear and concise way to understand how American cities came about, from gateway ports to their gradual movement inland. It combines the central place model shown at right, and adds a history to it, to explain how the central place model could have come about. People are willing to travel a certain distance for certain goods, and that explains how the settlement patterns are formed. 

Principles of Urban Growth 

One theory is that existing cities enjoy certain benefits that newly formed cities do not, called their initial advantage. This is due in part to the fact that the earliest settled cities had the advantage of having settled in prime locations. 

One theory that was developed was that of the rank size rule, which shows the relationship between the cities size, their population and their rank within an urban system.  More information can be found here. 

A second theory that evolved was that of central place theory by Walter Christaller. This essentially is the theory of centralization of cities, and that there are numerous smaller settlements located outside of bigger more densely populated cities.