Abstract
In the preceding chapter, we discussed the growth of the United States from 1790 to 2010 as the population expanded and spread across the continent. People did not diffuse evenly across the land. Population centers developed in resource-rich areas near the coast and along waterways where farming first dominated the landscape and along trade routes such as the Mississippi River. Changes in both rural and urban economic opportunities resulted in the movement of people from rural to urban areas. “The flow of labor off U.S. farms during 1940–85 was driven by an increase in economic opportunity in cities relative to what existed on farms, indicating the dominant role of economic incentives.” At the same time, mechanization of farming reduced the number of jobs needed on farms.
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Notes
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Odum, 1971, ibid.
- 4.
The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island while the Combined Statistical Area contains almost two times the land area and is known as the New York-Newark-Bridgeport CSA.
- 5.
Sam Roberts. “New York doesn’t care to remember the Civil War” New York Times. December 26, 2010.
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James D. Hamilton, professor of economics at University of California San Diego, has written extensively on the influence of oil shocks on the economy. For a list of his publications see the following link: http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~jhamilton/#publications.
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Theme parks and amusement parks are synonymous in this context according to the literature. The first theme park established in Orlando was “Gator Land” (1949) which is still in operation today, and the latest one is the “Holy Land Experience” (2002), a registered non-profit, non-denominational Christian theme park and church that includes an exhibit where guests may partake of the last supper with Jesus and his disciples.
- 9.
Pew Research Center Publications “For Nearly Half of America, the Grass is Greener Somewhere Else” January 29, 2009 http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1096/community-satisfaction-top-cities.
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Lawrence Powell. 2012. The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans. Harvard University Press.
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Pierce Lewis. 2003. New Orleans, the Making of an Urban Landscape.
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Powel, 2012, ibid.
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Lewis, 2003, ibid.
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Federal Writers’ Project, 1938, ibid, pg. 12.
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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of New Orleans in 2013 was 76 % of its pre-Katrina level.
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Colten C. E. 2000. Too Much of a Good Thing: Industrial Pollution in the Lower Mississippi River . In Transforming New Orleans and Its Environs. C.E. Colton (Ed). University of Pittsburgh Press. pg. 148–49.
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William Ashworth. 2007. Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the High Plains. The Countryman Press Woodstock, VT, pg. 59.
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According to: http://www.lasvegasmove.com/las-vegas-planned-communities.asp
; “The master plan is the be-all end-all to community living in the 21st Century. You will appreciate a complete community to support your every need from schools and churches to shopping and the arts. Housing ranges from the low priced up to the very expensive, and in any desired size or floor plan. Examples of these communities include: Summerlin, Green Valley, Anthem, Desert Shores, The Lakes, Seven Hills and many more!”
.
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Marc Reisner. 1993, Cadillac desert: The American West and its disappearing water. Penguin.
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National Geographic Magazine. April 2014. Commuter Science. p. 20.
- 32.
These were the only cities of the ones we discuss in this book that were included in the National Geographic article.
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Day, J.W., Hall, C. (2016). A Tale of Twelve Cities and Ten Regions. In: America’s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions. Copernicus, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3243-6_4
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