A Tale of Twelve Cities and Ten Regions

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.