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The rise of factories and factories has attracted a large influx of people into cities, and put forward new demands on urban infrastructure.

The period of rapid technological progress in the United States, known as the Industrial Revolution, may have occurred in parts of the 18th and 19th centuries, but its impact has resonated for decades, affecting everything from food, clothing, travel, and housing—especially in the city.

Although American cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore did exist before the start of the Industrial Revolution, as people flocked to urban areas to take advantage of job opportunities, new factories, factories, and other mass production sites promoted their growth. But this is only part of the story.

As the urban population continues to increase, these cities are facing the challenge of how to deal with the influx of population. Problems such as housing supply, overcrowding and the spread of infectious diseases must be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise newly industrialized cities will risk losing their citizens and the factories that employ them. This is what happened.

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The Industrial Revolution began in England in the mid-1700s: decades after the country’s first steam-powered engine was produced. The textile industry first benefited from emerging technologies such as Richard Ackwright’s "Water Shelf" (patented in 1769), James Hargreaves’s "Spinning Jeanne" (patented in 1770) and Egypt Demon Cartwright's power loom (patented in 1786). Factories capable of mass production of cotton fabrics have sprung up all over the country.

It didn't take long for British industrialists to seize the opportunity of the fledgling American manufacturing industry. In 1793, the British Samuel Slater opened a textile factory in Pottucket, Rhode Island. Using technology developed in England and new products, such as Eli Whitney's cotton gin (patented in 1794), the industrialization of the United States continued.

The so-called American (or second) Industrial Revolution began in the second half of the 19th century, when the country was rebuilding after the Civil War, which was the bloodiest conflict to date. At the same time, waves of European immigrants began to come to the United States in search of work-a large proportion of them worked in factories in industrial cities.

"After the Civil War, the United States has gradually transformed from a rural-based agricultural society to an urban-based society, with large factories replacing small shops for production," a historian at Hempstead Hofstra University in New York Alan Singer said that he is the Great Liberation Day in New York. "Urban growth is because industrial factories require a lot of labor, and workers and their families need to live near their workplaces. Factories and cities have attracted millions of immigrants in the United States looking for work and a better life."

But according to Daniel Hammel, professor of geography and planning at the University of Toledo and associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, the rule of the city did not happen overnight. "Even during the Industrial Revolution, most Americans lived in rural areas," he explained. "Until around 1920, we were basically a rural country."

In fact, the 1920 US Census was the first time that more than 50% of the population lived in urban areas. Even so, Hamel said, "We are not talking about big cities; we are talking about small settlements, in many cases 2,500 or 3,000 people."

The Black Diamond Express train on the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Pennsylvania, circa 1898.

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The 1870s also witnessed the rapid expansion of the country's railway system. Prior to this, in order for the city to become a manufacturing center, it must be located in a place with water sources, such as East Coast ports (such as New York City or Boston), one of the Great Lakes (such as Buffalo or Cleveland), canals (such as Albany or Acker) Lun) or rivers (such as Cincinnati or Pittsburgh). However, due to the continuous development of railways, places with underdeveloped waterways, such as Scranton, Indianapolis and Dayton, have the ability to transport and receive supplies and goods.

One of the by-products of the Industrial Revolution was the transformation of American farming methods, which in turn reduced the labor required to cultivate the land. “There was a time when you needed a big family to cultivate your land,” Hammel explained. "But as industrialization—especially in the early 20th century—agricultural production became more mechanized, we did not need as much labor in rural areas." This prompted (or in some cases allowed) the need for family farms no longer Young people look for opportunities in urban factories.

Hammel said that the industrialization of agriculture has also affected African American tenant farmers living in the southern states. "Suddenly, landowners no longer need so many people to work on their land, so they moved [tenant farmers] off the land," he pointed out. "In essence, that was the beginning of the Great Migration. From then to World War II, African Americans flooded the Mississippi Delta, especially the Midwestern cities." Some of the most common urban destinations include Chicago, Milwaukee, and Detroit. , Cleveland, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and New York.

The Industrial Revolution caused towns to become cities, and existing cities continued to expand, both in terms of population (new immigrants from rural areas in Europe and the United States) and geographic footprint, they are now factories and other buildings needed for manufacturing.

Although job opportunities are the main attraction for most newly enlisted urbanites, it also leaves them with the problem of having to find a place to live. Hamel points out that for many people, this means moving into cramped, dark apartment buildings: some of them are already considered old, while others (especially in Chicago) have been hurriedly pieced together, quality Extremely low.

But at the same time, Hamel emphasized that population density itself is not a problem. "There are very wealthy, very healthy people who live in extremely high densities," he explained. "But if you don't have much money, then the density of some of these properties plus lack of light and airflow is a major problem." Specifically, as Singh pointed out, this is a public health problem. "Rapid, unregulated urbanization means overcrowded housing for workers, substandard housing, inadequate infrastructure (including water and sewage systems), and the spread of epidemics such as tuberculosis," he pointed out.

Gradually, as people have a broader understanding of how people get sick, cities have established public health departments dedicated to reducing preventable measures by improving environmental hygiene, sanitation, infrastructure, housing, food and water quality, and workplace safety. Sickness and death. Although many of these areas are still in progress, these social advances were originally out of necessity when the Industrial Revolution promoted the development of American cities.

Dr. Elizabeth Yuko is a bioethicist and journalist, and an adjunct professor of ethics at Fordham University. She has written for numerous publications, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic Monthly.

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