FOREWORD BY THE COMM ITTEE

THE METROPOLI TAN COMMUNI TY by R . D . McKenz ie is one

of a series of monographs published under the direction of thePresident’s Research Committee on Social Trends, embodying

scientific information assembled for the u se of the Comm itteein the preparation of its report entitled Recent Social Trends

in the United States .

The Committee was named by President Herbert Hoover inDecember , 1929, to survey social changes in this country in order

to throw light on the emerging problems which now confront

or which may be expected later to confront the people of theUnited States . The undertaking is unique in our history . For

the first time the head of the Nationhas called “

upon a group of

social scientists to sponsor and direct a broad scientific study of

the factors of change in modern society.

Funds, for the researches were granted by the RockefellerFoundation, an expert staff was recruited from universities

and other scientific institutions, and a series of investigations

was begun early in 1930 and concluded in 1932 . The complete

report contains the findings of the President’s Research Committee on Social Trends together with twenty-nine chapters p re

pared by experts in the various fields .

Modern social life is so closely integrated as a whole that no

change can occur in any of its phases without _ affecting other

phases in some measure. Social problems arise largely from such

unplanned reactions of the rapidly changing phases of social

life upon themore stable phases . To give a fewexamples : changesin industrial technique react upon employment, changes in thecharacter of adult work affect educational needs, changes in

international relations affect domestic politics, changes in immi

gration policy affect the growth of population and the demand for

farm products, changes in consumption habits affect the demandfor leisure and facilities for enjoying it, changes in demands forsocial service by governmental agencies affect taxes and public

debts , changes in methods of communication tend to standardize

[ V ]

F OR EWORD

the mode of life in country and city . The effects noted in this

list of illustrations in their turn cause other changes, and so on

without assignable limits .

The usual practice of concentrating attention upon one social

problem at a time often betrays u s into overlooking these intricate

relations . Even whenwe find what appears to be a satisfactory

solution of a single problem , we are likely to produce new prob

lems by putting that solution into practice . Hence the_need of

making a comprehensive survey of the many social changeswhich are proceeding simultaneously, with'

an eye to their reao

tions upon one another . That task is attempted in the Committee

’

s report . Of’

course the list of changes there considered is

not exhaustive . N or can all the subtle interactions among social

changes be traced .

To safeguard the conclusions against bias, the researches were

restricted to the analysis of objective data . Since the availabledata do not cover all phases of the many subjects studied, it was

often impossible to answer questions of keen interest . But what

is set forthhas been made as trustworthy as the staff could make

it by careful checking with factual records . D iscussions which are

not limited by the severe requirements of scientific method have

their uses, which the Committee rates highly . Yet an investiga

tion initiated by the President in the hope that the findings may

be of service in dealing with the national problems of today and

tomorrow, should be kept as free as possible from emotional

coloring and unverifiable conjectures . Accuracy and reliability

are more important in such an undertaking than liveliness or

zeal to do good . If men and women of all shades of opinion from

extreme conservatism to extreme radicalism can find a common

basis of secure knowledge to“ build upon, the social changes

of the future may be brought in larger measure under the control

of social intelligence .

The Committee’

s researches were not confined to preparinga general report laid out with proper regard for balance . Intensive

investigations of considerable length were carried out in several

directions where the importance of the subjects warranted and

adequate data were available . Some investigators were rewarded

by especially valuable developments of their programs on a

scale which made it impossible to condense the results into a

single chapter without serious loss . I n these cases separate mono

graphs are necessary to provide adequate presentation of thevi ]

[ vii ]

with in the Committee’

s

to a

PREFACE

As one of a series of monographs prepared under the auspice s

of the President’s Research Committee on Social Trends , this

study attempts to show in an objective and verifiable manner

some of the basic changes that have taken place in Americancities since the advent of motor transportation. I n dealing with

such an enormously complex subject as the modern city, it was

necessary to select at the outset certain phases for treatment.

In making the selection, it was decided to deal with What seemed

to be the more important structural changes that are taking

place in American settlement in order to furnish a background

for the consideration of specific social problems . Since these

structural changes are related to , and can be expressed in terms

of, population movements and technological developments , such

phenomena furnish the basic statistical material used in this

report.

Owing to the limitations of the statistical data , ithas not beenpossible to disclose trends in all the fields covered in the study .

N ot infrequently it was necessary to resort to the case procedure

to suggest developments which may or may not be general in

character . I n presenting this monograph , therefore, the author is

deeply conscious that his investigation merely scratches thesurface of the subject under consideration . If he has succeeded

in presenting a frame of reference for further research in this

field , he will feel that his laborhas not been altogether in vain.

Since even the narrow field sketched in this monograph extends

beyond the realm of the knowledge of any one individual , a

number of experts in special fields were drafted to contribute

chapters on subjects that are closely related to the central theme

of this study . R . E . Park and Charles N ewcomb , of the University of Chicago , kindly contributed the chapter on Newspaper

Circulation and Metropolitan Regions ; Calvin Schmid , of theUniversity of Minnesota , prepared the material for the chapter

on the Expansion of the Political Area of the City ; Ernest M .

Fisher , of the University of Michigan, wrote the chapter on theExpansion of the Urban Land Area ; J Rowland Bibbins, Con

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PR E F A C E

su lting Engineer, Washington, D . C . , prepared the chapter on

The Economic Topography of the City : Urban Land Values ;Inez K . Rolph , of the Bureau of Foreignand Domestic Com

merce, wrote the chapter on Nucleation : the Pattern of Retail

Marketing ; Miller McClintock, of the Albert Russel ErskineBureau for Street Traffic Research , Harvard University , wrote

the chapter on Trends in Urban Traffic ; Shelby M . Harrison,

General D irector of the Russell Sage Foundation, and Flavel

Shurtleff , of the National Conference on City Planning, contributed the chapter on City and Regional Planning and Zoning ; andThomas H . Reed , of the University of Michigan, wrote the chapter on Metropolitan Government . To these contributors theauthor is deeply grateful .

I n addition to the special contributors mentioned above , theauthor wishes to expresshis thanks to the host of individuals andorgani z ation'

s that made available materials or furnished criti

cisms and suggestions in the preparation of the manuscript . Thenumber of such contributors is too large to permit individual

acknowledgment here . Their names, however , appear in thetext in connection with their specific contributions .

Worthy of especial acknowledgment for help cordially given

are : C . E . Batschelet, Bureau of the Census, United StatesDepartment of Commerce ; L . M . Bradish , Assistant Comptroller,Pullman Company , Chicago ; Ernest M . Fisher , University of

Michigan ; Howard W. Green, Cleveland Health Council ;Eugene Morris, Chairman, Central Freight Association, Chicago

"

;

Charles N ewcomb , University of Chicago ; Malcolm M . Willey ,University of Minnesota ; Ch

’

eng Hsin Chao and Clark Tibbitts,University of Michigan .

To the members of the President ’s Research Committee, whosupervised this study , particularly W. F . Ogburn, Director of

Research , the author desires to express his profound gratitudeboth for the opportunity afforded to make this study and for

the cordial guidance given in its execution .

Above all I am indebted to my wife, who worked with me

faithfully and arduously from first to last.

R . D . MCKENZ I E .

AN N ARBOR, M ICHIGAN,

Febru ary, 1933 .

”

CONTENTS

PART I : RECENT TRENDS IN POPULATION DI STRI BUTIONCHAPTER .

I

IIIIIIVV .

INTRODUCTIONTENDENCIES IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION .

URB AN AGGREGATIONTHE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT As AN AGGREGATION UNITFACTORS IN CONCENTRATION

PART II : THE RISE OF THE METROPOLITAN COMMUNITYVIVIIVIIIIX

XXIXII

THE METROPOLITAN REGION AS AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL UNITY . 69

MARGINS OF THE METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY 84

NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION AND METROPOLITAN REGIONS 98

SETTLEMENT MATURATION 1 1 1

PART III : INTERRELATIONS OF CITIESTHE STRUCTURE AND ORIENTATION OF SETTLEMENTDISTANCE AS A FACTOR IN THE INTERRELATIONS OF CITIES .

COMPETITION AND INTEGRATION .

PART IV : THE PROCESS OF METROPOLITAN EXPANSIONXIIIXIVXVXVI

POPULATION PATTERNING WITHIN THE METROPOLITAN COMMUNITYEXPANSION OF THE POLITICAL AREA OF THE CITYEXPANSION OF THE URB AN LAND AREA .

STRUCTURAL METAMORPHOSIS OF THE CITY .

XVII . THE ECONOMIC TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CITY : URB AN LAND VALUESXVIIIXIX

XXXXIXXIIXXIII

THE BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL COMPLEXI TY OF THE CITY .

NUCLEATION : THE PATTERN OF RETAIL MARKETING

PART V : PROBLEMS OF THE LARGE CITYTRENDS IN URBAN TRAFFICCITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING AND ! ONINGMETROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT .

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

APPENDIX

INDEX

PART I

RECENT TRENDS IN POPULATIONDISTRIBUTION

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

HE history of American settlement may be divided roughlyinto three periods . The first was the p re-railway era extending

from colonial times to about themiddle of the nineteenth century .

During this period settlement was confined, for the most part, to

areas accessible to navigable water ; that is, to the Atlantic seaboard and the main river systems east of the Mississippi . Aslate as 1850 over 90 p er cent of the population of the UnitedStates resided east of the Mississippi River, and the greater partof this east of the Al leghenies . During this river régime, settle

ment was of a segmentary character ; the various units as determined by geographic c onditionshad but slight economic or socialrelations With one another . Settlement was also primarily rural

in character ; almost four-fifths of the inhabitants of

the United States in 1850 resided in rural territory or in com

munities of less than

The second period of settlement development commenced

about 1850 with the expansion of the railroad . Beginning in theeastern part of the country, railroad construction extended

westward , first to the river centers of settlement as previously

established and , later, into new frontiers beyond the M l SS l SSlpp l .

By 1870 there was rail transportation to the Pacific Coast, andby 1900 all the main outlines of the present railway nethad beenestablished .

The story of settlement development during this railway era

need not be repeated here . Certain features, however, may

be called to attention . Freed from the dominance of the river

highways , settlement spread under the influence of railroad

transportation westward across the continent. The flow was

directed and controlled by the opportunities offered in the way of

soil and other natural resources . During the 30-year period from1870 to 1900 more than acres were added to thecultivated area of the United States, an extent of territory, as

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TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

E . L . Bogart estimates, equal to the land area of Great Britainand Europe except Spain .

1

This rush to new areas of agricultural opportunity lost itsmomentum shortly after the turn of the twentieth century . As

early as 1890 the Superintendent of the Census made the signifi

cant announcement that the frontier had disappeared, meaningthereby that populationhad become distributed over the land toa minimum density of two persons p er square mile . I n a review of

population growth in the United States for the decade 191 0 to1920 , W. S . Rossiter calls attention to the slackening of thiswestward drift .

Until 1900 the flow of p op u lation was mainly westward . From thatcensu s it ap p eared that the current ha'

d slackened, and changes of

p op u lation became more dep endent up on isolated developments in

different sections of the country, such as irrigation, the settlement of

Oklahoma , orcharding in the far N orthwest“

, and the mining and oil

discoveries of the Southwest. The eddies and currents of p op u la

tion tended increasingly to follow changing industrial development .

This naturally led to an accelerated increase in urban p op u lation.2

From the beginning of the westward movement, even before,

but more particularly during, the period of railway expansion,

city growth was largely a product of the flow'

of population into

areas from which rawmaterials could most readily be obtained to

sell in distant markets . As late as 1900 agricultural products

constituted 66 p er cent of all foreign exports from the UnitedStates . Since that time, however , their ratio has diminishedrapidly ; in the period from 1926 to 1930 agricultural exports were

only 36 p er cent of the total value of all exports .

3

During this period of population dispersion the city was for

the most part the child and servant of expanding rural settle

ment ; it followed rather than directed population spread . Gateway cities arose at entrance points to producing regions and

functioned as collecting centers for the basic products from sur

rounding settlement and as distributing points for manufactured

goods brought in from outside territory . These gateway centers

maintained contact with tributary territory through a community

hierarchy of villages, towns , and cities established on the basisof railway transportation . Thus the basic pattern of modern

1 E . L . Bogart, Pushing Back the Frontiers, American Economic Review,

Vol . XXII, No . 1 , March, 1932, pp . 1—2 .

2 US . Censu s, I ncrease of Pop u lation in the United States, 1910—1920, Mono

graphI , 1922, p p . 19—20 .

3 US . Dep artment of Commerce, Commerce Yearbook, 1931 , Vol. I , p . 92.

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I NTROD U C T I ON

American settlement was formed . N o less than 42 of the 93 cities

of over population in 1930 were incorporated since 1850 ;that is, since the beginning of railway development, and 5 of these

began their official careers since

Toward the close of the nineteenth century the city began toplay a new réle in the evolution of settlement in the UnitedStates . With the rise of manufacturing, population and wealth

became increasingly concentrated in the larger cities . Thedemand of the city for raw materials for its growing industries,and for specialized types of agricultural products for its increasing

population, more and more determined the course of rural settle

ment.

‘

N ew frontiers continued to arise, but chiefly in areas

from which products might be obtained to supply the domestic

city market . On the other hand, many of the older areas of

rural settlement began to recede in response to the economic

forces originating in metropolitan centers . With the growth of

population and wealth throughout the nation, the city acquired

an increasing range of economic and social functions which itperformed not only for its own inhabitants but for rural settle

ments as well . Accordingly it increased in economic and cultural

dominance.

The third period of settlement, and the one with which we are

chiefly concerned in this study, began about 1900 or shortly

thereafter . I t may be referred to as an era of city regionalismwhich is developing under the influence of motor transportation .

As previously indicated, the railroad laid the foundation for

modern regionalism by creating a network of large gateway

cities which served as focal points in the integration of sur

rounding territory and which drew the entire nation togetherinto a single economic unity . The motor vehiclehas not changedthe main outlines of this railway pattern of settlement. The greateconomic forces in Operation when the automobile was introduced compelled accommodation of this new agency of transportation to the existing settlement structure. Despite this fact,it may be fairly stated that the gross effect ofmotor transportation upon American civilizationhas been quite as fundamental asthat produced by the advent of the railroad . Inthe first place,

motor transportationhas grown with a rapidity even greater thanthat of the railroads in their period of fastest expansion. Within a

quarter of a century, motor vehicles and more than4 See Table IX in the Ap pendix.

5

THE ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

miles of surfaced motor highways have been added to

the transportation system of the United States . Beginning withcity streets and wagon roads as the only routes of traffic, themotor vehicle has developed a system of surfaced highways

adapted to its needs . This new motor-highway net which hasbeen superimposed upon the existing pattern of settlement is

developed most intensively around the margins of cities andhasbrought the city and surrounding territory within a common

transportation system. I n so doing, ithas erased the boundariesand bridged the distances which formerly separated urban from

rural territory and has introduced a typ e of local community

entirely without precedent in history .

Generalizing, it may be said that the railways set the main

structural outlines of American settlement . By making possible

the transfer'

of products between distant regions , they brought

the entire settlement of the United States into a single economicunity integrated through a system of gateway cities of varyingimportance which function through chains of lesser centers

strung like beads along the railway lines . The railroads, however ,did not materially change the traditional pattern of life within

the local community . Except in the larger cities wheremechanical

forms of transportation were introduced, first steam and then

electric , the horse-drawn vehicle remained as the chief agency of

local travel and trafli c . Local institutions and social relations

persisted in the railway régime on much the same basis as in theprevious era . But the coming of motor transportation revolution

i z ed this traditional pattern of local relations and effected institu

tional and cultural changes more disturbing to the social fabric

than the more conspicuous developments induced by the advent

of rail transportation.

By reducing the scale of local distance, the motor vehicle

extended the horizon of the community and introduced a ter

ritorial division of labor among local institutions and neighboringcenters which is unique in the history of settlement . The largecenter has been able to extend the radius of its influence ; its

population and many of its institutions, freed from the dominanceof rail transportation, have become widely dispersed throughout

surrounding territory . Moreover, formerly independent towns

and villages and also rural territory have become part of this

enlarged city complex . This new type of sup ercommunity organ

i z ed around a dominant focal point and comprising a multiple of

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CHAPTER II

TENDENCIES IN POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

THE NATION AS A POPULATION AG GREGATE

S A background to the study of the modern city it is impor

tant to consider, at least briefly, recent tendencies in thedistribution of population over the land . Let u s begin by as

suming that the people who inhabit thesquare miles of land area of continental United States constitute

a single population aggregate engaged in a great joint enterprise

of exploiting and utilizing the natural resources of this broad

expanse of territory . I t is, of course, a dynam ic entity, steadilyincreasing in numbers and changing in spatial arrangement . I t is

ever bringing into existence new instruments and devices for themastery of its

’

natural heritage ; ever gaining in wealth and

cultural achievement . Moreover, this population group is not an

isolated unit, but part of a larger World with which it is becomingeconomically and culturally more closely integrated . The problemthat confronts u s here is to trace some of the major tendencies in

the spatial arrangement of this active population and to explain as

fully as possible some of the factors concerned . At each decennialenumeration the federal census presents a photographic record ofthe territorial distribution of population . By comparing thearrangement at one census date with that at another, it is possible

to trace the general trend in demographic patterning .

I t should be kept in mind that the pattern of distribution at

any given time is the product of past as well as present conditions .

I n other words, the existing distribution of population cannot beassumed to be the ideal form of spatial arrangement for theactual needs of the present .While our population is perhaps more

fluid than that of any other nation in the world, it is neverthelessfar from being completely mobile. Human settlement is highlyresistant to change . I t contains a large amount of fixed structure

which yields reluctantly to the demands of a dynamic economy .

Human beings are not like molecules of water that readily move

hither and you to establish a level or equilibrium . Frequently ties

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P O PULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

of sentiment and interest hold a man to a locality beyond thetime when it would be economically advantageous to changehisplace of abode . But new conditions sooner or later compel new

spatial arrangements, and it may be assumed that population is

always tending toward themost efficient spatial distribution forthe utilization of natural resources under prevailing conditions of

technological culture .

STATISTICAL AREAS

I n approaching the study of population patterning, one must

have recourse to the statistical areas for which census data are

compiled ; namely, divisions, states , counties , and incorporated

municipalities . I t may be stated at the outset that these political

areas do not represent natural population aggregates, nor are they

adequate geographic units by which to measure the trend of

population arrangement over a period of time. I n the first place,divisions and states are too large to show the important localaspects of population shifts, and the boundaries of counties and

incorporated places are too unstable to make long-time compari

sons with any high degree of accuracy . However, onemust u se thetools at one ’s disposal with due regard for their limitations . We

shall begin our study of trends in distribution by a consideration

of the larger areas and work down to the smaller census units

counties and incorporated municipalities .

GENERAL TENDENCIES I N POPULATION PATTERNING

The United States Bureau of the Census divides the countryinto ninemajor divisions for the compilation of certain population

statistics . These regions , or census divisions, are grouped intothreemain sections : the North , the South , and theWest . Pop u la

tion density in these major geographic areas at each of the lastfour census enumerations is shown in Table 1 .

The marked unevenness of population density throughout thecountry is apparent, and , considered from the standpoint of

census divisions, the tendency seems to be toward greater dissimilarity of density . This may be shown in general terms bynoting the mean of the deviations of the nine census divisions

from the average density for the country as a whole, which , in1900 , was in 1910 , in 1920, and in 1930 ,

But increasing disparity in divisional density figures does not

prove that population is moving toward the divisions of high[ 9 ]

TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

TABLE 1 .— POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES PER SQUARE MILE, BY SECTIONS

AND D IVISIONS, 1900—1930a

Section and division"

United States 25 . 6

The North

90 . 2

193 2 222 . 6 262 . 6

65 . 2 74 . 3 87 . 5 108 . 0

20 . 8 22 . 8 24 . 6 26 . 0

The South . 27 . 9 33 5 37 . 7 43 1

38 . 8 45 3 52 0

49 . 5

28 . 3

The West . 7 . 6 10 . 1

4 . 8

17 . 5

a U.S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I , compiled from Table 7, p . 13.

b For list of states comprising the various divisions see Table 5, p . 16.

density relatively faster than toward those of low density . Census

divisions differ greatly in size ; consequently equal additions to

their respective populations do not occasion equal increases in

density . For example, the area of the Mountain division is four

teen times that of N ew England ; thus, for every person added to

the latter, 14 must ‘

be added to the former to obtain an equal

increase in density .

Perhaps more light can be thrown on the tendency in spatialarrangement by considering the population of the nation as a unitand noting the percentage distribution among the various sec

tions and divisions at different census periods , as in Table 2 .

According to the statistics in this table, the North‘ and theSouth sections lost slightly to the West during the last threedecades in their ratios of the total population . The intersectionalshifts of population from the North to the West were more p ro

nounced in the first decade of the century than in either of theOther ten-year intervals . The South , on the other hand , lost most

heavily between 1910 and 1920 . The slight loss in this section in[ 10 ]

P O PULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

TAB LE 2 .-PERCENTAGE DISTRI BUTION OF THE POPULATION OF THE UN ITED

STATES, BY SECTIONS AND D IVI SIONS, 1900—1930a

Section and division

United States 100 0 100 0 100 0 100 0

The North

N ew EnglandM iddle AtlanticEast North CentralWest North Central

The South.

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The West .

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

East of M ississippi RiverWest of M ississippi River

U.S. Censu s, 1930, Pop ulation,Vol. I , compiled from Table 5, p. 10.

the last decade was due to the gain in the West South Central

division .

Four of the nine divisions contained higher proportions of thetotal population of the nation in 1930 than in 1920 . Of these , thePacific division shows much the greatest gain , having more than

doubled its ratio of the nation ’

s inhabitants since 1900 . That

the gain in this part of the country was largely at the expense of

theWest North Central division is indicated by the fact that thelatter area dropped from to in its proportion of the totalpopulation during this 30-year interval .

GENERAL EAS T-WE ST AN D NORTH -SOUTH MOVEMENTS

The proportions of the population residing east and westof the Mississippi River have changed less than 1 p er cent duringthe last 20 years as contrasted with a change of 2 p er cent duringthe first decade of the century . The general east-west flow, which

constituted the major trend of population movement from the[ 1 1 ]

TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

beginning of the nineteenth century, seems to be reaching a state

of'

equ ilibrium, but the drift from the South to the North hasrecently increased in volume, as is shown in Table 3 . I t should , ofcourse, be noted that the figures in this table refer only to thenative born and therefore do not indicate the total volume of

movement.

TAB LE 3 .— TRENDS IN EAST-WEST AND NORTH-SOUTH MIGRATION S OF THE

NATIVE-B ORN POPULATION, 1900—1930“(In thousands )

A . EAST-WEST MOVEMENT

Moved west Moved east

B . NORTH—SOUTH MOVEMENT

Moved north Moved south

0 U .S. Census. 1930 , Popu lation, Vol. I I , Tables 2 and 3, p . 1 6. Data for 1930 taken frompreliminary statement released March 2, 1932 . By

“

east”is meant that part of the United States

lying east of theM ississippi River ; “ west is all territory lying west of the M ississippi. For descriptions of the territory included under the terms north ” and

“

south ” see Table 2 , p . 1 1 .Movement

is measured in terms of the number of persons born in one area and enumerated in the other.

These data show a substantial increase each decade in the totalvolume of both east-west and north-south movements of thenative born . A significant feature of the east-west movement is

that it is no longer so predominantly a one-way flow . The net gainl of the West from the East has been on the decline since 1910 ,when it was in 1920 it was and in 1930 it was

only or p er cent less than in 1920 .

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PO PULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

While the north-southmovementhas always beenmore nearly

balanced than the east-west flow, nevertheless in the last twodecades the advantage has swung increasingly in favor of theNorth . The net gain of the North from the South as shown in 1910was in 1920 it was and in 1930 , or

three times the gain shown at the 1920 census . Nine-tenths of

this recent gain was due to the northward migration of Negroes .

I S SETTLEMENT TENDING TOWARD AN EQUILIB RIUM ?

While the actual distribution of population over the countryis far from uniform , the question arises whether, from the standpoint of broad regions such as census divisions , there is a tendency

toward an equilibrium of settlement . A comparison of the rates ofpopulation increase in the various divisions with that of theUnited States as a Whole may throw some light on this question.

Such a comparison is made in Table 4 for the last three decennialperiods . The mean of division deviations from the national

average rate of growth will serve as a rough gauge of the degree ofinterregional movement .

TAB LE 4 .— D

'

ECENN IAL RATES OF INCREASE IN POPULATION, BY D IVISIONSAND DEVIATIONS FROM THE RATES FOR THE UNITED STATES, 1900—1930a

1900—10 1910- 20

Geo a hic division Deviation Deviation Deviationgr p Rate of division Rate of division Rate of division

of in rate from of in rate from of in rate fromcrease national crease national crease national

rate rate rate

United States

New EnglandM iddle AtlanticEast North CentralWest North CentralSouth AtlanticEast South CentralWest South CentralMountain

Pacific

Sum of division deviationsMean of division deviations

U.S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I , compiled from Table 6, p. 12.

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TH E METRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

I t will be seen that the mean deviation of the nine censusdivisions from the rate for the United States was in thedecade 1900 to 1910 , then dropped to in the following decade,and rose to in the decade 1920 to 1930 . I n tracing regional

deviations through earlier decennial enumerations, a wavelike

tendency in population movement is discernible . For the decade1890 to 1900 the mean of divisional deviations from the nationalrate was in the decade 1880 to 1890 it was The

_general

trend, however, since 1850 , as might be expected, is definitely

toward more uniform rates of growth among the nine census

divisions . Although the mean of the division deviations from thenational average, 1920 to 1930 , is slightly higher than in thepreceding decade, still in neither period does it equal one-half of

that shown in the first decade of the century . These facts would

seem to indicate that population, considered from the standpoint of census divisions, is tending toward an equilibrium of

arrangement.

LOCAL CONCENTRATION AS MEASURED BY S TATE STATISTICS

Obviously the trend in population arrangement is shown only

in roughest outline by statistics for such large territorial units as

census divisions . Averages computed for these extensive areas

fail to show the important local changes that are occurring in thepattern of American settlement. The individual states within a

census division may show marked unevenness in population

growth from one census date to another and yet the average for

the division as a whole may remain relatively constant . An ex

tensive examination of such data over a period of time would

consume more space than can be allotted to it here . However, a

brief review of state statistics for the last decade is pertinent .

Table 5 and Figure I afford a general picture of the rates of p op ulation growth in the difl’erent states of the Union during thedecade 1920 to 1930 . The range of growth in this period was froma decrease of per cent for Montana to an increase of p er

cent for California. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia show rates of increase less than the national average. On theother hand, nine states increased over 20 p er cent during the lastdecade, or one and one-quarter times the average for the countryas a whole. Outstanding in Table 5 are the comparatively lowrates of growth of the seven agricultural states comprising theWest North Central division, the so-called “ granary of the na

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TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

TAB LE 5 .— INCREASE IN POPULATION, BY STATES, 1920—1930a

United States . 16 1

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

I ndiana .

I llinoisM ichigan.

WisconsinWest North CentralM innesota .

I owa

M issouri

North DakotaSouthNebraskaKansas

Sou th AtlanticDelawareMarylandDistrict of Columbia

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a U S Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I , p . 12.

tion. Only South Dakota in this group has a rate of increase

half as great as that of the country as a whole . The unevenness ofstate growth is illustrated in the South Atlantic division, where

the rates vary from p er cent for Georgia to p er cent for

the neighboring state of Florida . South Carolina, with a rate of

per cent, lies next to North Carolina, with a rate of

p er cent ; and Virginia , with a rate of p er cent, adjoins West

Virginia, whose rate is p er cent.

The comparative rates of state growth , however , do not

reflect the actual volume of population shifts . An increase of

in the population in Arizona in the last decade was suffi[ 16 ]

VirginiaWest VirginiaNorth CarolinaSouth Carolina .

GeorgiaFloridaEast South Centrall i entuckyu

Tennessee .

AlabamaM ississippiWest South CentralArkansasLouisiana .

OklahomaTexasMountain

Bl ontana

I daho

POPULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

cient to make a percentage growth of whereas an increase of

in the state of N ew York produced a growth rate of

only p er cent . California holds the unique position of having

the greatest absolute increase as well as the highest percentagegain in population in the decade 1920 to 1930 . The net increase inCalifornia for the period in question was whereas theaggregate gain in the 21 states comprising the N ew England ,West North Central , and Mountain divisions was only

Furthermore, p er cent of California’

s net gain in p op u la

tion during the last decade is accounted for by the increase inLos Angeles County . This single county, with an area of

squaremiles, a considerable part of which is uninhabited, showed

a net gain in population , 1920 to 1930 , of an increase

greater than the combined increases of the 15 states comprising

the West North Central and Mountain divisions . These figures

being interpreted in terms of area, the increase in Los AngelesCounty was approximately equal to that in half of the UnitedStates . Somewhat similar examples of concentration might be

cited for other sections of the country . For instance, p er cent

of the total increase in Michigan, 1920 to 1930 , is accounted for in

the three leadingmotor-industry counties— Wayne, Oakland , andGenesee ; and 60 p er

'

cent of the increase in the three states con

stituting the Middle Atlantic division occurred within themetropolitan district of N ew York City .

CONCENTRATION AS MEASURED BY COUNTY S TATISTICS

The tendency toward local concentration suggested by theforegoing figures may be dealt with more systematically by re

course to county statistics . The spotted character of populationgrowth during the last decade is shown by Figure 2 .

The “

tendency toward local growth and decline of populationis, of course, not unique for the decade in question. County statistics for preceding decades show marked variations in the rates of

aggregation throughout the nation . A survey of county data overa 30-year period reveals a general trend toward greater geographicconcentration of population. This may be briefly shown by dividing the total p opulation of the nation into fractions— one-fourth ,one-half, and three-fourths— and noting the smallest number of

counties (selected in order of number of inhabitants) required toobtain these respective fractions at different censal periods . Thistabulation is presented in Table 6 .

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TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

[ 18 ]

P O PULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

TAB LE 6 .— POPULATION CONCENTRATION AS SHOWN BY THE SMALLEST AREAS

REQUI RED To OBTAIN ONE-FOURTH, ONE-HALF, AND THREE-FOURTHS OFTHE TOTAL INHAB ITANTS OF THE UNITED STATES AT EACH OF THE LAST

THREE DECENNIAL ENUM ERATIONS, 1900—1930a

U.S . Census, 1930, Popu lation, Vol. I , compiled from Table 3 , p . 67, and similar tables forother states. Counties are grouped according to total number of inhabitants rather than accordingto density. This was necessary as the Bureau of the Census did not publish county-density figuresfor 1910.

I t is impracticable to show here the actual locations of these

counties of increasing concentration. Two aspects of the trend,however , may be indicated : first, the general drift of populationappears to be definitely toward the counties of former high

density . I n 1920 , there were 265 counties with a density of 100 or

more p er square mile ; in 1910 , these counties contained p er

cent of the total population ; in 1920 , p er cent ; and in 1930 ,

per cent . Second, thismovement toward areas of high density

implies the tendency of population to concentrate in and around

large cities . Table 7 reflects this cityward drift . The figures show

the number and proportion of the total population of the country ,

at each of the last four decennial enumerations, found within

metropolitan zones, established by drawing an arbitrary circle,

with a radius of 20 to 50 miles , around the 93 cities having p op ulations in 1930 of or more . Owing to the fact that a

number of these large cities are located close together , certaingroupings were made which reduced the total number of metro

politan zones to 63 . The areas of the zones are identical for theperiods considered .

The rOle of the large city"

as a focal point of population con

centration is quite apparent . The percentage of the total p op ulation within these 63 metropolitan zones increased from in

1900 to in 1930 . Moreover, almost three-fourths of thenation’

s total increase in the last decade is accounted for by thegrowth of these metropolitan areas .

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THE METRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

The inflow of population indicated by these figures doesnot imply that therehas been no tendency towardWider spread .

As a matter of fact, the land frontier of the nationhas expandedconsiderably during the last decade . Therehas been a movement

of population, though not great in actual volume, toward the

TABLE 7 .—TOTAL POPULATION IN 63 METROPOLITAN ! ONES, 1900—1930a

(Cities of or more plus adjacent counties )

Percentage whichPercentagewhich net increase in

Total population popu lation in zones formed of

in metrOpolitan zones formed of total increase inzones total United United States

States population since precedingcensus

Total populationin United States

U.S . Census, 1930, Pop u lation, Vol. I , compiled from Table 3, for each state.

semiarid margin of the midwestern states . The high rates of in

crease of counties in western Texas, western Kansas, Oklahoma,

and along the western part of South Dakota (see Figure 2) showthat the frontier of land settlement is creeping westward under

the influence of new forms of mechanical energy .

MOVEMENT TOWARD DEEP WATER

There is a significant but by no means uniform movement of

population toward the deep-water rim of the country, that is,toward the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and

the metropolitan territory adjoining the Great Lakes . Table 8

presents in summary fashion the facts regarding this populationincrease .

Population moving toward the deep-water rim does not, of

course, spread itself evenly over this broad strip of territory .

I t concentrates in the metropolitan centers, leaving other sections

equally near deep water to decline . The area in question contains

540 counties and the District of Columbia . Of these counties, 100

actually declined in population between 1920 and 1930 , and 195

others had rates of increase less than the national average. Themovement, therefore, is not a mere drift toward open water, but a

[ 20 ]

P O PULAT I ON D I S TR I B UT I ON

TAB LE 8 .— POPULATION CONCENTRATION IN ! ONE S EXTENDING APPROXIMATELY

50 MILES INLAND FROM THE SEAB OARD AND THE GREAT LAKES , 1900(I n thousands)

Percentage I ncrease in

of tota l populationpopulation Popula tion United in Unitedof United within zone States States since

population precedingin zone census

a U .S. Census, 1930, Pop u lation, Vol. I , compiled fromTable 3 for each state. Table is computedon county units, list of which is available from the author on request . The area of the zone issquare miles, p er cent of the total land area of the United States. I tmay be defined as a region

approximately 50 miles Wide, which skirts the salt-water rim of the country and the southern shoresof la kes Ontario, Erie, and M ichigan.

migration into metropolitan regions which for various reasons are

near the water .

DECONCENTRATION

The tendency of popul ation to become more concentrated in

certain areas scattered throughout the nationhas its counterpartin a decreasing population in other areas . Concentration involvesdeconcentration ; rapid growth in some localities is associated

with decline in others . Although population is still spreading into

new areas of settlement, by far the most conspicuous tendency is

toward concentration accompanied by declining numbers inmany

of the older settled parts of the nation . I t is somewhat difficul t to

show the extent of declining area over a period of time owing to

the fact that county boundaries do not remain constant . Con

sidering only those counties whose boundaries have not changed

since 1880 , we find an increasingly large number that are declin

ing in population .

Table 9 shows the number of counties for which comparative

data are available ; also the proportion of the total popul ationliving within the area of decline at four difierent periods . Boththe area of decline and the proportion of the total populationaffected are on the increase . As the rate of national growth dim inishes, it is to be expected that rapid rates of aggregation in certain

localities will be accompanied by corresponding decreases inothers . During the period of heavy foreign immigration, excessive

[ 21 ]

TH E ME TRO P OL ITAN C OMMUN ITY

TABLE 9.— NUMBER OF COUNTIES, NUMB ER DECREASING IN POPULATION, AND

AGGREGATE POPULATION OF DECREASING COUNTIES, WITH PERCENTAGE OFUNITED STATES TOTAL AND PERCENTAGE INCREASE IN TOTAL UNI TED

STATES, 1880

Popu lation

Census yearTotal for Aggregate InUnited decreasingStates counties

1880

1900

a U .S. Censu s , I ncrease of Pop ulation in the United States, 1910—1920. “

Monograph I , 1922 .

Partial reproduction of Table 13, p . 63 ; with 1930 data added.5 The 144 counties in which there were changes in boundaries during the decade are omittedfrom this tabu lation. Their combined popu lation, is also subtracted from the total p op ulation in 1930 . This tabu lation includes independent cities .

rates of growth in certain areas could take “ place without thewithdrawal of population from other sections of the country .

If there were local shiftings of population, they were largely

replaced by the inflow of immigrants from abroad . But now that

the tide of immigrationhas practically ceased and the birth rate

is declining, rates of aggregation in certain localities beyond that

of the national average generally signify corresponding rates of

disaggregation in other localities .

SUMMARY

From the seething movements of population that characterize

modern America , certain general tendencies in spatial arrange

ment are discernible . In the first place, population seems to be

tending toward an equilibrium of settlement as far as major

geographic regions are concerned . I n the second place, thei tendency of arrangement within these large areas is definitely

toward local concentration . Population is becoming arranged in

metropolitan aggregates which are distributed rather widely

throughout the United States . This cityward movement has itsnegative corollary in areas of decline. To an increasing extent,

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CHAPTER III

URBAN AGGREGATION

HUS far we have been dealing with general tendencies inregard to the geographic distribution of population . We shall

now considerhow population is becom ing arranged with respectto local community life . Our extended economy is organized on

the basis of a network of centers— cities, towns, and villages . Thepattern of settlement is constantly changing through time and

differs greatly from one region to another . According to thecensus there were incorporated places in the country in

1930— 954 more than in 1920 and more than in 1900 . These

local centers of population range in size from a few individuals

to cities of several million .

THE URBAN -RURAL DI CHOTOMY

The Bureau of the Censushas seen fit to classify as urban that

part of the population residing in incorporated places of or

more ; the remainder of the population is considered as rural .

This, to be sure, is a purely arbitrary division of the populationand is subject to many obvious limitations as a measure of

settlement change. I t serves, however , a useful purpose by

enabling one to trace the general trend of settlement over a

period of time .

Although the urban-rural concept as used by the census is

strictly geographic and statistical , it implies much more to thepopular m ind . I thas economic and cultural connotations of far

reaching importance . Perhaps it is for this reason that so much

interest is manifested in the census announcements of the urbanrural ratios of the population . Following each decennial enumer

ation, newspapers and periodicals single out the urban-rural

statistics for special comment . Considering that this is only one

of a hundred or more classifications that appear in each federal

census, the question naturally arises why it should be given so

much publicity . Why, for instance, should there not be as much

popular interest in the statistics relating to the changing age,

24 l

URB AN A G GRE GAT ION

sex, nationality, racial , or occupational composition of thepopulation ? The explanation doubtless lies in the fact that

urbanization implies a change in ou r traditional ways of living,a shift from our rural heritage to a pattern of life that is less

familiar and therefore more uncertain .

I t is becoming generally known that urbanization in a cultural

and economic sense is no longer confined to the populationclassified by the census as urban. Modern communications are

rapidly diffusing urban culture and urban ways of“ living through

out an increasing part of our so-called rural territory . Moreover ,urbanization in the cultural sense is largely a matter of degree,varying with the size and location of the urban center . The censusclassifies as urban, persons residing in small isolated incorporated!places with populations as low as as well as those residing

in cities of several million inhabitants, though the mode of life

of the two groups differs remarkably . On the other hand , thecensus classifies as rural , persons living just beyond the confinesof a large city , provided they are not living within incorporated

territory having the designated minimum number of inhabitants

to be classified as urban, although such persons may commute

daily to the city for work or social activity . Obviously, therefore ,

the urban-rural dichotomy is becoming of decreasing significance .

Nevertheless, a review of urban statistics may cast some light on

the general trend of settlement change .

Table 10 shows the general trend toward urbanization duringthe last half century in continental United States and in each of

its larger sections and census divisions . The first decade of this

period, 1880 to 1890 , shows a somewhat greater drift to the citythan is evidenced in the following decade. Since 1900 , however ,the urban trend has been rather uniform, dropping slightly in

The table shows the rather familiar fact that wide differences exist in the extent of urbanization in the various sectionsand regions of the country . City living is much more pronouncedin the North and West than in the South . Of these three greatsections of the country, the Southhas shown the most rapid gainin the last decade in the urbanization of its population ; it is still ,however, less urbanized than either the North or theWest sectionwas in 1890 .

1 During the last two years, 1930 to 1932, therehas been a p ronounced backto-the-farm movement . This, however, may be but a temporary adjustment to

the dep ression rather than a reversal of the general urban trend.

[ 25 ]

TH E ME TROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

TABLE 10 .— PERCENTAGE URBAN OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, BY SECTIONS AND

DIVI SIONS, 1880—1930“

Section and division

United States 45 . 8

The North

New EnglandM iddle AtlanticEast North CentralWest North Central

The South .

SouthEast South CentralWest South Central

The West .

a U.S. Census, 1930 , Pop ulation, compiled from Table 9, p . 15 , and similar tables for otherdecades.

I t would seem that N ew England has about attained an

equilibrium in the urban-rural ratios of its population ; in fact ,the 1930 census shows a slightly lower percentage Of urban

dwellers in this division than was recorded in 1920 . This decline is

explained , however , by a change in the procedure used by theBureau Of the Census in 1930 in the classification Of population

in N ew England towns .When adjustment ismade for this change,the 1930 census shows the same ratio of urban population as was

shown in The Middle Atlantic division gained slightly inthe proportion Of its inhabitants living in cities in the last decade .

Here, too, it is Obvious that the urban-rural ratios are becomingstabilized . The most striking shift toward urbanization in recent

years occurred in the West South Central division, Where theproportion of the population classified as urban increased from

in 1920 to in 1930 . Slightly smaller gains were made in

the Mountain and East South Central divisions . The Pacificdivision has been notably urban almost from the beginning Of

settlement . As far back as 1890 only two divisions, New England

and the Middle Atlantic, showed higher ratios Of urbanization.

2 U .S. Census, 1930, Popu lation, Vol. 1 , p . 7 .

l 96 l

UR B AN A G GRE GA T ION

The states showing the most rapid gains in urbanization since

1920 are Nevada, Florida , Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and

New M exico .

3 All Of these except Tennessee increased in total

population, 1920 to 1930 , faster than the country as a Whole ; andall but Tennessee may be considered as occupying frontier

positions in the spread Of settlement. I t is apparent that themodern frontier develops with a much more nucleated pattern

of population than was the case in the Middle West during thehomesteading era . Even today the wheat states in the North ,particularly the . Dakotas, are much less urbanized than thenewer regions of settlement in Oklahoma, western Texas, or any

of the Mountain states .

DE GREES OF URB ANI ZATION

The twofold classification of population into urban and

rural , using as a line Of demarcation, gives but slight

indication Of the trend in city development . Urbanization is a

matter of degree. Urban centers range in population from places

Of to cities of several million inhabitants . I t is important,therefore, to note the trend in the proportion Of population that is

urban according to different indices Of measurement .

TABLE 1 1 .— PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION IN URBAN PLACES OF SPECIFIED SI z E ,

1890—1930“

Size of places

o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 Compiled from U.S . Censu s, 1930 , Pop u lation, Vol. I , Table 8, p . 14 .

Table 11 presents the urban trend as represented by progressivebases . Whatever base is taken as an index of urbanization, thetendency is toward greater urban living. As high a proportion of

the total population Of the nation is now living in places Ofand over as was found in places of and over in 1900 ; and

almost as high a percentage Of the population is recorded at

3 See Table I in the App endix for rates of urbani z ation in the various states.

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TH E ME TROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

present in places Of or more as was recorded in places of

and over in 1890 . While Table 11 refers to the country as a

whole, the trend for each Of the nine census divisions is in thesame general direction ; that is, toward increasing concentration

in larger urban centers . I n short, population is not merely moving

into urban centers ; it is concentrating more and more in larger

urban aggregations .

CITY GROWTH

There is considerable popular interest in the comparative rates

of increase Of cities Of different size, particularly in the questionas to whether the small cities

_are growing faster or slower than

the large ones . I t may be said at the outset that any attempt to

compute city growth over a period Of time is subject to many

limitations . I n the first place, in tracing urban growth it is neces

sary to group cities into classes Of different size, But the classifications cannot be held constant over an extended period ; as a city

grows it naturally shifts from one classification to another .

Furthermore,‘

a city grows not merely by additions to its p op u la

tion, but by the extension Of its boundaries as well ; and individual

cities vary greatly in the extent to which they annex adjoiningterritory . Many of our cities have not annexed any new territory

for the last half century, while others have made extensive

annexations .4

Again, it should be stated that the growth Of many of thesmaller cities is due to the suburban movements Of metropolitan

populations , and , although these smaller cities may be incorpo

rated as separate political units , they are actually fragments Of thenear-by metropolitan center . Despite these limitations, some Of

which are taken into consideration in the following tabulation, it

is significant to show the rates of growth Of cities in d ifferent size

groups . P . K . Whelp ton, Of Scripps Foundation, has analyzed

the growth tendencies Of cities Of different size. He grouped thec ities Of the nation into 10 different size classes at the beginning ofeach decade and traced the growth of the groups over a 10

year period, adjusting for annexations made during intervening

years . Table 12 presents M r . Whelp ton’

s figures for the last threedecades . The figures in the different censal periods are not

strictly comparable since the groups Of cities for one decade are

not quite the same as those for another .

4 See Chap ter XIVfor further discussion of this point.

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UR B AN A G GRE GAT ION

TABLE 12 .— NUMBER OF CITIES AND RATE OF I NCREASE IN POPULATION, BY SI z E

OF CITY, 1900—1930a

1900—10 1910—20 1920—80

Size of cities at beginning of decade

to

to

to

to

to

to

to

to_

to

Over

a Data prepared by P. K. Whelp ton, Scripps Foundation for Research in Popu lation Problems .

For original statement of problem see“

Trends in Popu lation I ncrease and Distribution during1920 American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XXVI , NO. 6, May , 1931, pp . 865- 879.

5 “The number Of cities in certain size groups is difierent from that shown by the census for the

following reasons : (1) Small cities which were annexed to larger cities during the decade are com

bined with them at the beginning of the decade and not listed separately. This may shift theannexing city to a larger size group . (2) In 1930 the Bureau of the Census transferred from urbanto rural certain townships in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode I sland (see U.S. Census,

1930, Pop ulation, Vol. 1, p . These have been considered here as being rural in earlier census

years. (3) The Bureau of the Census also transferred certain unincorporated places from ruralto urban groups ( ibid ) . These have been considered here as being urban in earlier census years iftheir population was sufficiently large.

”

6“I n computing these rates, the same cities are in each size group at the beginning and end of a

decade, and the popu lation of each city at the beginning of a decade includes that of places annexedduring the decade whenever this adjustment cou ld be made, which includes nearly every annexationand all the important ones . The communities classed as rural at the beginning of a decade are so

classed at the end of that decade.

”

An interesting feature brought to light in Table 12 is therelatively high rates Of growth in the last decade Of cities with lessthan inhabitants . Attention is particularly directed to therate Of growth of the smallest group Of cities —those in the to

class . This group shows a higher rate Of increase in the decade1920 to 1930 than in the preceding one . However, this rapid rateOf aggregation, as will be shown later, is largely due to the highrates Of growth of places in this group which happen to be suburbsof larger centers .

5 When these suburban places are taken out Of

this classification, the rate of growth Of the remaining places fallsconsiderably .

5 See Table 22, p . 48 .

l 29 l

TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

URB AN DI SAGGREGATION

Although the urban population as a .whole increased from

to or p er cent, during the decade 1920to 1930 as compared with a gain Of p er cent for the totalpopulation of the United States , it must not be assumed that all

cities shared equally in this increase . As a matter Of fact, 5 12

places of and over in 1920 actually lost population by 1930

as Opposed to the 375 places Of this size that decreased duringthe decade 1910 to 1920 . Table 13 presents a tabulation Of thenumber Of cities and villages classified by size groups that have

declined in population in the last two decennial periods .

TABLE I 3 .— NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF VILLAGE S AND CITIE S THAT DE

CREASED IN POPULATION, BY SIZE GROUPS, 1910—1920 AND 1920

1910—20 1920-30

Places which Places whichSize of place Total showed decreases Total showed decreases

number in 1920 number in 1930

of places of placesin 1910 in 1920

Villages” 4 6 . 5

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Cities .

to

to

to

to

and over

Compiled from Table 6 for each ‘

state as in the U.S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I , and fromTable 5 1 in the U.S. Census, 1920, Population, Vol. I .b In order to make New England more near ly comparable with other divisions, Table 4 in the

1980 census and Table 58 in the 1920 census were used for the six New England states (see notePlaces under listed in these tables were included in this tabu lation, which accounts for thegreater number of villages than is listed by the census.

The tendency for an increasing number and proportion Of cities

and villages to decline in size is apparent ; per cent of all

villages under lost population between 1920 and 1930,

whereas only p er cent declined during the preceding decade.

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

p er cent Of the communities classified as urban in N ew

England suffered a loss in population, whereas in the decade 1920to 1930, per cent declined . The corresponding figures for theMiddle Atlantic division are and I n three divisions, theWest North Central , the East South Central , and the Pacific,the percentage Of places declining was greater between 1910 and

1920 than between 1920 and 1930 . I n the Pacific division theproportion Of places declining was almost twice as high in theearlier period .

I t has become customary to associate declining population

with rural territory . I n the past, the assumption was well founded ,as it was exceptional for a city thathad once attained a p op u la

tion Of or more to show a subsequent decline in numbers .

Prior to 1930, there were only four cities on record that declined

after having reached the mark . The foregoing data, however, clearly show that the urban community, even the fairlylarge one, is no longer immune to the forces making for disaggregation . Moreover , an increasing number of our cities are

failing to keep .pace with the national rate of growth even thoughthey may not suffer an absolute decline in population . Of the746 cities Of and over in 1920 , 354 , almost half the totalnumber, showed rates Of increase in the 1930 census below that

Of the national average. If what these cities lacked in meeting thenational rate Of growth might be thought Of as loss in population,

their aggregate loss, 1920 to 1930 , would be inhabitants .

This number is equivalent to slightly less than one-third Of thetotal loss in all rural territory, computed in the same

manner . If the losses thus sustained in the cities Of less thaninhabitants were added to those of the cities Of over

the total urban decline since 1920 would equal almost half thetotal rural decline .

The significance Of declining urban centers is doubtless greater

than that of declining rural territory . The withdrawal Of ruralpopulation does not as a rule involve the destruction Of invested

capital ; in fact, rural emigration may occasion a more efficient

u se Of capital and land . But the decline Of a city ’

s population

inevitably renders Obsolete a considerable part of the established

structure, suchas buildings and other forms Of fixed utilities .

American cities have become adjusted to excessive rates of

population growth ; construction seems to be able to keep pacewith almost any rate of aggregation . I t is much more difficult

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UR B AN A G G R E G AT ION

for a city to accommodate itself to a declining population. This,however, is the problem that confronts an ever-increasing number

of our smaller cities and is even affecting some Of the larger ones .I n

“

spite Of the fact that a number of the larger cities haverecently shown losses in population and many others havefailed to keep pace with the national rate of aggregation, it seems

to be generally true that as a city increases in size it tends toward

greater stability as a population aggregate . As yet, no city in theUnited Stateshas declined in population after once reaching the

mark, while on numerous occasions states having many

times this number Of inhabitants have shown decreases . For

example, Iowa with a population of in 1900 declined by1910 to Mississippi with in 1910 dropped to

in 1920 ; Vermont with in 1910 recorded

in 1920 ; Montana, in 1920 , declined to

in 1930 ; Nevada, a mining state with a relatively small p Op u

lation, has recorded decreases on three different‘

occasions ,1890 , 1900 , and 1920 .

The stability Of the large city as a population aggregate seems

to be based on the diversification Of its ecOnomic structure.

The four cities of over inhabitants that decreased in thelast decade— Fall River, N ew Bedford , Lowell , andWilmingtonare all specialized industrial centers . The decrease inWilmingtonis explained in part by its failure to extend its political boundaries ,as the metropolitan territory

'

outside the city showed a rate Of

increase of p er cent between 1920 and 1930 . N0 commercial

city in the United States Of this size has ever suffered an actual

loss in population.

URB ANI ZATI ON OF CLAS SES OF THE POPULATI ON

American cities are largely aggregations Of migrants and as

such tend to select population in accordance with their economic

structure. I n the past ou r cities have recruited population from

two main sources : (1 ) foreign countries ; and (2) rural territory inthe United States . There have always been pronounced regional

variations with respect to the relative significance of these twoforms Ofmigration in city growth . The cities Of the N ew England ,Middle Atlantic, and East North Central divisions have received

large quotas from foreign countries, while the cities Of the South ,and some Of those Of the MiddleWest, have recruited their p op ulations largely from rural territory . Western cities hold an inter

33 l

TH E ME TROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

mediate position in this regard , having smaller proportions of

foreign born than do eastern cities , but greater than do southern

cities .

The cessation Of immigration has reduced the proportionof foreign born in most American cities .6 The net gain in this

class Of the population in the last decade was only 2 p er cent.

Although four-fifths of the foreign-born residents Of the UnitedStates were recorded in the 1930 census as living in urban placesas compared with approximately three-fourths in the 1920 census,this group comprised only p er cent Of the total urban p op ulation in 1930, whereas it comprised p er cent in 1920 .

TABLE 15 .— PERCENTAGE URBAN OF THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATE S, BY

COLOR AND NATIVI TY, 1900—1930a

Percentage urbanColor and nativity

All classes . 56 . 2

White .

NativeNative parentageForeign or mixed parentageForeign bornNegroOther races .

a U.S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I I I , Part I , Table 18, p . 13 .

NOTE : Comparisons between the figures shown for the white popu lation of foreign origin, 1920

and 1930, also those for “

other races are slightly invalidated by the fact that Mexicans wereincluded in the white popu lation in 1920 and in the “

other races ” In 1930 . The census estimates

that persons who wou ld have been classified as “

other races in 1930 were classified as“

white” in the 1920 census. This is the total number for the United States as a whole. The shiftin classification makes only slight difference in the urban popu lation.

Table 15 shows the extent Of urbanization of the variousclasses of the population in the last four census enumerations .

Two facts stand out in this table : (1) the tendency of nativeborn whites of native parentage to move to cities ; and (2) therapid urbanization Of Negroes . The group designated as

“

other

races” shows an excessive extent Of urbanization in the last

decade, but it forms such a small part of the total urban p op ulation, only p er cent, that its influence is negligible .

’

5 I n 1930, 64 of the 93 cities of or morehad fewer foreign-born whitesthan in 1920 .

7 See footnote, Table 15 .

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UR B AN A G G RE GAT ION

The urbanization Of native-born whites of native parentage isundoubtedly associated with the changing occupational structureof American cities ; namely, a shift Of emphasis from industrial

to commercial and professional services . As the city changes inoccupational structure, it imposes new demands upon population

and occasions new forms of population selection . American cities

are to an increasing extent becoming aggregations of the whitecollar classes . The significance of this fact is difficult to appraise,but it undoubtedly has important bearing on many phases Of

urban life. As this element Of the urban population becomes

relatively more numerous than day laborers , it is to be expected

that it will impose new demands upon the city in the form Of

housing, amusements , institutions , and other types of service .

Themigration Of Negroes to cities is a noteworthy characteristic Of the recent urban trend . The proportion Of the Negro p op ulation residing in cities increased from p er cent in 1920 to

p er cent in 1930 , a difference Of representing an increase

of per cent in the decade. A considerable part of this increase

is due to the northward migration Of Negroes, which has beenlargely to cities ; p er cent Of the Negro population Of theNorthwasu rban in 1930 , as compared with per cent of thesouthern Negro population and p er cent Of the western.

SEX AND AGE COM POS I TI ON

An important aspect Of the recent urban trend , but one which

can only be referred to here in the most general terms , is thechanging age and sex composition Of the urban population. This

can be shown best by comparison with the rural population . Theselective aspects of migration to cities are revealed in Tables

16 and 17.

The contrasts between the sex ratios Of the urban and rural

populations are striking . I t will be observed that the proportionOf males to females in the total urban population and in each

of its several classes is on the decline (Table l 6) . -The influence Ofthe large influx of foreign immigrants during the first decade Of

the century, a high proportion Of whom were males, is indicated

by the rise in the sex ratio in 1910 over 1900 . The effect of thismigration, however, had disappeared by 1930 , when the proportion of males dropped to less than that in 1900 . The extensivemigration to cities of native women Of native parentage is indicated by the decline in the urban sex ratio (males p er 100

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

TABLE 16.— SEX RATIO OF THE URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED

STATES, BY COLOR AND NATIVITY, 1900—1930a

(Sex ratio number of'

males per 100 females)

Sex ratio

Color, nativity, and area

White .

NativeNative parentageForeign or mixed parentage

Native parentageForeign or mixed parentageForeign born

Other races

4 U .S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I I I , Part I , Table 19, p . 13

females) of this group in the last decade, a decline from to

Notwithstanding the high proportion of adult foreign males

in American cities, the sex ratio of the urban population, twenty

One years and over, was in 1930 , only slightly higher than thesex ratio for the total urban population, which was

The general tendency in the larger cities is toward greaterfemininity ; only 28 of the 93 cities Of inhabitants or more

in 1930 contained more males than females as compared with 43

Of the same cities in 1920 . TO be sure, wide differences prevail in

the sex ratios Of individual cities . The range of males per 100

females for cities Of or over in 1930 extended from

for Gary, Indiana, to ,87.8 for Nashville , Tennessee.

The changing age composition Of the population Of the UnitedStates is a subject which is receiving much attention on the partof population experts . The declining birth rate is reducing theproportion Of young children and increasing the proportion Of

persons in the upper age brackets . The census records fewer

children under five years Of age in 1930 than in 1920, in spite of

36 l

URBAN A G GRE GAT ION

the fact that the total population Of the nation had increasedduring the decade. Children under fifteen formed only

p er cent Of the population in 1930 , whereas they were

per Cent in 1920. Contrariwise, adults twenty-one years and over

constituted per cent of the population in 1930 , as comparedwith per cent in 1920 .

Although the decline in the ratio Of children pertains to rural

as well as urban territory, it is more striking in the latter.

TABLE 17 —AGE DISTRIBUTION (PERCENTAGE) OF THE URBAN ANDRURAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATE S, 1920—1930a

Age period

All ages

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

o o o o o o

o o o o o o o

21 and over

0 U.S. Census. 1930, Population, Vol. I I I , Part I , Table 20, pp. 14- 16.

In Table 17 the age distribution Of the population is given by5 and 10-year periods for the urban, rural nonfarm, and rural

farm divisions Of the population. The selective character of therural-urban drift is quite apparent. Children under five con

stituted, in 1930 , per cent of the rural farm population,

per cent Of the rural nonfarm population, and only p er

cent Of the urban population. On the other hand, adults in themost productive years Of life, that is, in the ages from twentyfive to forty-four, formed only p er cent of the rural farmpopulation in 1930 , p er cent Of the rural nonfarm population,but p er cent of the urban population .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

The rural nonfarm or village population tends to represent an

intermediate position in age composition between the rural farmand urban populations . The trend toward older populations ismore pronounced in both the urban and rural nonfarm groups

than in the rural farm. The S lgnificance Of this changing age

composition for the nation as a whole, and particularly for theurban population. is a matter Of speculation.

8

3 See Warren S . Thomp son and P . K. Whelp ton, A Nation of Elders in theMaking,

”American Mercury, Vol . XIX, NO. 76, Ap ril, 1930 , pp . 385—397 ; also

P . K. Whelp ton,

“Pop ulation : Trends ' in Age Composition and in Sp ecific

Birth-rates, 1920—1930 , Ameri can Journal of Sociology, Vol . XXXVI I , 6,

May, 1932 , p p . 855—861 .

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THE M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

tiguous civil divisions having a density of not less than 150 inhabitantsp er square mile, and also, as a ru le, those civil divisions of less densitythat are directly contiguous to the central cities, or are entirely or nearlysurrounded by minor civil divisions that have the requ ired density.

This 13 essentially the same p rincip le as was app lied 111 determining themetrop olitan districts for cities Of over inhab itants at thecensu ses Of 1910 and 1920, excep t that the area which might be includedwithin the metrop olitan district was then limited to the territory within10 miles of the city boundary. At this p resent census no such limithasbeen ap p lied.

2

GEOGRAPH I CAL DI STRIB UTION OF METROPOLI TAN DI STRI CTS

I n accordance with the 1930 procedure 96 metropolitan dis

tricts were outlined, each contaInIng a population Of or

more. They range in population from in the AtlanticCity district, _

to in the N ew York-NortheasternNew

Jersey district , and in area from square miles to

square miles for the same districts . Fifty Of the districts havepopulations of from to 27 from to

9 from to and 10 have over

inhabitants each . The 96 districts contain inhabitants or p er cent Of the total population in continental

United States and p er cent of the total urban population .

The territorial distribution Of the 96 districts is shown in Figure3 prepared by the Bureau of the Census . The high concentrationof districts in the northeastern section Of the country is strikinglyportrayed . Fifty-two Of the 96 districts are located east Of theMississippi and north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers and six

others are located on the opposite banks of these rivers . Fourteen

states have no metropolitan aggregates of sufficient size to be

classified by the census as metropolitan districts . Noteworthy in

this connection is North Carolina witha population of over

and ranking seventh among the states in rate of p op ula

tion increase p er cent— during the decade 1920 to 1930 .

This state contains five cities Of over inhabitants, but inno case was the population in the contiguous territory su fficient

to make up the necessary minimum Of for a censusmetro

politan district. More striking still is the absence Of large urban

aggregates in that section of the country lying between the

3 I bid., p p . 5—6. In 1930, metropolitan districts were established for cities of

inhabitants or more, p rovided the p op ulation in the adjoining territory(Of the requ ired density) was sufficient to make a total p opulation Of

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TH E METROPOL I T AN D I S TR I C T

T HE ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

Twin Cities— Minneapolis and St. Paul— and the Pacific states .

Here is a block Of six states— North and South Dakota, Montana,

Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada— without a single metropolitan

district . On the other hand , the Pacific states are credited with

nine districts ; the Gulf Southwest, comprising Texas, Oklahoma,

and Kansas, also contains nine rapidly growing districts . Theterritory commonly known as the “

Old South ,”the region lying

east of the Mississippi and south of the Ohio and Potomac

rivers, has 17 metropolitan districts .

RATES OF I NCREASE

The rates Of population increase, 1920 to 1930 , in the 85

metropolitan districts for which comparative statistics are avail

able for the two census periods are shown in Table 18 . In this

table the districts are classified by size groups and the rates are

computed for each class .

TABLE 18 .— POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE I NCREASE OF 85 METROPOLITAN

DISTRICTS, BY SI z E GROUPS, 1920—1930“

Popu lation(in thousands)

Size class of districts

All districts .

to

to

to

to

and over .

a U.S. Census, 1930 , Metropolitan Districts, compiled from Table 4, pp. 10—13.

5 Does not include 1 1 metropolitan districts for which comparable figures are not available.

These districts with their 1930 popu lations are : Chattanooga, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Memphis, M iami, New Orleans,Portland, Oregon, San Diego, San Jose, Tampa-St. Petersburg,

For specific information regarding the growth of individual districts the reader is referred to detailed Table I I in the Appendix.

The average rate of population increase in the 85 districts forwhich comparative statistics are available was per cent, as

compared with per cent for the total population Of theUnited States . The groups containing the largest and the smallestdistricts— those with populations of over and thosewith populations ranging from to — show the

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN D I ST R I C T

highest rates Of increase. Had the 1 1 districts for which com

parable data are not available for the two census periods beenincluded in their appropriate classifications, the rates for these

two groups would have stood out even more prominently, and

of course the general rate for all districts would be higher than thep er cent shown in Table 18 . The omission Of the rapidly

growingLos Angeles districthas reduced considerably the averagerate

'

of increase for the largest group . Of the remaining 10 cities

omitted from Table 18, 5 belong in the to

group , and in every case the rate Of increase since 1920 , as indi

cated by the growth Of the counties in which central cities are

located,has beenhigh .

3

Fifty-eight Of the 85 districts show rates of increase above thenational average, 8 of which increased over 55 p er cent . On theother hand , 27 districts show rates of increase below the nationalrate, 13 of these increased less than 10 per cent, 2 of which

actually decreased (Lowell-Lawrence and Norfolk-Portsmouth

Newport News) . Of the 13 districts having rates Of increase Of

less than 10 p er cent, 10 are located in the extreme east . Four Ofthese (Bridgeport, Lowell-Lawrence, Providence-Fall RiverN ew Bedford, and Waterbury) are in N ew England , 2 (Altoonaand Johnstown) in Pennsylvania ; 1 (Utica) in N ew York State ;1 (Wilmington) in Delaware ; and 2 (Norfolk-Portsmouth-N ew

port News and Savannah) on the South Atlantic seaboard . Theremaining three are west of the Mississippi River : Duluth inMinnesota ; Davenport in Iowa ; and Spokane in the state Of

Washington .

METROPOLI TAN DI STRI CTS COM PARED WI TH OTHERPOPU LATION AGGRE GATES

The relative numerical importance Of some Of these metropoli

tan aggregations may be illustrated by comparison with thepopulations Of selected states and foreign nations . The N ew

York-Northeastern N ew Jersey district has a larger population

than any state in the Union with the exception Of thehome state of

N ew York . Moreover , it takes the total population Of 17 statesbeginning with the smallest and adding in order of rank —to

equal the population in the New York-Northeastern N ew Jersey

district. The increase in population in this single metropolitan

3 See Table I I in the Ap pendix.

TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

district in the decade 1920 to 1930 , was greater than the gain in28 states arranged in order Of growth ; and the increase in theChicago metropolitan district in the same

‘ period more than bal

anced the increase in 21 states selected in the same manner .

Again, the inhabitants residing within the N ew

York-Northeastern N ew Jersey metropolitan district— all Of

whom are within a half hour’s train ride Of Times Square - con

stitute a larger human aggregation than that recorded in the 1931census for the Dominion Of Canada and considerably

larger than the combined populations Of Australia and N ew

Zealand . This district outranks, in number Of inhabitants , 17 Of

the 27 politically independent nations of Europe, and 12 Of the13 republics and dependencies Of South America, many Of which

have separate representation in the League Of Nations .

POLI TI CAL COM PLEX ITY OF METROPOLI TAN DI STRI CTS

That the metropolitan districts as outlined on the basis Of

density bear little relation to the local political areas is indicatedby the number Of incorporated places and political jurisdictions

they contain, or the boundaries Of which they intersect . Table19 shows the distribution of the population of the 96 districtsby size Of incorporated places located within these metropolitan

areas, together with the population in the unincorporatedterritory .

TABLE 19.— D I STRrBUTION OF POPULATION WITHIN THE 96 METROPOLITAN

DISTRICTS BY I NCORPORATED PLACES OF D IFFERENT SIZE CLASSES,

Size class of places

100 0

Less than

to

to

to

Unincorporated area

U.S. Census, 1930, Metropolitan Districts , compiled from Table B for each district.[ 44 ]

TH E METROPOL I T A N D I S TR I C T

The 96 districts contain separately incorporated places ,889 Of which , including central cities, are Of urban rank ; that is,they have populations Of or more. I n addition, the districtscontain 677 incorporated villages of less than inhabitants

and persons residing in unincorporated territory .

Furthermore, the 96 district-s cover in whole or in part 250 coun

ties ; 23 Of the districts cut across state boundaries , 4 of which

include parts of 3 different states .

Naturally the districts vary greatly in the number Of separatelyincorporated places they contain. I n 6 Of the districts, there isnot a single incorporated place apart from the central city .

These are comparatively small commercial centers— El Paso,Fort Worth , Knoxville, Nashville, Richmond, and Wichita .

On the other hand, there are 272 incorporated places in the N ew

York-Northeastern N ew Jersey district ; 135 in the Pittsburghdistrict ; and 115 in the Chicago district (see Table 30 , pageSize, topography, and the nature of the local industrial structureseem to be themost important factors in determining the politicalcomplexity of a metropolitan district .

METROPOLI TAN AGGREGATI ON VERSU S URB AN I ZATION

The process Of urbanization assumes a diflerent character

when interpreted from the standpoint Of the metropolitan dis

triet instead Of the political area . The aggregate population

residing in the 96 metropolitan districts , as established on thebasis Of density, equals p er cent Of the total urban populationrecorded in the 1930 census . But over 12 p er cent of the inhabitants of these metropolitan districts are elsewhere classified in

the census as rural because they do not happen to reside within

incorporated places Of inhabitants or more. Such p opula

tion is probably more urbanized from an economic and social

standpoint than much Of the sO-called urban population living

in small centers remote from the larger cities .

Further, the metropolitan district as defined by density in

cludes by no means all Of the people of the area that have directand intimate contact with the culture and institutions Of thecentral cities: Under present conditions Of local transportation,

the population residing within a radius of 30 to 40 miles Of a

large city may be considered as within direct contact with its

institutions and services and therefore in a sense might well be

included as inhabitants Of the city ’

s metropolitan district. I n

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

Chapter II Of this monograph a table is presented (Table 7,

page 20) that shows the proportion Of the total population Of theUnited States residing in 63 metropolitan

‘

zones— cities of

or more plus adjacent counties within a radius of 20 to 50 milesf depending upon the size of the City . According to this tabulation,

approximately half of the total population Of the United Statesfat the present time lives within daily access Of a city Of

or more . This is approximately the same percentage of the, total

population as was reported in the cities of or more,

and only eight points less than the total population recorded as

urban. The metropolitan region cuts the population in a different

way from the urban classification ; yet as is seen in Table 20 it

cuts almost as large a slice .

TABLE 20 .

— PROPORTION OF TOTAL POPULATION IN DIFFERENT TERRITORIALCLASSIFICATIONS, 1900—1930a

Territory

U.S . Census, 1930, Population, Vol. I , Table 3, p . 8.

b I bid., Table 4, p. 9.

0 See Table 7, p . 20.

I t is when one comes to interpret the rank and growth of

individual cities or groups Of cities that the phenomenon Of

metropolitan aggregation has most significance. Table 21 listsin order the 10 largest cities in the United States and gives therank Of the metropolitan districts in which they are located ,together with their respective rates Of increase during the lastdecade .

I n only three cases— New York, Chicago, and Philadelphiais the ranking of the central city the same as that of the metro

politan district . I n some instances the difference in rank is p ronounced ;

'

for example, Boston ranks ninth as a city but fifth as a

metropolitan district ; Pittsburgh , tenth as a city and seventh as ametropolitan district ; Cleveland on the other hand occupiessixth place among the cities Of the United States but only tenthamong the metropolitan districts . I t will be noticed also thatfour cities— Philadelphia, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Boston

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

class with an aggregate population of By 1930 theCombined population of these 32 places was an increase

Of or per cent in the decade.

‘

But Of the 32 places, 4were suburbs of Detroit, the combined gain of which was

or per cent Of the gross increase for places Of this size in thestate.

Thompson and Whelp tonhave computed the rates Of increase,1920 to 1930, Of different size groups Of cities by location within

and Without metropolitan districts for the country as a whole .

Their tabulation is reproduced in Table 22 .

TABLE 22 .— RATE OF POPULATION INCREASE IN SMALL CITIE S AND IN RURAL

TERRITORY WITHIN AND WITHOUT METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS, BY SIZE OF

CITIES, 1920—1930“

Rate of increase

Type and size of place

Rural area

t t t t t t t t t t

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

a The metropolitan districts used are those of 1930 (see U.S. Census, 1930 Metropolitan Dis

tricts) , but the cities and rural areas are classed according to their population In 1920. Territoryrural in 1920 is counted rural in 1930 , although it may have contained one or more incorporatedplaces in 1930 . Abridged from Table 10 in Population Trends in the United States, 1933, by WarrenS . Thompson and P. K. Whelp ton.

I t will be seen that the widest differences in rates of increasebetween places within and those without metropolitan districts

pertain to the smaller group classifications, particularly to townsranging from to inhabitants . As the size Of the groupincreases, the differential in rates Of growth between places inside

and outside metropolitan districts diminishes .Attention is directed

to the wide disparity in the rates of growth Of rural territory

within and that Without metropolitan districts .

SUMMARY

TO summarize : The population Of the United States is tendingto concentrate more and more in large regional aggregates .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN D I S TR I C T

In every such aggregate, the population tends to subdivide and

become multinucleated in a complex Of centers that are econom

ically and socially integrated in a larger regional unity.

Theextent Of the areas Of concentration is determined by theOperation of geographical and economic forces and thereforebears little relation to the political units into which the countryis divided and according to which census enumerations are made .

The political margins Of the centers seldom circumscribe theentire population nucleated therein . Accordingly census enumera

tion on the basis Of political areas affords an inadequate foundation for determining trends in local aggregation or for comparing

patterns Of settlement in different parts Of the country and in

different periods Of time.

This fact has been recognized by the Bureau Of the Census ,with the result that since 1910 metropolitan districts have been

established for the larger centers Of population. The procedureadopted thus far in establishing suchdistricts has been basedon the factor of density . Although this is a marked advance over

the u se Of the political area, it cannot be regarded as entirely

satisfactory . The modern regional community, conceived in

functional terms , may bear but slight relation to the factorOf density. The Bureau Of the Census is ful ly aware of this fact

and , prior to the 1930 enumeration, attempted to establish func

tional criteria for the mapp ing Of metropolitan districts .

4

But the inability sufficiently to standardize the procedure com

p elled the Bureau to revert to the factor Of density as a basis

for determining the geographical limits Of the 1930 districts .

There remains, therefore, the research problem Of working out asystem Of objective criteria that will define the geographical scopeOf themetropolitan aggregate and at the same time be Of sufficientuniform ity for census purposes .

4 See U .S . Census, 1930 , Metropolitan Districts, p . 5 .

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CHAPTER V

FACTORS IN CONCENTRATION

HE history Of American settlement, considered from thestandpoint of population movements,

'

is a record Of outflowsand inflows —Of dispersion and concentration. Although the twoprocesses have always occurred simultaneously and are complementary aspects of settlement growth , yet they are by no means

even . At certain times, the spread Of population has been themore importantmovement ; and at other times , the concentration.

The spread Of population provides the economic foundation forurban living, and the city furnishes the market or economicstimulus for dispersion.

Considered over a period Of years, as far as the total populationof the country is concerned, it appears that the forces making

for concentration outweigh those making for dispersion, since an

increasing proportion of the total population of the United Statesis

‘

found each decade in a smaller fraction of the total land area

of the country . The question naturally arises : What are theunderlying forces making for this tendency, and why are certain

areas rather than others becoming the geographic foci Of thisconcentration process ?

GENERAL FACTORS I NVOLVED I N CONCENTRATION AN D

DI S PERS I ON

The activities required to sustain any society involve a ter

ritorial division Of labor Of a twofold nature : (1) the field workat the sources from which the basic materials are procured fromnature ; and (2) the center work where the raw materials are

processed for consumption and Where group services are p er

formed . As a civilization grows in Wealth and complexity, thenumber and variety Of both field and center activities increasecorrespondingly . TWO general tendencies are observable with

regard to the spatial aspects of the production Of goods and

services : 1) the proportion of labor required to obtain the originalmaterials from nature is becoming relatively less than that

50

FA C TOR S I N CON C ENTRAT ION

required to fabricate them and to effect the various servicesdemanded by a population with a rising standard Of living ; and

(2) modern communications have so shrunken space that these

center activities may be performed over Wider areas than for

merly, thereby concentrating territorially these functions and

the populations engaged in their performance .

In attempting, therefore, to ascertain why the population of

the United States is becoming less uniformly distributed over theland , although steadily increasing in numbers, it is necessary to

consider the general centralization—decentralization tendencies

Of different types Of economic and social activity . For it may be

assumed that the spatial arrangement Of the population is

basically determined by the operation Of economic forces .

A review Of occupational statistics discloses the general shiftOf emphasis from field to center types of economic activity .

I n spite Of the ever-increasing demand for greater Volume and

variety Of nature ’

s resources, the proportion Of persons actually ;required to Obtain these materials from their geographic sources

is steadily diminishing, while the proportion required to perform .

the multitudinous services that result from increased wealth and

leisure is constantly increasing. This _is shown in Table 23 .

TABLE 23 .— GAINFUL WORKERS 10 YEARS OLD AND OVER, BY GENERAL DIVISIONS OF OCCUPATIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES, 1910—19300

Number

General division of occupations

All occupations 100 . 0

Forestry and fishingExtraction of mineralsManufacturing and mechanical industries 28 . 9

Transportation and communication .

Public service (not elsewhere classified)Professional serviceDomestic and personal serviceClerical occupations

0 U.S. Census, 1930, United States Summary, Occup ation Statistics, Table 2, p. 8.

Aside from the general decline in the proportion Of persons

employed in the basic industries, important shifts are taking place5 1

TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

in the areas Of production, inducing corresponding movements

Of population. Attentionhas been called to the fact that the ruralfarm population Of the United States decreased p er cent inthe decade 1920 to 1930 . But the loss in this basic group was notshared equally by the different agricultural areas Of the country“

.

Eighteen states showed varying rates of increase in rural farm

population during the last 10 years . N ot infrequently states

showing marked losses in farm population are adjoining or close

to states that have experienced considerable gains . For example,

Georgia is reported in the census as having fewer rural

farm inhabitants in 1930 than in 1920 , whereas the neighboringstate of North Carolina records a gain of and Mississippi

a gain of in rural farm population in this 10-year period .

Missouri lost almost of its farm population between 1920

and 1930, while Texas gained Numerous other examples

might be cited of shifts Of rural farm population from one section

Of the country to another . These movements are in response to

economic forces affecting agriculture . Changes _ in consumers’

demand for different kinds Of agricultural’

products— notably an

increase in the consumption Of fruits and vegetables— induce

developments in those areas inwhich such products may be most

efficiently produced . TO illustrate : Imperial County , California ,

an uninhabited desert three decades ago,has, by virtue Of irrigation and the demand for winter vegetables, increased in p op u la

tion from in 1910 to in 1930 . Similar concentrated

agricultural developments in other parts Of the country might

be noted . Much Of the recent increase in western Texas may be

explained on the basis Of the growing winter market for different

types Of fresh vegetables and also by the shift Of cotton produc

tion resulting from the boll-weevil devastations in the Older

areas and from the improved methods Of farming.

Similar regional shifts pertain to certain classes Of minerals .

This applies particu larly to the production Ofm

cm'

de petroleum .

I n the early part Of the century the chief producing areas were

east Of the Mississippi , mostly in the Appalachian district, butin the course Of the last two decades themajor part of the nation’

s

yearly output Of petroleum has come from mid-continent terri

tory— Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas— and from

Southern California . The proportion Of the nation’

s total produc

tion Of crude petroleum Obtained in these states west Of theMississippi increased from 63 p er cent in 1910 to 85 p er cent in

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FA C TOR S I N CON C E NTRAT ION

1930 . Moreover, in this period the total production Of crudepetroleum in the United States increased almost 100 p er cent.

MANU FACTURE S AN D POPULATI ON CONCENTRATI ON

The rise Of manufacturing industries ln the United States hasgenerally Seen regarded as one Of the leading causes Of p op u la

tion concentration and city growth, and In the past there wasbasis for this assumption as the decennial increases in the numberOf wage earners bore a fairly constant relation to the increasein the urban population . I n the first decade Of the century, 1900

to 1910 , the urban population Of the United States increasedp er Cent, and

’

the number Of factory wage earners, 1899 to

1909, p er cent ; in the second decade the percentage gains forthe two groups were and respectively . I n the last decade,however , 1920 to 1930 , the urban population increased p er

cent, while the number Of wage earners remained practically

constant, there being a slight decrease p er cent) in the number employed in 1929 as compared with that in 1919. Notwithstanding this stationary Or declining industrial wage-earning

population, the output of the factorieshas continued to increase .

Measured in terms Of Value added by manufacture, production

was p er cent higher in 1929 than in 1919 ; moreover, thehorse power used in factories Increased p er cent in this

period .

1 I t is quite apparent that technological advance is having

the same effect in manufacturing industries as in agriculture and

the other basic industries . The machine and mechanical energy

are reducing the amount Of labor required to Operate our factories

just as they are reducing the number Of persons required to culti

vate our fields and procure our minerals .

Although the number Of wage earners in factories has never

constituted a very high proportion of the total urban population ,

the ratio at the close Of the last decade was notably lower than informer years, as seen in Table 24 .

The significance Of industry as a factor in population con

centration is not fully indicated by statistics relating to thenumber Of persons employed in factories or even by the totaloutput Of manufactured products . If factories became more

Widely distributed throughout the nation, both the number Of

workers and the gross output Of factories might continue to

increase without population in general becoming more con

1 U .S . Department of Commerce, Commerce Yearbook, 1931 , Vol . I , p . 34 .

53 l

TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE 24 .—RATIO OF WAGE EARNERS IN MANUFACTURES, 1889—1929, TO

TOTAL URBAN POPULATION, 1890—1930

Wage earners in manufacturesUrban popu lation“ (average number employed during

year)5

a U.S. Censu s, 1930, Popu lation, Vol. I , p. 8 .

b U.S . Department of Commerce, Commerce Yearbook, 1931 , Vol. I , p . 28

centrated geographically . The pertinent question, therefore, I S

whether manufacturing is spreading or tending to become more

highly concentrated .

I n this connection, it is important to differentiate betweenlocal shifts within a metropolitan community and interregional

shifts . Any attempts to measure centralization or decentralization

tendencies in industry by statistics relating to the size Of thecommunity in which the industry happens to be located are ap t tobe misleading unless due consideration is given to actual location

tendencies . The transfer Of a plant from a central city to an ad

joining suburb does not in any valid sense imply decentralization,

nor does the fact that a higher proportion Of the factory wageearning population is now found inside larger cities than formerly

prove that industry is centralizing . A number Of these larger

cities may merely have extended their political boundaries and

thus brought Within their statistical areas adjoining factory communities . Moreover, as a city increases in size and shifts from a

lower to a higher statistical classification, its industrial wageearning population is likewise transferred statistically from thesmaller to the larger community group . Thus a stationary or evena declining industrial population located in a rapidly growing

city would in time show a tendency toward centralization as

measured by the size of the Community in which it is located .

A more accurate conception of the actual trend in the distribution Of the industrial population is Obtained by considering it as

a separate group and Observing the tendencies in its spatial

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN ITY

earners during the last decade . Table 26 shows the change be

tween 1919 and 1929 in the number Of wage earners employed in

manufactures in 33 leading industrial areas Of the United States .

The areas are those outlined in the compilation of the 1929

TABLE 26.— WAGE EARNERS IN MANUFACTURES, BY MAJOR INDUSTRIAL AREAS

AND PERCENTAGE I NCREASE , 1919—1929, COMPARED WI TH PERCENTAGE

INCREASE IN TOTAL POPULATION, 1920- 1930 , IN THE SAME AREAS

Percentage increaseWage earners inor decrease In

manufactures (averNumber age number employed

I ndustrial area0 of durmg year) “counties

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Providence-Fall River-New Bedford .

Bridgeport-New Haven-Waterbury

Los Angeles .

Cincinnati .

Baltimore .

San Francisco-Oakland

Youngstown

M inneapolis-St Pau lHartfordRochesterAlbany-Schenectady-TroyAllentown-BethlehemSp ringfield Holyoke

I ndianapolisKansas City (Mo. and Kans.)

Seattle-Tacoma

Scranton Wilkes-Barre

Total

0 Based on preliminary reports issued June 5 , 1981.5 Compiled from U.S. Census, 1980 , Pop ulation Vol I

FA C TOR S I N CON C ENTRAT ION

Census of Manufactures and most Of them include several counties

in addition to the one in which the central city is located . Thepercentage increase in the total population of each area is p re

sented by way Of comparison.

N 0 less than 24 Of these 33 major industrial areas recorded

fewer wage earners in manufactures in 1929 than in 1919 ; 16

show rates Of decline more than twice as great as the generaldecline Of p er cent in the factory wage-earning population Of

the nation as a Whole ; 10 Of these districts show decreases Of 10

per cent or more . I t will be Observed that all Of the districts eastof the Appalachians show substantial decreases in their industrial

populations . Los Angeles holds a unique position in this list of

major industrial districts in point Of increase in factory wage

earners, 1919 to 1929, showing a gain Of per cent . Dayton and

Toledo stand next in order of percentage gains .

A noteworthy feature Of the data presented in Table 26 is the ’fact that there is little correlation between change in the p ercentage Of wage earners in these districts and increase in total

population. Many of the districts show substantial decreases

in their factory employees and at the same time rapid gams in

population. This applies particularly to the N ew York City

district, in which the number Of factory workers dropped

per cent while the total population increased p er cent . I n

the Philadelphia and Boston districts, the differences are almost

equally striking, and to varying extents the lack Of correlation

pertains to most Of the other districts as well . I n short, it is quiteObvious that the forces that have made for population increase inthese concentrated territories during the last decade have beenother thanmanufacturing, at least considered from the standpointof the number Of persons employed in the making Of the products .

That certain districts in the South have profited by some Of

the recent industrial shifts is indicated by the figures in Table 27 .

This table gives the number Of factory workers in 1919 and 1929,in all of the leading manufacturing centers in southern territory .

The proportion of places showing increases is rather high ; 24 Of

the 33 counties gained in factory wage earners in this period .

The rapid rates of increase Of the total population in thesesouthern counties are also striking. But here, as in the districtslisted in Table 26, population increase has been much more

pronounced than industrial development . Even in those districtsin which the factory population made substantial gains, the

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

factory population can only partially account for the high rates

Of increase in the total population, as the ratio Of wage earners

to total population is in most instances relatively low.

TABLE 27 — PERCENTAGE I NCREASE OFWAGE EARNERS IN MANUFACTURE S INSELECTED SOUTHERN COUNTIES, 1919—1929, AND OF TOTAL POPULATION IN

THE SAME COUNTIES, 1920—1930

State and county Leading city

Alabama

—36 7

I 5 1

SpartanburgTennessee

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

U .S . Census, 1920 , Manufactures, Vol. IX, Table 2 for each state.

5 Corn iled from A B asi s for Establishing I ndu strial Sales Territories, Domestic CommerceSeries, 0 . 60 , 1932, Table 2, pp. 18—22 . All counties in these southern states havxng over

.

7,000

wage earners in manu factures in 1929 are listed.

rovided com arable data for 1919were available.

6 U.S. Census, 1930, Pop ulation, Vol. I , compi ed from Tab e 3 for each state.

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FA C TOR S I N CON C E NTRAT ION

COMMERCE AS A FACTOR IN CONCENTRATION

While manufacturing has been declining relatively in recent

years as a facfl

t-

Orw

making directly for the concentration Of p op ula

tion, there has been an Outstanding development 1n commercial

functions . Every large city and over) in the UnitedStates shows a higher proportion Of its gainfully employed p op u la

tion engaged in trade in 1930 than in 1920 . I n most cities, thegains are striking . I n N ew York in 1920 , for instance, p er

cent of the gainfully employed were engaged in trade while in

1930 the proportion had increased to On the other hand ,the proportion engaged in manufacturing and mechanical indus

tries decreased from in 1920 to in 1930 . This pattern Of

shift from manufacturing to commerce extends right through theentire list Of larger cities, although Of course varying in degree in

different places . Even in the industrial city of Detroit, the proportion Of gainfully employed in the trade group increased fromin 1920 to in 1930 , while the proportion engaged in manu

facturing decreased from to I n none of these large cities

was the proportion engaged in manufacturing industries as high

in 1930 as in

The influence Of commerce on population concentration is as

Old as established settlement . The distribution of early cities in

America, as in other parts of the world , was basically determinedby the pattern of commerce . Indeed, our present communal

hierarchy, from the village to the metropolis , is primarily a

spatial expression Of the processes involved in the collection and

distribution of goods . Important as the influence Of commerce

has always been as a bui ld“

r Of cities, the transformation whichhas Occurred 111 recent years, both In its volume and structure,has had almost revolutionary significance with_ respect to thelocal community and population arrangement in general . Therising standard Of living and the greater efficiency of industrythat characterized the decade following the close Of the WorldWar greatly increased the types Of commercial activity and

augmented the volume of commerce . The improved facilities fortransportation and communication transformed the generalpattern Of commerce, accelerating the growth Of large-scale organ2Warren S . Thomp son, Population Trends toward Concentration and Decen

trali z ation,

”in S lums, Large-scale Hou sing and Decentrali z ation, The President’s

Conference on Home Bu ilding and Home Ownership , 1932, p . 214 .

[ 59 ]

i z ation and making for geographic concentration Of many com

mercial functions .A general conception Of the extent to Which different types Of

commercial function are geographically concentrated is afforded

by the data in Table 28 .

TABLE 28 .— CONCENTRATION OF COMMERCIAL FUN CTION AS I NDICATED BY

THE LEAST NUMBER OF COUNTI ES'

REOUIRED TO OBTAIN ONE-FOURTH, ON EHALF, AND THREE-FOURTHS OF THE TOTAL VOLUME OF BUSINESS DONE

BY EACH SPECIFIED SERVICE , 1929—1930

Number of counties required to Obtain

Business

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Pop ulationd

U.S. Department of Commerce, General Consumer Market Statistics, Supplement N o . 1 to

the Market Data Handbook of the United States, 1982 . Net sales in 1929 compiled from Table 2 ,

pp. 20—63.

5 I bid., savings deposits, September , 1980 . The five boroughs comprising New York City are

considered as one county in the compilation of savings-deposits statistics.

1bid total sales, 1929, compiled from Table 4, pp. 74—193.

4 See Table 6, p . 19.

Wholesale.— An exceedingly high degree Of concentration of

wholesale function is indicated by these figures . The total valueOf wholesale business done in the United States in 1929 was

Of which or 2 1 p er cent, is

credited to N ew York County (Manhattan Island) and

to Cook County (Chicago) . Thus the wholesale businessOf these two counties, measured in monetary terms, comprised

p er cent Of the total wholesale business done in the UnitedStates in 1929. If the value Of the wholesale business in the nexteight most important counties. is combined with these,one-half

Of the wholesale business in the United States is accounted for .

Even as much as three-quarters Of the wholesale business Of thecountry is carried on in 57 counties ; that is, in less than 2 p er

cent Of the total counties that comprise the territory Of theUnited States .

Finance .—Financial function, as measured by the amount Of

‘

savings deposits (which Obviously are less centralized than many

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F A C TOR S I N CON C EN TRAT ION

other banking functions) , represents about half the degree of

geographic concentration shown by wholesale trade . One-fourth )

Of all the savings deposits in the United States were reported

(September, 1930) from 4 counties ,

3one-half from 20 counties ;

and three-fourths GOE S counties .

The tendency Of banking function to desert the smaller towns

and villages in favor Of the larger centers has become quite

conspicuous since the World War . The process is illustrated bystatistics relating to bank suspensions in communities Of d ifferent

size . The distribution Of the bank suspensions which

occurred during the period 1921 to 1930 is presented in Table 29.

TABLE 29.— BANK SUSPENSIONS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING To SIZE OF TOWNS,

1921—1930“

to

10,000 t0 25.000

and

Total .

0 Walter E . Spahr, Bank Failures in the United States, American Economic Review, Vol.XXI I , NO. 1 , Supplement, March, 1932, pp . 21 1—212.

The majority Of bank suspensions are confined to the smaller

communities ; 80 p er cent occurred in towns and villages Of lessthan inhabitants . The decline in banking function in thesesmaller centers is indicative Of the transfer of trade and otherservices also .

Retail .— Even in the field Of retail trade, which Of all the com- 1

mercial functions perhaps bears the closest relation to populationdistribution, there is evidence Of a considerable degree Of geo

graphic concentration. The number of counties required to Obtainone-fourth, one-half, and three-fourths of the total retail sales ,as indicated in the 1930 Census Of D istribution, is less thanhalf the number Of counties required to Obtain the same fractionsOf the total population Of the country in 1930 (see TableThis indicates the general tendency of retail trade to concentrate

in the larger towns and cities .

Seventy p er cent of the total retail business done in the UnitedStates in 1930 was confined to cities Of or more, althoughsuch cities contained only 48 p er cent Of the total population Of

3 See footnote b, Table 28, p . 60 .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

the country . The increasing importance of style and the improvedfacilities of transportation tend toward a concentration ofmany

lines Of retail service . On the other hand ,‘the standardization Of

merchandise as regards quality and price and the development Of

chain stores is tending toward a'

certain degree Of dispersion . But

considered in terms Of value Of sales , the centralizing forces outweigh those making for decentralization.

The general tendency Of commercial function— wholesale,

finance, and retail— to become more highly concentrated geographically is undoubtedly the chief explanation Of recent

tendencies in city growth . The decline Of the small V illage and

town was more pronounced in the last decade than in formeryears . Contrariwise, the rather rapid population growth of many

Of the larger cities in the United States located In regions in which

the general rates Of increase have been comparatively low is a

direct response to the changing pattern Of commerce. To illustrate :

I n the N ew England division, in which the general rate Of increasein the decade 1920 to 1930 Was p er cent, the metropolitan

district of Boston increased p er cent ; Hartford, p er

cent ; and N ew Haven, p er cent . These increases occurred in

spite Of the fact that each Of the three districts showed a p ro

nounced decline in the number Of wage earners employed in

manufacturing establishments in this decennial period . Likewise,in southern territory, where city growthhas been rapid, although

state increases for the most part have been low, concentration Of

commercial function affords the chief explanation. The metro

politan district of Atlanta increased p er cent between 1920

and 1930 , While the rate Of increase in Georgia was only p er

cent . Atlanta’

s growth cannot be explained on the basis Of

manufacturing development, as the Censu s of M anufactures

records only more industrial wage earners in Fulton County

(the county in which Atlanta is located) in 1929 than in 1919.

Many sim ilar instances might be cited Of cities that have grownrapidly in population since 1920 , although there has been butlittle, if any, increase in the number Of factory wage earners and

although the cities are located in regions in which the populationas a wholehas made but slight gain in numbers .

I NCREASED IM PORTANCE OF SERVI CE OCCU PATI ONS

Another factor making for population concentration and

the recent growth of cities is the increased number Of persons Who[ 62 ]

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

from the regions in which it is produced to others Ofl’ering superiorleisure-time advantages . Almost every state in the Unionhas itstourist areas which teem with activity in‘

the summer months ,but which tend to fade away in the colder weather . These periodic

invasions of pleasure seekers furnish a source of income to varying

numbers Of permanent settlers .

'Many Of the tourist counties inthe northern states show substantial increases in population duringthe last decade .

Of course, the regions that have profited most from touristtravel are those with climates which appeal to winter pleasureseekers . Florida

’

s rapid growth in the last decade p er cent)is a case in point . This state actually showed a decline in both

factory wage earners and rural farm population between 1920

and 1930 . The Atlantic City district is another . example Of a

tourist-made center . This metropolitan district increased 57 per

cent in population in the last decade, an increase due almostentirely to the resort appeal of the area . The extent to which theenormous increase Of population in Southern California may

-

be

attributed to the magnetic influence Of favorable climate cannot

be statistically determined ; but there is no question that climate

has played an important rOle in building up this immense p op u la

tion group . As people and wealth flowed into this area, manu

facturing and other wealth-producing activities have developed

also . In this respect the growth of Los Angeles has been quitedifferent from that Of Detroit, its competitor in the race for

metropolitan laurels . The Detroit areahas grown directly as theresult Of the development Of manufactures . Population was

attracted to Detroit by the comparatively high wages paid by

the motor industry . I n other words, industry grew and drew

population into this region ; whereas in the Los Angeles area

population and wealth flowed into the region, and industry

followed in response to the market opportunities .

SUMM ARY

Although the forces making for concentration and dispersion

may be considered in the general manner followed in this discus

sion, it is Obvious that different combinations of forces Operate

to determine population pattern in each region and even in each

community . The statistics presented in the preceding chapters

reveal a checkerboard pattern Of growth and decline throughoutthe country . There have been certain regional drifts ofpopulation,

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FA C TOR S I N CON C E NTRAT ION

such as to Southern California, Florida, Michigan, NorthCarolina, and to a number Of the large metropolitan communities,notably N ew York City and Chicago . But in general , population

movements show the effect Of local drifts , hills and valleys of

densi ty a’

pp'

éar ClOS'

e

I

tOgetlier ln spac .e Our mobile population

seems"

to be very sensitive to relatively slight differences in

economic opportunities as between local areas . Further , it is

evident that the forces making for concentration in any particular

region change from time to time . The history Of local settlement

in the United States reveals a wavelike development . Periods Ofrapid aggregation are usually followed by periods Of slow grow

ing, stationary, or even declining population . Settlement is always

tending toward an equilibrium . Unless new conditions continue to

induce further growth there is a tendency for the rate to decline .

An examination Of rates“

of state growth shows that only 9 Of

the 48 have had continuous upward or downward trends Of

increase throughout the last three decennial periods ; 39 havegrown in a Zigzag fashion, their rates of increase having both

risen and fallen since 1900 . The trend Of city growth also assumes

a wavelike pattern . Of the 93 cities of or more in 1930 , 47

both rose and fell intheir rates of population increase in thecourse Of the last three decades, while the remaining 46 recorded

a continuous downward trend in rates Of growth .

COMMUNITY

CHAPTER VI

THE METROPOLITAN REGION AS ANECONOMIC AND SOCIAL UNITY

HE foregoing discussion relates to the city community as

defined by aggregation and density . But the city is more than

an aggregation Of people or an agglomeration of buildings . I t is

an organization Of activities, an economic and social organism .

We shall now consider the city and the city region from thefunctional standpoint and note some Of the changes that are

taking place in the interrelations Of institutions and services .

The transformation thathas occurred since theWorldWar in thefunctional reorganization Of the city and its environs , though

less subject to quantitative measurement, is perhaps Of evengreater importance than the recent movements Of population.

The Old communai pattern, characterized by compactly integrated cities which were sharply differentiated economically and

culturally from the surrounding settlement, is being replaced by a

more Open regional community composed Of numerous territorially

differentiated , yet interdependent, units of settlement.

R I SE OF THE METROPOLI TAN COMMUNI TY

This new type Of regional community that is emerging from

the former pattern Of semiindependent units Of settlement is,

of course, the direct reSIilt of motor transportation and its

revolutionary effect upon lOcal spatial relations . The territorialrange Of primary activities is always determined by the prevailingmodes Of local transportation and communication . The margins

of the Oriental village community extend only so far as a man

can travel on foot or by slow-moving animal in the routine Of

his daily activities . Likewise the trade area Of the p re-motor

‘

village in America was described in terms of the “

team haul ”

the distance that a settler could conveniently go to market by \.

wagon and return tohis home within the working day. The limitsOf the p re-motor city in America and in Europe were defined by

the local systems of steam and electric rail transportation. Beyond

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

the area accessible to these mechanical forms Of local transportation lay the city ’s hinterland, an area bound to the city bycertain economic ties but having little contact with the localinstitutions and life Of the city .

The coming of the motor vehicle and the paved highway, theexpansion Of the press and other agencies Of communication havebrought the city and its hinterland into a closer functional

relation. The institutional division of labor which formerly

characterized the inner life of the city has been extended to

include a wide range Of surrounding settlement, effecting whatalmost amounts to a revolution in the pattern Of local relations .

This new type Of multiple-center community is what is meant

by theterm metropolitan, or city, region.

THE METROPOLI TAN COMMU NI TY AS A FUNCTI ONAL ENTI TY

The metropolitan region thus considered 15 primarily a func

tional entity . Geographically it extends as far as the city exertsa dominant influence . I t i s essentially an expanded pattern

Of local communal life based uponmotor transportation . Structu r

ally this newmetropolitan regionalism is axiate in form . The basicelements Of its pattern are centers, routes, and rims . The metro

politan region represents a constellation of centers, theinterrelations Of which are characterized by dominance and

subordination . Every region is organized around a central city or

focal point Of domlnance InWhich are located the institutions andservices that cater to the region as a whole and integrate it with

other regions . The business subcenters are rarely complete in

their institutional or service structure . They depend upon themain center for the more specialized and integrating functions .

The econom ic unity Of the modern city region is primarily

the outcome Of the transformation that has taken place in thefield Of local marketing . The new communications have enabled

the city to extend its commercial services over an expanded area

Of adjacent settlement, and at the same time they have"

afforded

the population and products Of the hinterland more direct and

immediate contacts with the city institutions and markets .

This increasing directness of relation between the city and its

hinterland has greatly enhanced the economic compactness and

mutual interdependence Of the different units of settlement which

comprise the metropolitan region.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

the Bureau Of the Census on the basis Of density, represent only theinner core Of the real metropolitan regions . Moreover, the placeslisted are only those which are incorporated as separate munici

p alities . Were it possible to include the unincorporated centers ,many Of which are more important than some of the incorporatedones, the number of places in these 1 1 metropolitan constellations

would be greatly augmented .

TAB LE 30 ,

— INCORPORATED PLACE S OF SPECIFIED SIZE IN SELECTEDMETROPOLITAN DISTRICTS, 1930a

Size of place

Less thanto

to

to

to

and over

n

Total 272 135 92 80

a U.S. Census, 1980, Metr0 politan Districts, compiled from Table B for each district.

I N TERDEPEN DEN CE OF PARTS

The very fact Of a pyramid Of numbers suggests interdepend

ence of relationship . I n general, the degree of specialization of

function tends to vary directly with the size Of the community.

This may be illustrated with respect to retail services by datasecured in a recent study Of retail outlets in Texas . The lines Of

merchandise found in specialized stores were checked accordingto the size Of the community in which the various kinds of storebegan to appear . The results Of these Observations are presentedin Table 31 .

Although specialization Of function tends to increase with thesize Of the community, size is not the only factor involved .

Within the orbit Of a large city ’

s influence, the degree of a com

munity’

s specialization of function bears little relation to thenumber of its inhabitants . Distance from the metropolis and typeOf population, in terms Of income and occupation, are more

important than size in determining the character of a suburban

center’

s institutions . From data furnished by the 1930 census Of

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E CONOM I C AND SOC I AL UN I T Y

TABLE 3 l .—SPECIALIZATION OF RETAIL FUNCTION AS REPRESENTED BY THE

TYPE S OF STORE FOUND IN VARIOUS SIZED COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF

TEXAS, 1929“

Types of stores

Men and women'

s apparel and dry goodsHardware, furniture, and undertaking .

Meats and groceries

Hardware .

House furnishings (incomplete lines )Women

’

s apparel (without shoes)Jewelry (with musical instruments or optometrist service)Hats and dressmakingMen and women

’

s apparel (incomplete lines) .Music stores .

M en apparel .Furniture, new and secondhandMen and women

’

s shoes and hosieryMen and women

’

s shoesWomen

'

s shoes and hosieryWomen

’

s hats .

Women’

s shoes .

Men’

s shoes .

Men’

s hats

5 William J. Reilly, 'Methods for the Study of Retail Relationships, University of Texas

Bulletin, No. 2944, November 22, 1929, p . 26.

retail distribution, it is possible to show something Of thenature of the specialization Of retail function in the variouscommunities that surround a metropolitan center .

Accordingly , the satellite cities 1 Of two large metropOlises,

Chicago and Los Angeles, have been grouped in each case in

concentric zones according to distance from the business centerOf the main city, and selected retail factors— persons p er store ,

total net sales p er capita , net sales p er capita Of food, general

merchandise, and wearing apparel— have been a veraged for thecities located within each zone . By comparing the figures for thedifferent zones, the importance Of the factor Of distance becomes

apparent . In neither of the metropolitan areas is there any

correlation between the size of the satellite community and the

1 As data are not furnished in the census of retail distribution for incorporated p laces Of less than inhabitants, smaller p laces are not included inthese tabulations.

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

retail functions it performs .

2 There is, however, a general correla

tion, as indicated in Table 32, between the‘retail services of sub

urban communities and distance from the central city .

TABLE 32 .

— RETAIL SALES DATA FOR CITIES OF POPULATION AND OVERIN Two METROPOLITAN REGIONS- CHICAGO AND LOS ANGE LE S,

1930“

(Surrounding cities are grouped by concentric zones according to distance from the metropolis)

Net sales per capitaNumber

Chicago only 77 $638 8126

Los Angeles only 788 81 14

U.S. Census of Distribution, 1930, preliminary figures on Retai l Trade.

The greater dependency upon the main center Of the com

munities located in Zone I is clearly reflected by the statistics

in Table 32 . With respect to each Of the factors in this tablenamely, persons p er store, total net sales p er capita , a nd net

sales p er capita Of food, general merchandise, and wearing

apparel— the cities in Zone I , in both the Chicago and Los Angeles

areas, show a distinct difference in retail structure from their

respective central cities'

and also from the groups Of cities in thetwo outlying zones . I n certain respects , the cities in Zone IIwhen compared with those in Zones I and III reflect a s omewhat

intermediate type Of commercial structure .

The territorial differentiation Of retail function between thecentral cities and their suburbs is apparent . The satellite cities

show higher p er capita sales in the primary services (food group)than do the central cities, whereas in the more specialized retail

2 See detailed Tables I I I and IV in the App endix .

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E CONOM I C AND SOC I AL UN I T Y

functions, represented by the general-merchandise and wearing

apparel groups, the situation is reversed .

The Bureau of the Census has taken cognizance of this fact

of territorial differentiation of retail function and has compiledthe data for central cities and their suburbs within metropolitan

areas . The percentage distribution of all retail sales, by main

classes of business, are given in Table 33 for the San Franciscoand Los Angeles areas .

TABLE 33 .— PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF RETAIL SALE S BY MAIN GROUPS

OF BUSINESS IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY AND Los ANGE LE S AREAS, 1929“

Business group

FoodAutomotiveGeneral merchandiseApparelLumber and buildingFurniture and householdRe staurant and eating

All other stores .

Secondhand

U.S. Census of Distribution, 1930. preliminary figures on Retail Trade, California. pp . 15—17.

A close inspection of this table will disclose certain character

istics of intercommunity division of labor . I n both areas, thepercentage of sales in the food group is notably higher in thesurrounding cities than in the main cities . This applies also to

the automotive and lumber groups . On the other hand , thepercentage of sales in the clothing groups— general merchandise

and wearing apparel— and in the restaurant group is considerablyhigher in the main cities than in the surrounding communities .

The averaging of data for groups of suburban communities

tends to cancel many of the important individual differences .

The range of variation in different retail functions for the variouscities summarized in Table 32 is shown in detail in Tables IIIand IV in. the Appendix. I t is interesting to note that cities

located within the first 20 miles of the business center of the75 ]

TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

main city show wider individual differences in retail function

than do cities in the more distant zones . This is indicated by

the fact that the average deviations from‘ the mean of selected

retail functions3 for the cities located within the first zone sur

rounding Chicago and Los Angeles are notably higher than those

in either of the outlying zones . I n other words, specialization

of function is more pronounced in near-by suburbs than in more

remote communities .

That population type is also an important factor in deter

m ining the commercial structure of suburban communities is

indicated by the fact that the industrial suburbs around Chicago,

when compared with residential suburbs of similar size, show in

practically every instance a higher ratio of stores to population,

lower p er capita net sales, and a lower proportion of total retail

sales in the food group . I n general, the “ data seem to indicate

that the industrial suburb is more complete in its service structure

for the needs of its local population than is the residential suburb ;the latter relies more upon theinstitutions of the central city.

THE GRADI ENT CHARACTER OF A CI TY ’

S I NFLUENCE

The foregoing data seem to warrant the general conclusionthat the influence of a large city over surrounding settlement

tends to wane with distance outward . This gradient pattern of a

city ’

s influence may be illustrated by many different series of

social statistics . That it pertains to wholesale as well as to retail

function, though on a more extended scale, is indicated in

Table 34 .

The home addresses of merchants who visited Chicago wholesale establishments during a nine-month period in 1930 are

tabulated by distance from that city . The tendency for the numbers to decline as distance from Chicago increases is apparent .

Here also, however , factors other than distance are involved . A

considerably smaller proportion of the buyers comes from theterritory lying east of Chicago, in which competition from otherwholesaling centers is pronounced , than comes from territory to

the west and the north .

Even in financial function, where distance would seemingly

have less weight, there is evidence of the regional character of a

3 See Tables I I I and IVin the App endix .

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E CONOM I C AND SOC I AL UN I T Y

TABLE 34 .— OUT-OF-TOWN MERCHANDISE BUYERS WHO VISITED CHICAGO

WHOLESALERS, JANUARY 1 To OCTOBER 1 , 1930 , BY DISTANCE OF HOME

ADDRESS FROM CH I CAGOa

‘1 Merchandise Buyers' Visits to Chicago listed in the Chicago Tri bune, January 1 to October 1 ,1930 , Bu lletin from the Business Survey, No. 293, December, 1930 . (M imeographed sheets for theuse of Tri bune staff . )5 Includes only those buyers who registered at the Tri bune office, and is, therefore, by no means

a complete list of all buyers.

city’

s influence . I n the course of a study made a few years ago by

the Bureau of Business Research in the University of Illinois

concerning Chicago as a money market, data were obtained

which showed the distribution of domestic banking points main

taining correspondent relations with Chicago and N ew York City‘

banks . I t was found that “ location more than any other factor

appears to determine the distribution of banks which name

banks in Chicago and N ew York as correspondents, and location

is a somewhat more important factor in the case of the Chicagobanks than in that of the N ew York banks .

”4

The proportions of all banking points located within concen

tric circles drawn at 400-mile intervals from Chicago whichreported at least one Chicago bank correspondent are shown in

Table 35 .

The proportion of towns having correspondent relations with

Chicago banks is quite obviously influenced by distance, at

least out to the -mile circle. The tendency for the ratio of

contacts to rise in Zones IV and V, that is , in Mountain and

Pacific Coast territory, is due to the fact that relatively large

centers constitute a higher proportion of the banking points inthese areas, and of course the larger centers tend to maintainmore distant

'

banking affiliations than do smaller ones . I n other

4 Bureau of Business Research, College of Commerce and Business Adminis

tration,

“An Analysis of Bankers

’

Balances in Chicago,

”Universi ty of I llinois

Bu lletin, Vol . XXVI , N o . 10, November 19, 1928, p . 15 .

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TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE 35 .— BANK1N G TOWN S WITH AT LEAST ONE CHICAGO BANK

CORRESPONDENT, BY DISTANCE FROM CHICAGO, 1927'l

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a Bureau of Business Re search, College of Commerce and Business Administration, An Analysisof Bankers’ Balances in Chicago University of I llinoi s Bulletin, Vol . XXVI , No. 10. November19, 1928, p. 15 .

b This zone has been divided by the authors of this study into western and eastern halves ; thedividing line being roughly the M ississippi-Alabama boundary line. The figures in the table are

for the western half only. The eastern half of this area between the 400 and BOO-mile circlespossesses banking points of which only per cent have direct Chicago bank connections.This is the region tributary to New York. and is the area in which its banks have the greatestinfluence.

”

(P.

The three Pacific states, Washington, Oregon, California.

words, the factor of metropolitan interrelations has entered to

counteract that of distance.

THE I NDU STRI AL B AS I S OF METROPOLI TAN RE GIONALI SM

Lest it may seem that overstress has been placed upon com

merce as a factor In givmg economic cohesion to the metropolitan

region, attention will now be directed briefly to the role of thebasic industries . I t is generally recognized that manufactures,as Gras pointed out some time ago, have played an importantrOle in the development of the modern metropolitan community .

Years before the advent of motor transportation, industrial

plants of various types appeared around the margins of many of

our larger cities, giving rise to industrial satellite communities

that maintained close financial and m arketing contact with thecentral city. The territorial arrangement of such plants, determined largely by the region

’

s transportation structure— rail and

water— furnished the main outlines of local demographicpatterning. Such industrial complexes, however, appeared only around

the few cities most favorably located with respect to sources

of power and raw materials . But in recent years, manufac

turing establishments, frequently on a small unit scale, have

arisen within or around the confines of every large city in thenation.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

tural resources6 and to have effected more sensitive space and

time relations between the local producer and the market. Milk,fresh fruits, and vegetables produced within the trucking radiusof any large city are transported by truck, and to a less extent by

rail , direct from the producer to the city market, timed to arrivefor early morning distribution or in accordance with the time

peculiarities of the market concerned .

The general effect of the increasing flexibility of local trans

p ortation facilities and directness of marketing practice seems

to be to tighten up the city’

s local produce supply areas and to

effect more economic compactness . This tendency is indicated

by E . A . Duddy’

s investigation of the supply area of the Chicagolivestock market, the results of which he summari z es as follows :

I t might truthfu lly be said for all sp ecies that the tendency of ship p ershas been to seek the market closest to them. This may be attributed inp art to a relatively highfreight tariff, to the increased mileage of hardroads withresulting increase in the use of motor trucks, and to theaggressive comp etition of local packing p lants . The net cflect of thistendency, if the,

same forces continue to op erate, must be to make thesup p ly area of comp eting markets more comp act.

7

Mr . B uddy’

s conclusion regarding the supply area of livestock

may reasonably be supposed to apply in varying degree to otherforms of agricultural production, particularly to truck gardening,dairy products , and fruit . The development of these forms of

agriculture not only within the trucking radius of the large6 I n many p laces, notably around Anna, Centralia, and Olney, I ll ., and

Oaktown, Vincennes, and Mount Vernon, I nd ., the u se of the truck has madep eachgrowing more p rofitable. Overrip es, N o . 2 grade, and culls, sell at a goodp rice at the farm and sometimes first-grade fru it is sold at ahigher p rice at thefarm than at some distant market. A number of the growers in these localitiesstated that theyhad increased their p roduction of peaches as a result of the service of motor trucks .

I ncreased p rofits due to sales to truckmen and a resulting tendency to

increase ap p le p roduction were rep orted at Laurel, Orleans, and Oaktown, Ind .,

and Olney, Flora, Anna, Centralia, and Qu incy, I ll.New p roduction directly attributed to the u se of the motor truck includes

early tomatoes and small fru its in the Vincennes district and at Brownstown,

I nd . A tendency to increase strawberry p roduction in the Egypt district of I llinois,and cantaloupes and watermelons at West N ew York, I ll ., was rep orted.

The important p roduction of mixed vegetables near Terre Haute hasincreased withthe extensive u se of the motor truck in supp lying distant mar

kets. Brice Edwards, Motor-truck Transp ortation of Fru its and VegetablesSouthern I ndiana and Southern I llinois, 1928 Crop , (U .S . Dep artment of Agri

culture) February,1930 , p p . 7—8 .

7 E . A . Duddy, The Supp ly Area of the ChicagoLivestockMarket, 1931 , p . 85 .

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E CONOM I C AND SOC I AL UN I T Y

marketing centers but in favorable locations throughout thecountry has been one of the most conspicuous trends in recent

agriculture.

SUMM ARY

Generalizing, it may be said that the economic unity of themetropolitan region is based upon a pattern of economic relationscharacterized by territorial differentiation and specialization of

parts which are functionally integrated in a sensitive balance of

space and time relations . The tendency seems to be toward

greater specialization of the differentiated parts accompanied

by amore sensitive gearing of the temporal relations . Inasmuch as

distance is an important factor in the time and cost of reaching

the market, the intensity of local relations tends to decline with

distance from the main center of activity .

REORGANI ZATION OF S OCI AL ACTI V I TI ES WI THI NTHE METROPOLI TAN COMMUNI TY

Data are not available by which to measure accurately thetrend of social relations within the metropolitan community .

But_

inasmuchas communication is a sine qua non of corporate

social action, facts bearing on recent developments in this field

may be used as indicators of the expansion of the social horizon

of the local community .

Two important aspects of the recent developments in com

munications are pertinent in this regard ; (1) their utilization

is more pronounced within the local area than between more

distant points ; and (2) the radius of daily activities has beenextended several fold over that of a few decades ago . I n this

regard, the recent developments in communications have had a

somewhat different application from those which arose in thenineteenth century . Whereas the railway and the telegraph wereprimarily long-distance agencies of contact, the motor vehicle

and the telephone, despite their extended application, are chiefly

used within the orbit of daily local relations . The airplane and

the radio, of still more recent origin, have initiated a second

revolution in the field of distant contacts, the real significance

of which is as yet more or less a matter of speculation .

From the various surveys of motor traffic made by govern

mental and local agencies, the evidence is overwhelming thatthe motor vehicle is primarily a short-distance agency of trans

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

portation. I n spite of the rapid development of surfaced highways

and the increasing speed of driving, both of which tend to increasetouring and intercity travel, the great bulk of motor traffic is

confined to the orbit of the local area, that is, within a radius of

40 miles or less . This, as Willey and Rice‘

have pointed out,

served to multiply contacts within the community “out of

proportion to contacts at a distance .

”8

I n agencies of communication, likewise, the trend in recent

development has been toward greater intensification of u se

within the local region rather than over the nation in general .

Summarizing the results of their statistical investigation of thevarious agencies of point-to-point communication, namely thepost, telephone, telegraph and cable, Willey and Rice say

Three net imp ressions are left (1) Therehas been a strikingincrease in the frequencyof all p oint-to-point communications, bothlocaland nonlocal . (2) The frequency of local contacts is greater than that ofnonlocal contacts, p rimarily because of the habitual util iz ation of thetelephone. (3) Relatively, the frequency of local communications hasincreased even more rap idly than has the frequency of nonlocal . Theareas of contacthave been exp anding, the p oint-to-

p oint channelshavelengthened and their u sehas increased ; bu t all the while the imp ingements of the local community up on the individual have mu ltip lied witheven greater rap idity— an observation that also develop ed from theconsideration of transp ortation agencies and travel habits .

I t is not imp robable that this intensification of local contactsp lays a part in the p reservation and even in the enhancement of localp atterns of attitude, hab it, and behavior, and serves as an inhibitor ofthe p rocess of cu ltural leveling whichis so often assumed as an out

standing and unopp osed tendency of American life.9

The new developments in transportation and communication

have not only intensified local contacts but have extended theterritorial sphere of their operations . The automobile has increased the radius of local activities from five to ten times thatwhich prevailed under the régime of the horse-drawn vehicle.

Likewise the territorial range of local agencies of communication,

notably the telephone and daily press, has expanded com

3 See U.S . Bureau of Public Roads, State Surveys of Motor Traffic for theStates of New Hamp shire Ohio Vermont Pennsylvania

and the more extensive survey in 1 1 western states The dataobtained in these surveys have been analyz ed by Malcolm M . Willey and

Stuart A. Rice and p resented in summary form in Chap ter IVof Recent Social

Trends, 1933 .

9Malcolm M . Willey and Stuart A. Rice, Communication Agencies and

Social Life, 1933, pp . 153—154 .

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E CONOM I C AND SOC I AL UN IT Y

mensurately. The intensity of u se of each of these agencies of

local contact, however, tends to decline with distance from thefocal center . That this applies to motor traffic is shown on pages

87 and 88 of this report . That it pertains to newspaper and

telephone media of communication is indicated by Table 36 .

TABLE 36.— NUMBER OF DETROIT DAILY PAPERS CIRCULATED AN D NUMBER

OF TOLL TELEPHONE CALLS PER 100 RESIDENTS OF TOWNS AND CITIES OFOR MORE LOCATED WITHIN SPECIFIED CONCENTRIC ZONES

SURROUNDING THE CITY OF DETROIT, 1931

Newsp ap ersa Toll telephone calls”

0 Compiled by Kenneth McGill, University of M ichigan, fromdata obtained from the Audi t

Bureau of Circulation Reports for the year 1931. These reports do not give the circu lation figuresfor a city or town unless it receives at least 25 copies daily of the newspaper in question. The papersconsidered were the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, and the Detroi t Times. Compare R. E .

Park, Urbanization as M easured by Newspaper Circulation, American Journal of Sociology,Vol. XXXV, NO. 1 , Ju ly, 1929, p. 62.

5 Compiled by Kenneth McGill from data supplied by the courtesy of the M ichigan Bell Telephone Company, Detroit. Toll-call figures represent totals for a period of 21 days in August, 1981 .

The intensity of the city ’

s social relations with surroundingsettlement, as reflected by statistics pertaining to the variousagencies of local contact, tends to diminish as distance from thecity increases . I n this respect, the pattern of social contacts

seems to correspond to that of the commercial functions already

described . But the territorial scope of the social community,like that of the commercial community, does not extend in thesymmetrical fashion suggested by the data in Table 36 . Thecontraction of spatial distance resulting from the new agencies of

contact makes possible a wider selection of social relations and

thereby increases the complexity of social organization . Spatial

distance under modern conditions bears little relation to social

distance. Physically adjacent population groups may be interrelated in an economic or symbiotic manner and yet live in vastly

different social worlds . The increasing fluidity of the metropolitan

community seems to tend toward a local leveling of culture, butat the same time it seems to encourage a system of socialstratification.

CHAPTER VII

MARGINS OF THE METROPOLITANCOMMUNITY

HE central city casts its influence over the surrounding

settlement in the form of traffic zones . The margins of move

ment, determined by distance and competition, tend to delimit theareas of the “

natural ” community . The boundaries, of course,

are seldom definite, stable lines which can be shown on a map .

They are rather, as already indicated , zones of diminishing in

fluence which vary with changing conditions of transportation

and competition.

Two terms have come into common usage to designate zones of

communal influence : (1) metropolitan area ; and (2) trade area .

The term “

metropolitan area” has come to signify the territory

in which the daily economic and social activities of the localpopulation are carried on through a common system of local

institutions . I t is essentially the commutation area of the centralcity and tends to correspond to the “ built-up

”area in which

public services such as water, light, sanitation, and power become

common problems .

The second concept, trade area, is used to designate a more

extended territory _of city influence

-“

I t is difficult to define in

abstract terms . For practical purposes, however, a city ’

s trade

area may be defined in the words of John W. Pole, Comptrollerof the Currency, as

“

the surrounding geographical territory

economically tributary to a city and for which such city provides

the chief market and financial center .

” 1 Trade or marketing areas

are usually divided into two general classes : retail and wholesale.

Within each class there are obvious variations of territory fordifferent types of service .

TREND IN THE S I ZE OF THE METROPOLI TAN ARE A

For the few cities having rail commutation service, it is possible

to obtain a rather definite conception of the trend in the size of the

United States Dai ly, January 3, 1931 .

l 84 l

MAR G I N S

metropolitan area . The following summary of commutation

traffic for the country as a Whole suggests that the metropolitan

areas . of the rapid-transit cities have probably changed butlittle during the decade, except so far as the motor car may have

extended the rail commutation service.

TABLE 37.— RAILROAD COMMUTATION TRAFFIC, 1922—1930a

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 I nterstate Commerce Commission, Statistics of Rai lways in the United States, 1930 .

bFigures for 193 1 are preliminary and subject to revision.

Most of the commutation travel is concentrated around four

cities : N ew York, Chicago, Philadelphia , and Boston . That there

has been considerable change in the volume of commutation

traffic for the different lines entering these cities is indicated by

the following statistics

TABLE 38.

— STEAM RAILROAD COMMUTATION TRAFFIC FOR SELECTED LINES,1922- 1930“

Revenue passengers carried(in thousands)

Long I slandPennsylvaniaNew York CentralNew York, N ew Haven HartfordI llinois CentralDelaware, Lackawanna Western

Erie

Chicago NorthWestern

Boston Maine

Central of New Jersey .

0 Files of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

0 Part of this increase is due to a change in the policy of the company in the classification of

short-distance trafi c.

TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

Unfortunately, it is impossible to indicate the trend in thelength of the commutation journey for these different lines . Thefollowing data, however, compiled in the Regional Survey of

N ew York and I ts Environs from the records of the Long IslandRailroad, suggest that on some lines there has been an actual

decline in recent years in the proportion of the longer commutation journeys .

TABLE 39.

— PERCENTAGE OF COMMUTATION TICKETS SOLD BY LONG I SLANDRAILROAD IN COMMUTING ZONE S, 1922 AND 1927“

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a Regional Survey of New York and I ts Environs, Vol. I I , Popu lation, Land Values and Government, 1 29, n. 127.

Commutation distance is measured in terms of cost and time,

especially time ; and since, in recent years, only a few railwayshave made substantial developments in speed, at least in local

traffic , the outer margins of the rail-commuting territory of therapid-transit cities have probably not expanded much since 1920 .

The greatest transformation in metropolitan areas in the lasttwo decades pertains to the host of cities that depend upon themotor vehicle as their only means of rapid transit. The motor

car and the paved highways have provided the smaller cities

with transportation facilities equal , if not superior , to those of

the rail systems of the rapid-transit cities . There are no com

prehensive statistics available relating to the u se of the motor

vehicle as an agency of metropolitan transportation. Variouscities, however , make counts from time to time of motor traffic

“

along their leading streets and arterial highways . Such countsinvariably show a rapid diminishing of the volume of traffic

with distance from the main business center .

The data compiled by the Detroit Rapid Transit Commissionfrom traffic counts made by theMichigan State Highway Department and the city of Detroit may serve to illustrate the generalpattern of motor traffic relating to a large metropolitan center .

These counts were taken for a 24-hour period (November,at five-mile intervals along the five main arterial highways lead

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

mile circle, then somewhat more slowly until the 40-mile circleis reached, where it begins to rise again, owing, undoubtedly, to

the diversion of traffic to other cities . Although the data refer toall forms of motor traffic without regard to type or destination,

the proportion of private automobiles2 is sufficiently great to

warrant the conclusion that the“

40-mile circle, the point of lowestvolume, approximates the outer margin of the motor commuta

tion area .

TRENDS IN THE S I ZE OF THE TRADE ARE A

Important changes are taking place in themarketing territories

of most cities . The retail shopping areas of the larger cities, as

measured by the daily free delivery service of central stores,have expanded greatly in recent years . I t has become common

practice for the larger stores throughout the nation to deliver

their merchandise regularly within a radius of 30 to 50 miles .

City department stores report not only an extension of their

delivery systems since 1920 , but also an increasing volume of

trade from outlying territory . Some stores provide free telephoneservice to their suburban customers and some rebate fares,depending on distance traveled and volume of purchase . Theoutward movement of the higher economic elements of thepopulation has been an important factor in the extension of

market areas of department stores . Several stores report a falling

Off of business within the inner zones ; others report that thevolume of the close-in businesshas been maintained largely as a

result of the increase in the hotel and large-apartment trade .

3

The expansion of the delivery territory of the large central

stores does not imply that the city ’

s trade area is merely a

magnified reproduction of that of the small town . I t representsrather the tendency toward division of labor among the variouscenters located within shopping access of a large city. Thesmall town is yielding many of its more specialized services tothe city while, in turn, it is acquiring new services such as thechain store and the motion-picture theater . The city ’

s retailtrade area comprises the territory from which patrons come to

2 I n a 7-hour count of traffic made November 26, 1932, under the sup ervision

of KennethMcG ill, University of M ichigan, on Detroithighways— count madeon U .S . 10 , in Royal Oak, on U .S . 25 , at Fort Street, and on U .S . 1 12 in

Dearborn— passenger-car traffic composed per cent of the total .

3 Based on returns of a questionnaire sent to a selected list of department

stores.

[ 88 ]

MAR G I N S

purchase style or other specialized merchandise in centrallylocated stores . The increasing importance of style and fashion

is a factor in the expansion of the retail market territory of thelarge city .

TREND I N WHOLES ALE TRADE ARE AS

Perhap s the most significant changes that have taken p lace in d istribution in the last decade have been in the field of wholesaling. For

merly the typ ical wholesaler carried a Wide assortment of everything inhis general commodity line whichretailers needed, althoughthere weresp ecialty wholesalers who carried a smaller assortment, in some cases

confined to a single line . The shifting of retail trade toward the largercenters has tended to reduce the small-town retailer market and to

increase the exp ense of selling to it.

The general trend in wholesaling seems to be toward concen

tration and specialization . The small city, especially if located

within convenient trucking distance of a larger place, is losing

to the latter most of its wholesaling business . On the other hand ,many of the more remotely located small cities seem to be

extending their wholesaling activities since the coming of themotor truck and the growing practice of hand-to-mouth buying.

Here; as inretailing, there is Obviously a trend toward inter

community -division of labor . The more specialized lines of

wholesale merchandising seem to be concentrating in fewer

jobbing centers as evidenced by the 1930 census of wholesale

distribution (see Chapter V) . On the other hand , staples are

wholesaled through regional warehouse centers distributedrather widely throughout the nation .

Perhaps the general tendency in wholesaling is fairly describedby the practice of jobbers and department stores in the GulfSouthwest . According to a recent survey of this region made

by the United States Department of Commerce, it was observedthat local jobbers were tending to reduce marketing areas .

that 39 jobbers out of the 72 interviewed recorded some change inthe territory covered in the p ast five years . Twenty-eight of these firms

reduced the territory covered, while 1 1 exp anded their op erations .

Most of the hou ses that reduced their territory did so becau se theybelieved that the farther away they got the p oorer the character of thebusiness they received , owing to the comp etition of other local hou ses,and that securing bu siness under these conditions amounted to buying

4 U .S . Department of Commerce, Domestic Commerce, Vol . 7, NO. 18, June 20,1931 , p . 199.

TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

out comp etition. I n contrast, it is interesting to note that threehou ses that exp anded their territory claimed that the op ening of goodroads had made it p ossible to send their salesmen farther Without an

app reciable increase in traveling exp ense and that the increased volume

of bu siness secured more than warranted the increase in territory.

5

While these facts denote a tendency toward contraction and

more intensive coverage of territory on the part of local jobbers,the same survey revealed that the leading retailers in the GulfSouthwest region did their specialty buying in distant cities .

I n the group of stores with net sales of over a year, all

maintain their resident buying Ofli ces in N ew York . One of the stores

located in Memphis maintained a resident buying Office in both N ew

York and Chicago .

6

I n view of such overlapping of wholesale marketing territor ies ,it is obviously impossible to establish a line or zone around a city

that will adequately circumscribe all of its wholesale activities .

A general conception, however, may be obtained of the most

concentrated part of a city’

s wholesale-market territory by noting

the local territory covered by the trucks of city warehouses andparticularly those of chain establishments .

The truck, like the private automobile, is primarily a shorthaul agency of transportation . And , like the automobile, it is

ordinarily owner-operated , rather than a common carrier .

’ To

the extent , therefore, that the motor truck is used as a conveyer

of local freight, the radius of its operations may be taken as a

measure of local marketing territory . I t has become common

practice for chains and other organizations that buy in largequantities to have the merchandise shipped in carload lots from

the factories to regional warehousing centers , whence it is

trucked out to retailing outlets in surrounding territory . Many5 Edward F. Gerish(U .S . Dep artment of Commerce) , Distri bution of Dry

Goods in the Gu lf Southwest, Domestic Commerce Series, No. 43, 1931, pp . 6—9.

6 I bid ., p . 1 12 .

7 The Bu reau of Public Roads, U .S . Dep artment of Agriculture, in its traflic

surveys has classified trucks into three group s as follows : ‘When load and truckwere owned by the same agency, it was classified as owner op erated. Trucks

op erating forhire over a fixed route, on regular schedule and at p ublic rates, wereclassified as common carriers. Those op erating essentially as common carriers

but not over fixed routes or up on fixed schedules, and those op erating underhau ling agreement witha few agencies, were termed contract haulers . Takingthe total number of trucks so classified as 100 p er cent, the p roportion in eachofthe three classes defined above was : owner op erated, p er cent ; contract

hau lers, p er cent ; common carriers, p er cent.

’

Report of a Survey of Trafi‘ic

on the Federal-aid Highway Systems of Eleven Western States,1930 , p . 29.

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

population either for consumption there or for transshipment to

other cities . The Bureau of Railway Economics reports :

All of the lemons unloaded at Los Angeles were received by tru ck .

Of the oranges unloaded, p er cent were received by truck ; of thestrawberries p er cent ; tomatoes, p er cent ; grap es, p er

cent ; celery, p er cent ; p lums and p runes, p er cent ; cabbage,p er cent ; grap e fru it, p er cent ; p eaches, p er cent ; canta

loup es, p er cent ; lettuce, p er cent ; and sweet p otatoes,

p er cent . Rail unloads exceeded tru ck unloads at Los_

Angeles for 5 of

the 18 commodities . Of the comb ined rail and truck receip ts of app les,p er cent were received by rail ; white p otatoes, p er cent ;

watermelons, p er cent ; p ears, p er cent ; and onions, p er

cent.

9

Trucking Radius .— As to the actual extent of the trucking

radius of agricultural products there is but little authentic

information . There is no doubt, however, that the radius of thetruck haul has increased noticeably within the last few years .

Obviously certain types of agricultural products are hauled

longer distances than others . Apparently livestock is hauled by

truck for longer distances than most other forms of agricultural

products . The following summary of information pertaining to

the trucking radius and its extension in recent years appears in a

publication issued by Armour and Company , Union Stock

Yards, Chicago :

I n the beginning most trucking was within the 25 to 50-mile radius,and it has now gradually been extended until 200 and 250-mile hau lsare relatively common in livestock movement, while in the movement

of foods and general commodities in whichp art of the truck’s load iseither sold or delivered, 100 miles more nearly rep resents the maximum

movement. However, some research has been made into this su bjectand the resu lts are p resented as followsThe Corn Belt Farm Dailies, in a study made on livestockhau led by

trucks in 1929, show the length of hau l varying from 1 to 300 miles and

the average hau l 50 miles. The Ohio Exp eriment Station rep orts thatlivestock was tru cked greater distances in 1928 than in p receding years .

For p u rposes of their analysis, truck receip ts at Cleveland and Cin

cinnati were considered for the years 1922, 1927, and 1928 . A smallvolume only had come more than 80 miles to either of these cities, thelargest p ercentage originating between 20 and 60 miles of these markets.

The numbers received from the 50 to 70-mile z ones showed excep tional

9 Bureau of Railway Economics, Unloads of FreshFruits and Vegetables atSixty-six Imp ortant Consuming Markets in the United States,” Bu lletin, No . 39,

October, 1930, p . 11 .

[ 92 ]

MAR G I N S

growth, however . Hogs and sheep esp ecially showed great increases inthe number being trucked for distances greater than 70 miles.

The MeredithPublishing Comp any, in its market analysis touchingon this subject, reports several estimates made by stockyards comp aniesand p rivate p acking companies . Their conclusion is that a 75-mileradius would be a fair one to choose to be ap p lied to most markets .

The Kansas City Stock Yards Comp any rep orted the bu lk of theirop erating within a 100-mile radiu s ; the Salt Lake Union Stock Yardsestimated a radiu s of 200 to 300 miles ; Milwaukee

’

s trucking is rep ortedas coming from a territory within a radiu s of 60 to 75 miles ; Omahareports its receip ts as coming from 10 to 100 miles, and the Los AngelesUnion Stock Yards Comp any rep orted its truck receip ts as coming

generally from a radiu s of 200 miles and in some cases greater distances .

I n theWarren and Pearson stu dy the average miles p er roundtrip of the intercity truckers hauling p roduce to Albany was given as

103 miles ; Bu ffalo, 1 10 miles , Rochester, 134 miles, and Syracu se, 154miles . Syracu se figures showed 27 p er cent of its loads coming from the60 to 80-mile z one.

Trucking distances thu s seem to be regulated by the degree of settlement of the country and the distance of the p roducer from market. I t

seems obviou s that the bu lk of trucking is over distances less than100 miles in the East, but in the West the comparable range is nearer

250 miles.

10

What the effect of this extension of local marketing territory

is or will be in the development of economic regionalism is a mat

ter to be determined by further research . If the truck becomes

commonly employed as a two-way-haul agency of transportation,

it may tend to make the buying area of the city more closely

coincide with the selling area, in which event the city will become

still more intimately bound up with its local hinterland .

At the Chicago commercial truck terminals, officials estimate thattrucks coming from the fru it-growing districts of Michigan handletwo-thirds as muchtonnage of merchandise on their return hauls as

their intonnage during the fru it season and that ap p roximately two

fifths of the outgoing tonnage so handled consists of groceries and

p ackaged foodstu ffs . I t is their belief that the ratio of foodstu ffs in themerchandise fluctuates only slightly in total p rop ortion during the year,althoughthe typ es of foodstuffs moved vary considerably .

1 1

This is not cited as depicting a general practice in-

that only a

small proportion of all motor trucks at present are employed as

1° Armour’

s Livestock Bureau , The Motor Truck in the Food Industry,

Monthly Letter to Animal Husbandmen, Vol . XI , NO . 8, November, 1930 , p p .

15—16 .

1 1 I bid ., p . 3 .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

commercial or common carriers . 12 I t may be taken, however , as

an illustration of a practice that may become more common in

the future, and , as it grows , the ties that bind the city to sur

rounding territory may be expected to increase accordingly.

Even more important than the extension of the direct market

ing area of regional products in the integration of the producerwith the central city are the recent developments in the businessorganization of the marketing of basic products . The last decadewitnessed a rapid growth of cooperative marketing, organized on

a regional basis . The general practice of such organization is to

maintain a central business office located in the most important

city of the region, with branches located at the leading subcentersround about . The central office conducts the business entailed inmarketing the product whether locally or inmore distantmarkets .

I n this capacity , it tends to orient local producers toward theregional center and thus makes for greater economic unity and

coordinated activity within the region .

13

M APPI NG OF AREAS OF FUNCTION

Much attention has been devoted in recent years to mapping

administrative and service areas of a city . Regional planningorganizations usually begin their activities by mapping what they

conceive to be the metropolitan area of the city , that is, theterritory in which the planning of local activities is conceivedas a common problem . I n the construction of these maps, such

factors as commutation, subdivision platting, and territory servedby_public utilities are invariably used as criteria for determining

the outer limits of the region .

The most comprehensive attempt made thus far to delimit themetropolitan territory on the basis of function was initiated bythe United States Chamber of Commerce in 1927 and recom

mended to the Bureau of the Census as a technique for delimitingmetropolitan districts in the 1930 census . A list of factors or

indices was compiled and sent to the various cities of the nationthat were considered as probable centers for census metropolitan

12 See footnote 7, p . 90 .

13 R. D . McKenz ie, Economic Succession in the Puget Sound Region,

Pap ers and Proceedings of the Twenty-third Annual M eeting of the Ameri can

Sociological Society, Vol . XXXV, July, 1929. Here the p attern of marketing local

agricultural p roducts is graphically portrayed.

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to delimit city marketing territory is evidence of the growingawareness of the emergence of economic regionalism .

I n mapping city trade areas, the general practice is to beginwith the city as a focal point of activity and to determine theouter margins of its marketing territory on the basis of actual

sales experience and practice . Relative costs of transportationbetween the various outlying points and the city center are

usually used as factors in determining where the boundary lineshould be drawn between competing centers . Such boundary lines

obviously are mobile, varying with changes in transportation

facilities and with differentials in prices as between competing

markets .

Much of the present interest in the mapping of city marketareas may be attributed to the example set by the United StatesDepartment of Commerce in its regional studies of marketing

problems during the last six years . In 1927 this government

agency published an atlas of wholesale grocery territories 1 5 in

which are outlined the areas around each primary wholesale

center in which wholesale grocers delivered the major portion of

their merchandise . By combining “

the maps for these various

centers , a wholesale marketing area map of the nation was con

structed . I n subsequent studies, the Department of Commercehas developed a technique of delimiting not only wholesale butretail and financial areas of city function.

16

The simplest and most definite procedure for determining theterritory directly dominated by a particular city is to map thearea surrounding the city wherein its communications , especially

its daily newspapers, show more intensive coverage than do thosefrom competing metropolitan centers . Since the daily press depends largely upon local advertising and since ad rtisers are

concerned with the nature of the circulation as well as its volume,

the area covered by a city ’

s leading newspaper tends to coincide

15 U .S . Dep artment of Commerce, The Atlas of Wholesale Grocery Territori es ,Domestic Commerce Series, N o . 7, 1927. Among the non-government organi z a

tions that have comp iled data on trading areas the following should be notedThe International Magaz ine Comp any (Marketing Division) , N ew York ; TheJ .Walter Thomp son Comp any, NewYork ; The Editor and Publisher Comp any,

N ew York ; The Woman’

s World Magaz ine Comp any, Chicago ; Major Market

Newsp ap ers, I nc ., Chicago.

1 6 See Edward F . Gerish(U .S . Department of Commerce) , Distri bution of DryGoods in the Gu lf Southwest, Domestic Commerce Series, No . 43, 1931 ; EdwinBates (U .S . Dep artment of Commerce) , Commercial Survey of the Pacific Northwest, Domestic Commerce Series, No . 51 , 1932.

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MAR G I N S

closely with the retail trading area of the city . I n an intensive

study made a feww

yeaI'S

-

ago of retailing practices in the towns andcities of Texas, it was found that newspaper circulation correlated

highly with the territory served by the store delivery services .

I n 41 9 smaller cities and towns newspaper circulation of largercities in those towns approximates within 5 p er cent accuracy

the'

p rop ortion of retail business which the larger cities enjoy in

those towns .

” 17

I n the following chapter , Park and Newcomb discuss in con

siderable detail the relation between city newspaper circulation

and metropolitan regionalism .

17William J. Reilly, Methods for the Study of Retail Relationship s . Uni‘

versity of Texas Bu lletin, N o. 2944, November, 1929, p . 17.

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CHAPTER VIII

NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION ANDMETROPOLITAN REGIONS I

S ANALYSIS will show, many characteristics of newspaper

circulation lend themselves to consideration when one is

concerned with the general topic of the metropolitan community

and regionalism. The newspaper is largely dependent on city

populations for its sale, and there is consequently a high degree

of correlation between circulation and urban concentration.

Newspapers in America are characteristically local and are not

distributed nationally, as are magazines of general literature and

journals of opinion . Hence, with two or three exceptions, 2 their

circulations are confined to the city and the tributary area in

which they are published . This is due in part to the early settle

ment of the country in a number of isolated regions . More gen

erally, however, the explanation lies in the establishment of thepenny newspaper in 1833 , with its emphasis on local news rather

than on opinion and foreign news . This development is distinctly

American and is quite removed from the European pattern even

today .

NEWS AS A COMMODI TY

The newspaper in Americahas gradually assumed the characterof a commodity, that is, something to be sold and distributed .

Similar though the newspaper is to other commodities, there

1 Prepared by R. E . Park and Charles Newcomb, University of Chicago . (Thisis an editorial abridgment of two chapters of Park and Newcomb ’s extensivestudy of newspap er circulation. The comp leted manu scrip t has not yet beenpublished.)

2 Excep tions are the United States Daily, p ublished inWashington, D . C ., theChristian Science Monitor, Boston, and the N ew York Times . Pap ers whichachieve a national distribution are ordinarily those that app eal to a p articular

class . The tendency of the American p ap ers has been to assume a form thatwould ap p eal to all classes within a relatively limited territory. This has beenachieved in p art by describing cu rrent events in sucha way as to emphasi z etheir human interest, giving to news something of the symbolic character of

literature. The same result has been accomp lished by departmentali z ing thenews in sucha way that there will be something for every class of readers .

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and the limits within which they circulate tend to coincide withthe trade area .

3 I t is the purpose of this section to examine thepattern of circulation of one group of metropolitan papers and

to note how, through competition with the local papers of theregion, the various types of trade areas are revealed . Beforeproceeding with the analysis, it is desirable to consider two or

three general points .

Limitations on Extent of Distribution.—The size of the trading

area within which any paper will circulate is determined primarily

by two factors : (1) the size of the town, city, or metropolitan

center in which it is published ; and (2) the proximity of other

competing centers of publication .

Thus Boston papers circulate widely over the whole of N ew

England , while the circulation limits of competing centers such

as Philadelphia , Baltimore, and N ew York”

are definitely re

stricted by their proximity to each other . And yet the very sizeof N ew York City assures her, papers a wide circulation even in

these adjacent competing centers, and , conversely, the relativelysmall sizes of

‘Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore operate torestrict the circulation of their papers in N ew York .

Another example is found in the Minneapolis-St. Paul papers ,where the circulation area to the northwest is limited only by

factors of time and space, while to the south and east it is narrowed by competition with Chicago papers .

M etropolitan and Local Papers — Similar influences are domi

nant in determining the areas of circulation of metropolitan and

local newspapers within a given region . Metropolitan papers

are defined as those published in the central city; and local papersas those published in the metropolitan region but outside thecorporate limits of the central city ; that is, in the suburban towns,the so-called “ satellite cities,

”and in that greater region outside

the immediate influence of the metropolis, but still more or lessdependent upon it, which may be described as the metropolitanhinterland .

Now, while it is true that metropolitan papers circulate in thesurrounding satellite centers in competition with local papers,the converse situation is rarely found to exist. N ew York City

papers circulate widely throughout the adjacent territory, bu tConnecticut and N ew Jersey papers do not circulate in N ew

3 See p . 97.

100

NEWS PA PE R C I R C ULAT ION

York. Similarly, Chicago papers circulate in Gary, Indiana, but

Gary papers do not circulate in Chicago, although they do com

pete with Chicago papers in territory suburban to Gary. Theextent to which a metropolitan paper circulates outside its

corporate limits in competition with a locally published paper

may be taken as an index of its dominance in that area . Con

versely, the number of copies published and circulated by a local

paper, in competition with a metropolitan paper, is an index of

the degree of its economic and cultural independence .

Occasionally it is found that a local paper is published within

the limits of a larger city . Such newspapers are limited in their

circulation to the particular quarter of the city or the particularelement of the population for which they are published . Such ,for example, are the foreign-language papers . There are, besides , a

number of local urban community papers published weekly for

the purpose of advertising the local merchants in different quar

ters of the metropolis . South Chicago has published for some

years a daily paper of its own, the Calumet.

I t is, however, difficu lt to maintain a daily newspaper in

competition with the more important metropolitan dailies within

50 miles of a metropolis and the difficulty increases as the means

of interurban transportation and communication tend to integrate

the metropolis with its suburban territory .

Organic Nature of the Trade Area — The correlation of

newspaper circulation and the limits of the trade area resolves

itself into two problems : (1) the metropolitan daily in the localtrade area ; and (2) the circulation and the outside limits of thetrade area . The first problem is most clearly indicated when

the circulations of the daily papers published in the Chicago area

are plotted on a map . The spatial pattern of distribution at once

reveals the organic relation of the functional units . This pattern

shows the whole region as a complex of local trading centers,which are also local publishing centers, each encircled by an area

in which its circulation dominates . The total circulation con

sumed by each small town is supplied by both the metropolisand the local trade center, and the ratio supplied by each dependsmainly on the distance of the town from its local trade center .

That is, the proportion of circulation from the local publishingcenter declines for each town as its distance from the centerincreases , and conversely the proportion of circulation from themetropolitan center increases . The solid lines in Figure 5 cn

101

TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

FIG . 5 .

— The Chicago region as defined by newspaper circulation and by rail

road ticket sales, 1930 .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

newspaper circulation . Chicago papers compete with local

publications most successfully in Evanston. Evanston, however ,is a residential suburb not differing except in size from some

of the residential areas Of Chicago and from a series of other

suburbs located along the line of rapid transit connecting Chicagoand Milwaukee . Waukegan, with the next largest proportion of

papers coming from Chicago, is also a residential community, butlying at a greater distance from themetropolitan center andhenceenjoying a life apart from that of the larger city .

1 The other five cities, however , appear less important as resi

ilential areas for persons employed in Chicago . Instead, a greaterproportion of their inhabitants are engaged in local industries

and commercial enterprises . Quite naturally they are less inte

grated with the central city, and , in fact, become centers of

their own suburban territory . The immediate result is that wherethere is not a large volume of daily commutation traffic between‘

the small city and Chicago, the circulation of papers from the”latter city drops off in proportion to local paper circulation . Thedaily commuter from Aurora is likely to buy a Chicago paper on

the way into the city in the morning and another in the evening

on the way out, but the noncommuter who does not have dailycontact with the large city ordinarily buys the newspaper pub

lished in the smaller center where he lives and trades . I t is alsonoted that only in the areas surrounding the industrial satellitesdo there appear communities taking no papers at all from themetropolitan center .

Further examination of Figure 5 reveals an open space between

the city limits of Chicago and the first towns taking any daily

newspapers from the satellite centers . This area is filled with an

almost contiguous mass of communities such as Des Plaines,Melrose Park, Maywood , Oak Park, Cicero, and Blue Island .

These communities are densely populated and are entirely de

pendent ou Chicago for their daily papers . Nearly all of theinterests of the people in these suburbs are centered in Chicago,

and hence it is to be expected that Chicago papers Would cir

culate to the exclusion of those from the smaller outlying cities .

In the crescent-shaped area beyond this open space, 71 per cent

of the papers are from Chicago ; and in those communities outsidethe immediate local trade areas, 80 p er cent of the papers are

from Chicago. Thus Chicago supplies the bulk of all circulation

within 50 miles of its center at State and Madison streets, even

104

N EWS PA P E R C I R C ULAT ION

including the local publishing centers . I t should be noted that

although each local publishing center has its trade area , domi

nated by its own circulation, these towns consume a relatively

small proportion of the circulation consumed in the area generally .

This is due to the fact that these towns are smaller and are rela

tively less important than the ones on the outer rim of the satel

lite trade area . Their lesser importance and size are determined

by their relation to the satellite even as the satellites are cir

cumscribed , compared with cities of comparable populations

that lie beyond 100 miles from the metropolis, by their proximity

to Chicago . I n other words, the satellite centers tend to limit thecompetition and relative independence of their small subsidiary

towns in about the same way that the metropolis tends to limit

the competition between satellites . As supplementary forms of

communication and transportation develop in the metropolitan

area to a point where the system is completely flexible, we should

expect the importance of the '

satellite to diminish even more .

The conventional form which the Chicago suburban area i

assumes suggests that in similar situations , where populations,industries, and institutions are making similar demands upon

the territory they occupy, one might expect to find a pattern of

territorial distribution not identical but at least comparable with

the one here presented . Further investigation will be necessary

to determinehow far this general hypothesis is in accordance with

the facts , but if, and so far as, it turns out to be true, it will be

due to the fact that in the gradual accommodation of competing

interests within a limited territory, something approaching thehighest possible u se of space availablehas been more or less com

p letely achieved . The existing distribution of newspaper circula

tion in the metropolitan region, since it seems to have arisen in,

response to the same forces which have brought about the existing 5

territorial distribution of social and economical function, is an“

index of the existing social and economic organization Of theregion.

The Outer Limits of the Trade Area.— Beyond the satellite

communities surrounding the city, Chicago papers circulate in

competition With those of other metropolitan centers . I t is of

considerable interest to determine the outer line Of, dominance of

Chi cago newspaper circulation, for just as within the 40-milecommuting

'

z one, traffic and newspaper circulation were corre

lated, so in the outer zone there seems to be a considerable inter

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

dependence between circulation and the Wholesale-trade area . I n

recognition of the fact that the local dealer is largely influencedby convenience inhis buying, the ChicagoTribune in 1930 made

a survey of passenger traffic to discover the points on 11 railwaylines out of Chicago where the traffic divided, 50 p er cent moving

forward and 50 p er cent away“

from the metropolis . The pointsdetermined are connected by the broken line in Figure 5 . Themarked similarity between the ebb and flow of traffic and n ews

paper circulation is seen by comparing the broken line with thesolid line which connects the outermost cities taking 50 per cent

or more of their metropolitan newspapers from Chicago as op

posed to competing centers . I t thus appears that there is a grad

ient character to newspaper circulation and to traffic and trade

as well , and that the extent of the areas of dominance are very

nearly coterm inous . Hence the distribution of newspaper circula

tionmight be useful in attempting to delimit the region ofmetro

politan influence .

METROPOLI TAN RE GI ONS DETERM I NED BY NEWS PAPERCI RCU LATION

Communication is fundamental to the existence of every form

and type of society, and one form of communication, namely, thenewspaper, has been found to circulate over the natural areas

within which society is organized . Thus itmay not seem unreason

able that the newspaper should be used as an index in outlininga number of metropolitan regions of the United States . This wasdone with the result shown in Figure 6 .

‘

Procedure .

— The procedure adopted in outlining these regionswas that employed in locating the outlying boundary of

'

the

Chicago region, namely, the selection of a number of large cities

and the plotting of the circulation of certain newspapers published

in these cities . When this had been done, it was found that thelimits of each of the regions so defined were coterminous with

those of adjoining regions, and that the whole countryhad beendivided into a number of cultural and economic provinces, each

with a single dominant city, the center and focus of a populationand a territory more or less completely integrated with it.

While it was generally assumed that a city was to be regarded

as metropolitan when its papers circulated over a considerable

area in competition withthe local papers published in the area,

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

do papers published in the afternoon.

4 The statistics were takenfrom the records of the Audit Bureau of Circulation which show

the distribution of member papers in all towns where at least

25 copies are circulated .

5

In each of the 41 regions, the total morning circulation was

compared with similar circulations of competing metropolitan

centers in towns which took copies of newspapers from more than

one center . This procedure made it possible to draw a line around

nearly all towns taking more than 50 p er cent of their metro

politan circulation from each of the several centers . For Chicago,the boundary so determined circumscribes a region with an

average radius of about 200 miles . I n order to compare the d istribution of circulation for each city , it was necessary to take

account of the distribution in from three to eight adjacent cities .

The circulation of Chicago papers was'

comp ared with that of

newspapers published in eight other cities , Milwaukee, Minne

ap olis, Des Moines , Kansas City, St . Louis, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Detroit . Some towns and cities receive papers

from more than one of the 41 metropolitan centers . I n the courseof analysis, individual maps were made for each of the 41 centers,showing the area in which their circulation dominated the com

bined circulation of the centers in competition . These maps were

later transferred to the single map shown in Figure 6 .

Difli cu lties and Anomalies in Outlining Regions — The attemptto delimit the metropolitan region systematically gave rise to

certain difficulties and disclosed some anomalies . An account

of some of these situations is useful in revealing how certainconditions operate in determining regional boundaries .

4 The morning p ap ers selected were Atlanta Constitution, Baltimore S un,

BirminghamAge-Herald, Bufialo Courier-Exp ress, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune,Cincinnati Enqu irer, Cleveland P lain Dealer, Dallas N ews, Denver RockyMountain

N ews, Des Moines Register, Detroit Free P ress, El Paso Times, Helena I nde

pendent, Houston Post, I ndianapolis Star, Jacksonvi lle Florida Times-Union,

Kansas City Times, Little Rock Arkansas Gaz ette, Los Angeles Times, MemphisCommerci al App eal, M i lwaukee Sentinel, M inneapolis Tribune, N ashvi lle Tennesseean, N ew Orleans Times P icayune, N ew York Times, Oklahoma CityOklahoman, Omaha Bee N ews, Phi ladelphia I nqu irer, PittsburghPost-Gaz ette,Portland Oregonian, Richmond Times Disp atch, Salt Lake City Tribune, St. Lou isGlobe-Democrat, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Post I ntelligencer, S ioux CityJournal, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Charlotte Observer, Albuquerqu e Journal,Lou isvi lle Courier-Journal.

5 The newsp ap er statistics comp iled by the Bureau of the Census do not showthe distribution of circu lation.

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N EWS PA PE R C I R C ULAT ION

Overlap p ing Territory— I n some cases , it happened that the

town or territory Whose position was to be determined was located

where the circulations of two or more metropolitan papers overlapped. According to the procedure adopted, the city of Walla

Walla,Washington, is dominated by no one of the three neighboring centers for not one of them sends 50 p er cent of all the outsidepapers circulated in the city . Spokane, Portland, and Seattle

all send daily papers, but those of Spokane , greatest in number,are but 43 per cent of the total .Excluded Territory.

— Contrasted to the situation described

above“

there were,

found areas which , according to the procedureadopted, seemed to be outside the region dominated by any

of the neighboring centers . Thus , in certain mountain areas, as

I n northernWyoming and again in southeasternMontana , papers

from the nearest cities, Denver , Omaha, and Helena, did not

circulate . When the lists for the Chicago papers were examined,it was found that this section, together with the Black Hillsarea of South Dakota , was apparently Chicago Tribune territory,which suggests that this territory is more closely tied up with

Chicago than with any of the adjacent metropolitan regions . For

this and other reasons,it seems that this territory is a remnant

of the old frontier served by the mail-order system .

Enclaves .

—Among the 41 cities used in this study three—Milwaukee, Des Moines, and Indianapolis— present certain

interesting anomalies . An examination of the distribution of

Chicago papers in Milwaukee territory, for example, reveals thefact that there is no such sharp dividing line separating

Milwaukee from Chicago as that which marks the boundarybetween Chicago and St. Louis or between Chicago and Detroit.

There are approximately 75 towns and cities that receive 25

or more papers from both St . Louis and Chicago . These cities are

all located on the border that divides the region of Chicago from

that of St . Louis . Outside of these border cities, Chicago papers

do not circulate in Missouri , except in two metropolitan cities,St. Louis and Kansas City .

This is not true either of Milwaukee, Des Moines, or Indiana

polis . Chicago papers circulate everywhere in the states of Wisconsin, Iowa , and Indiana in competition with Milwaukee, Des

Moines, and Indianapolis papers .

Nearly every town in the region outside of Illinois takes papers

from both the local large city, that is, Milwaukee, Des Moines, or

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TH E METROPOL I TAN COMMUN IT Y

Indianapolis, and the distant metropolitan c ity, that is, Chicago.

I n the case of the Des Moines region, some 150 towns take papers

from both Des Moines and Chicago, and although a line of

dominance can be drawn between Des Moines and Chicago, Still

the Chicago papers circulate beyond DesMoines into the westernpart of Iowa .

These cities, dominant in their own more limited areas , are

nevertheless surrounded by territory in which the circulation of

Chicago papers is greater than theirs . They are, so to speak,enclaves in the larger m‘

etropolitan region, so that their position

with respect to Chicago is not unlike that of other local and

regional cities outside the commuting area of Chicago .

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Many of the central cities of these districts are of quite recent

Origin, at least in the sense of revival of urban functions if not in

actual date of incorporation . Thirteen were incorporated since

1870 and 5 since 1880 :

The rapid emergence of large cities in regions which a few

decades ago were considered frontier outposts of themetropolitan

centers in the East and Middle Westhas effected a considerablegeographic realignment of economic functions. Many cf

.

thesingle-industry cities that developed under the market conditionsimposed by an expanding rural frontier have been compelled to

accommodate their economic activities to more restricted areas .

A number of such cities, asi ndicated earlier in this report, suflered

actual losses in population in the last decade .

Occupational Uniformity.— ~The general effect of this geographic

rearrangement of economic functions “

I s to produce" greater

uniformityof occupational structure in the largeru

c

l

ities through

out the nation. Each large city tends to build u p a complete

system of economic and social institutions for the local p op u lation. While this is a general tendency, certain factors, largely

geographic , prevent the full development of this process . If a

city ’

s population continues to increase, its economic structure

tends to becomemore balanced and complete. This is indicated

by the tendency toward greater uniform ity in the occupational

structure of the large cities of the country .

Table 42 shows the proportions of the gainfully employed indifferent industrial groups for two decennial periods, 1920 and

1930 in c ities of and over .

A careful examination of the figures in this table will disclosecertain general tendencies in the occupational structure of thesecities . I n the first place, the proportion of persons employed in

manufacturing in 1930 is, for every city, less than in 1920 ;

contrariwise, the ratios of the total gainfully employed found in

trade and commerce were without exception higher in 1930 than

in 1920 . Likewise, in the service groups of occupations— public,professional , domestic— the ratios are in general tending to

become higher .

The net outcome of this shift in occupations is to make forgreater similarity in the occupational structure of all large cities .

To illustrate : I n 1930 , the proportions of the total gainfully

employed classified by the census in manufacturing industries

in these large cities ranged from for Denver to for

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S ETTL EMENT MATURAT ION

TABLE 42.—PROPORTION OF GAINFULLY EMPLOYED ENGAGED IN CERTAIN

GROUPS OF I NDUSTRIES IN THE CITIE S OF AND OVER (1930) FOR1920—1930“

1920 l1930,1920 )1930‘1920 I1930 I1920 1930‘1920 I1930 I1920 1930

8 8 12 12 9 2 3 8 1

2 3 2 0

24 245 9 34 8 11 6 10 9 18 9

49 0 40 1 11 1 1 1 6 20 7 23 1 9 47 2 7 2

3 1 3 3 6 0

5 4

9 4 15 6 20 2

7 7 13 1 17 3

55 0 44 0 9 4

64 8 54 1 7 1

36 6 27 0 10 0

61 2 48 1

6 0 7 41 8 2 7

2 3 3 0 12 7

2 0 2 0

13 6 12 29 2 2 1 6 26 9

8 4 10 7 14 5 18 0 6 7 7 85 7

6 7 12 66 2

6 1

2 4 2 3

3 4 3 0

48 8 42 1 10 8 10 8 18 5 22 1

7 2 13 049 0 39 2 1 1 7 1 1 7 1 6 2 20 3

7 9 9 5 13 23 8 4 044 4 33 7 12 0 1 1 5 18 1 22 0

8 1 11 57 2

37 1 26 4 12 1 14 6 19 6 24 8 7 0 3 7 9 0

2 8 3 148 0 39 0 12 1 11 1 18 0 21 9

9 0 14 7 19 3 1 9 2 5 6 5 6 6 7 78 460 4 51 2

3 0 7 0 9 6 8 53 053 5 43 3 12 3 13 0 15 2 18 6

30 4 17 4 1 1 4

9 2 10 2

6 0

2 541 7 32 3 12 3 12 3 22 7 26 8 2 3 10 4

7 1 17 73 937 4 26 3 1 6 6 16 9 17 0 22 8 4 1

6 7 8 4 12 22 12 151 1 41 5 10 3 10 3 16 7 20 4

60 8 45 5 8 1 6 4 7 5

8 6 13 6

5 82 72 88 3 14 9 21 3

35 8 29 5 13 9 12 3 24 9 27 3 2 5 2 4 8 4

42 4 29 4 12 1 13 0 19 0 25 5

50 9 39 7 11 1 10 7 17 9 22 3

9 5 1 1 0

6 8 8 6 10 7

3 0 9 02 5

2 0 2 3

2 6 7 0 8 6 7 3

5 4

2 27 4 7 8 13 2 18 462 2 51 2

2 9 6 6 6 7

2 4

2 3

1 9

50 2 37 0 19 5 18 7 14 9 22 2 3 1

6 4 7 7 14 8

9 4 10 0 10 6

7 6 7 1 17 7

2 946 5 38 3 1 1 2 12 4 17 6 2 1 0

2 142 0 29 5 1 1 9 13 1 19 9 25 4

2 136 8 31 1 14 4 13 6 19 5 22 2

6 0 7 1 8 5

9 5 10 88 0

1 8 2 155 8 45 7 1 1 9 12 9 15 4 19 6

4 2 5 446 4 33 9 12 6 13 6 17 5 21 6

2 0 2 7 10 2 10 8 13 034 0 25 7 12 9 12 6 23 5 26 7

9 1 1 1 4

9 6 10 0

2 4 9 0

8 4

2 2

2 7 3 1

45 5 33 4 11 2 13 4 18 4 24 6

43 2 31 5 13 5 1 6 3 2 1 3 26 1

2 934 0 28 2 12 9 1 1 2 20 5 22 6'

8 3 7 7 15 7

6 5

2 7 7 2 7 2 21 7

4 4

2 4 2 3

1 7

1 0

2 1

31 7 28 9 12 6 10 8 27 9 28 1

39 7 32 8 12 6 1 1 1 16 1 20 3 1 9

1 5

2 2

2 0 2 4 6 1

7 1 18 8

6 0 6 59 9 15 7

32 7 28 2 14 2 11 8 21 6 23 6

60 2 49 5

6 44 173 7 58 5

6 4 7 1 21 3

8 0 9 27 2 14 1 18 88 1

Popu lation Trends toward Concentration and Decentralization,Slums, Large-scale Housing, and Decentrali z ation, The President’s Conference on Home Building

0 Warren S. Thompson,

and Home Ownership, 1932, p . 214 .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

Akron, and the average ratio for the group of cities was

I n 1920, the proportion of persons employed in manufacturing

varied from for Dallas, to for‘

Akron and the average

for the group Of citieswas Themean of the deviations Of theindividual cities from the general average for the group in 1930was 7.4 , as compared with in 1920 . I n other words , the statistics show that these cities w ere less divergent in 1930 in theproportions Of their gainfully employed listed in the manufactur

ing industries than was the case 10 years previous . This same

tendency toward greater uniformity applies to most of the other

occupational groups . I n fact, in no occupational classification was

the divergence in the proportion Of persons employed greater in

1930 than in 1920 . The facts are summarized in Table 43 .

TAB LE 43 .

— AVERAGE RATIOS OF THE GAINFULLY EMPLOYED IN CERTAIN GROUPSOF INDUSTRY IN 36 CITIE S OF AND OVER, 1930 , AND IN THE SAME

CITIE S, 1920 , TOGETHER WITH THE MEAN DEVI ATIONS FROM THE

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE S OF THE EMPLOYED IN EACHI NDUSTRIAL GROUP“

Industry

Manu facturing and mechanical industries .

TransportationTradePublic service

Professional serviceDomestic and personal service .

Compiled from statistics in Table 42. The city of Washington is omitted .

Industrial Diversification.— As a city increase 8 in size, it tends,

as already suggested, to become more diversified in its industrial

base. The extent of a city’

s industrial diversification is indicated

in a general way by the number Of different kinds of manufactur

ing industries it possesses Data regarding the kinds Of industrylocated within a city are seldom furnished in the Censu s of M anu

factures made by the Bureau Of the Census . For two differentyears, however, 1921 and 1927, these data are available for a

selected group of cities , and are presented in Table 44 .

In interpreting this table, it is important to bear in mind that

the statistics relate to only the corporate areas of the cities in1 14

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

coming Of the motor truck, many industries have arisen in thesmaller cities to cater to the local market .

Banking Institutions .— Another and perhaps more significant

index of the growing self-sufficiency of the younger city is thedevelopment of its financial function. Of all economic services,finance seems to show the greatest tendency toward concentration .

Although this tendency is still pronounced, the facts would seem

to indicate that a larger number Of cities are . organizing their

financial institutions to meet their local and regional needs.

The past decade witnessed conspicuous developments in themerging and consolidation Of financial as well as many other types

Of institutions . The shift from small to large banking operations

with a consequent concentration of banking functions in thelarger cities3 may be taken as an index Of the growing economicmaturity of the cities concerned . Since 1923 , the American

Banker has published each year a list Of the 100 largest banksin the country . By comparing the distribution Of these banks in

1930 with that in 1923 , some idea of the territorial development

Of banking function may be Obtained .

Three suburban cities , Brooklyn (part Of N ew York City but'

in

a sense suburban) , Hoboken, and Oakland, which appeared in the1923 list do not reappear in 1930 . On the other hand , six young

regional cities— Atlanta , Dallas, Oklahoma , Portland (Oregon) ,Seattle, and Tulsa— do not appear in 1923 but are recorded in the1930 list . The declining relative importance of N ew York is a

notable feature Of this tabulation.

CULTURAL LEVELIN G

The foregoing discussion has dealt with the tendency towardeconomic uniformity among the various large cities of the nation .

I t would appear, however, that culturally also the variousregions of the country are tending to become more uniform . A

number Of indices have been compiled , most Of which show a

tendency toward greater cultural leveling in the various geographic areas Of the United States . The various “ indices are

shown in summary form in Table 47. One Of them , the ratio Of

daily newspaper circulation to the population, may be taken

as an example to show the method employed . The daily newspaper, as already indicated, 4 is a sensitive barometer of the

3 See Table 29, p . 61 .

4 See Chap ter VI I I .

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S E TTL EMENT MAT URAT ION

TABLE 45 .— DISTRIBUTION OF THE 100 LARGE ST BANKS, THEIR TOTAL DEPOSITS

AND PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL DEPOSITS, BY CITIES, 1923-4 930a

100 . 00

AtlantaBaltimoreBoston

BrooklynBuffaloChicago .

Cincinnati

Detroit

Jersey City .

Kansas CityLos AngelesM ilwaukee

New Orleans

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

a American Banker, January 2 1, 1924, and January 20, 1931 . Data are for December 31 in bothyears.

development Of the urban community . The extent to which ithasbecome a medium of communication in any region may there

fore be taken as a measure of the dissemination of urban cultural

traits .I n analyzing the ratios of circulation Of daily newspapers and

other measures Of cultural leveling, the nine geographic areas

employed by the Bureau Of the Census have been taken as

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

convenient population units . They are sufficient in number to

provide a certain amount Of detail , yet not so numerous as to

render an analysis confusing . Table 46 shows the ratio Of news

papers circulated to 1 ,000 of the general population In the geographic divisions In 1909 and 1929.

TABLE 46 .

— MORNING AND EVENING DAILY NEWSPAPERS PER POPULATION,

1909—1929

Newspapers p er Deviations/from

popu lation the mean

Division

s s s s s s s s s s s s

o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Unweighted meanRatio of average deviation to the mean

U.S. Census, Census of Manufactures, 1914, Vol. 11, Table 41, p. 651.b Compiled from U .S . Census, Censu s of Manufactures, 1929, Bu lletin on Printing and Pub

lishing and Allied I ndustries,” Table 11 , p . 1 15 . At the time this table was compiled the report onnewspaper circu lation by geographic divisions had not yet been published and data for severalof the smaller states were combined in such a way as to prevent their use . Consequently the figuresused for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode I sland , North Dakota, Sou th Dakota, Delaware,District of Columb ia, I daho, Wyoming, Utah, and N ewMexico are for the year 1927 as publishedin the Census of Manufactures, 1927, p . 607.

The easiest way to discover whether or not various areas Of thecountry are becoming more uniform would be to compare therange between the districts ranking highest and lowest in 1909

and in 1929. The newspaper circulation data show a range Of 446

for the Middle Atlantic division to 78 for the East South Centraldivision in 1909; that is, a difference Of 368 as compared with

329 (481 , Middle Atlantic ; and 152 , East South Central) for 1929.

But this measure is neither satisfactory nor strictly accurate, asit takes into account only the extreme cases, thus eliminating theother seven from consideration . The mean Of the deviations fromthe average for the country as a whole affords a better index of thetendency with regard to the territorial distribution of the phenomena . I t will be observed that the unweighted mean Of the

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE 47.— SIxTEEN I NDICES OF THE TENDENCY TOWARD CULTURALMATURATION IN THE UNITE D STATE S, 1900- 4930a

Average deviation interms of the means

Index of maturation

EducationTeachersPublic elementary and secondary-school expenditures .”

College and university studentsDaily newspaper circulation (1909—1929)I lliteracy

Communication and transportationPost office receiptsMotor-vehicle registration (1913)Surfaced-road mileage ( 1914)Telephones ( 1902—1927)

Heal thPhysicians and surgeons

Dentists

ReligionChurch membership (1906—1926)Church expenditures (1916

M iscellaneousSavings deposits (1910)Who’

s Who ( 1910)Urban popu lation

a The sources of the original data are given in the Appendix with the tables from which theseratios were computed. All rates are calculated on the basis of the total popu lation except in threeinstances. School expenditures are expressed as p er capita of the population five to seventeen yearsof age; motor-vehicle registration is computed on the basis of the urban population; surfaced-roadmileage is expressed in relation to the land area of the geOgraphic divisions . See Table V in theAppendix.6 Indices are for 1900 and 1980 when possible; exceptions are noted.

individuals . The geographic distribution of this population at

any time may be considered as indicative of the institutional andcul tural development in the various areas .

The early numbers of this directory showed a heavy coneen

tration of these distinguished persons in the N ew England and

Middle Atlantic regions . Few persons of this eminence were

recorded in the rural or frontier areas of the South or West .

However, our brief indices in Table 47 indicate a tendency toward

more uniform distribution Of this selected population throughout

the major geographic areas Of the country . The subject warrants[ 120 ]

S E TTL EMENT MAT URAT ION

V120

8735

UV) N

313m

'

flWN

OHVOI

'

HSVM

NM“

0103 14

NN03

8 9 3 9.

UOUVVIdOd 000 90' 8 36

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

more detailed consideration . Consequently , ratios of Who’

s Whoregistrants to total population have been computed for different

periods for each state of the Union and also for different groups

of cities . The state ratios for 1920 and 1930 are shown graphicallyin Figure 7 . (See Table VI in the Appendix . )Although the proportions Of Who’

s Who notables to the totalpopulation are markedly higher in the N ew England and Middle

Atlantic states than in most Of the other states Of the Union , it

will be Observed that the gains made in 1930 Over 1910 are

relatively much less than those in most of the other states . I n

fact the state Of Massachusetts contained a smaller proportion

OfWho’

sWho registrants in 1930 than in 1910 as compared

with I n general the various states of the Union show

considerably less divergence in 1930 in their proportions of Who’

s

Who notables than they did in 1910 , a fact .which indicates a ri smgof the cultural level Of the more backward areas .

When cities rather than states are taken as the statistical units,interesting results appear . Table 48 shows the proportions Of

Who’

s Who notables p er Of the total population in

different size groups Of communities .

TABLE 48 .—COMPARATIVE RATIOS OF “WHO’S WHO NOTAB LE S PER

TOTAL POPULATION IN CITIES CLASSIFIE D ACCORDING To SI z E , 1910—1930a

Classification of cities

Metropolitan cities (as named in U .S. Censu s of 55 8 57 9 57 8

Other cities having in 1930 a total population of or

more 32 5 32 9 34 4

All cities having in 1930 a total popu lation of 50 000 and

less than 98 33 6 36 3 39 7

All cities having in 1930 a total population of and

less than 25 4 27 9 28 1

All other area in continental United States . 8 6 1 1 2 13 8

Compiled from Who’

s Who in America, Vols. VI , XI , XVI . This and other tables on Who’

s

Who popu lation were compiled by A. H. Robertson, University of M ichigan.

I t appears that the large metropolitan communities have

higher ratios of these notables than are found in the groups of

smaller cities . An interesting feature of the tabulation, however ,is the fact that the gains in this 20-year period have been more

pronounced in the smaller than in the larger centers . This is

partially explained by the fact that there is a tendency for

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

population . The industrial city Of Detroithas served as a magnet

for the unlettered immigrants from Europe and for rural Negroesfrom the South . Los Angeles , on the otherhand, appears to haveattracted a relatively higher cultural class Of people . I n spite

Of its very rapid rate of increase, the proportion of Who’

s Whonotables to the total population in 1930 was points higher

than in 1910 .

The selective influence of the Los Angeles area applies to themovements not merely of the native born to that

'

region'

but also

of the foreign born . I n Table 50 are presented the proportions ofthe foreign-born Who’

s Who registrants,

to the total foreign-born

population in each of these four great cities . The ratio of foreign

born notables to the total foreign-born population in Los Angeles

is conspicuously high— even higher than the total ratio Of Who’

s

Who notables to the total population in the city Of Detroit .

TABLE 50 .— PROPORTION OF WHO’S WHO NOTABLES OF FORE IGN ORIGIN TO

TOTAL FORE IGN POPULATION IN NEw YORK, CHICAGO, DETROIT, LOSANGELES, 1910—1930a

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Average

Compiled from Who’s Who in Ameri ca, Vols. VI , XI , XVI .

SUMMARY

The various indices Of maturation presented in this chapter

definitely support the hypothesis that the different regions Of

the country are tending to become more nearly uniform in eco

nomic and cultural characteristics . Although the dominance of

the East and parts of the Middle West is still strongly in evi

dence, nevertheless the contrast between these areas and other

sections Of the country is much less today than it was two decadesago . I n short, the younger belts Of settlement and the rural Southare acquiring the same general pattern Of economic and social

organization as prevails in the more developed areas .

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S ETTL EMENT MATURAT ION

The significance of this coming of age of frontier settlement

will appear from data presented in subsequent chapters . Thatit is efi’ecting important reaccommodations on the part Of many

of the older areas is apparent . Data presented in a preceding

chapter6 revealed a substantial decline in industry and populationin a number Of the older industrial centers of the East. This

decline is related in part to the shift of industries to the Southand West . Undoubtedly many similar changes are taking placein other types of urban function, though in some cases they may

be less amenable to statistical verification .

The growth of national chain and branch establishments con

stitutes, on the one hand, a factor making for the maturation of

newer areas of settlement, and , on the other hand , indicates a

redistribution or decentralization Of many functions that were

formerly highly localized .

As the newer regions of settlement become more developed,they likewise tend to become more conscious Of their economic

possibilities and limitations . Every region is actively strivingto construct its own economic and cultural life as far as its geo

graphic base will permit . This is shifting the position Of manyregions from the rOle of frontier market and supply area to theOlder centers of population to a rOle Of competitor in a strugglefor both local and distant markets .

5 See Chap ter V.

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CHAPTER X

THE STRUCTURE AND ORIENTATION OF

SETTLEMENT

HE present pattern Of settlement in the United States , Jas stated in our introductory chapter, reflects the influence of 1

three successive stages in transportation development : water,1

rail, and motor vehicle . The stages thus defined are differentiated f

not in the sense that one form Of transportation displaced or'

succeeded the other, but rather that, as supplements, each in turn

has played an important rOle in determining the existing spatial3pattern and functional interrelations of our present constellation

Of settlement centers— cities, towns, and villages .

THE ERA OF WATER H I GHWAYS

From the beginning Of colonial times to about the middle of

the nineteenth century the natural systems of water highways

including the seaboard and navigable rivers and lakes , supple

mented from time to time . by canals and other artificial exten

sions— determined the main outlines of settlement expansion

and the location of the principal centers of commerce.

For more than two hundred years after the first settlers landed on

our shores, the rivers were the p rincipal highways, just as they hadbeen for unknown thou sands Of years on the other continents of theearth. These first settlers found the country covered with a vast, un

broken forest. I twas inevitable, therefore, when the westward movement

of p op u lation began, that the line of marchshou ld go first up the riversflowing into the Atlantic and then down those flowing to the Lakes andthe Mississip p i . Washington made rep eated journeys from the Potomac

to the Ohio, which, Of all the westward-flowing streams, was the one

most largely u sed .

1

During the period Of dependence upon water transportation as

the chief agency of long-distance freight movement, settlement

structure assumed two different and , in some respects, competing

1 S . A. Thomp son, The Up s and Downs ofWaterways, N ational Waterways,Vol . VI I I , Sep tember, 1929, p . 9.

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

forms as determined by the physical landscape and the courses ofthe two principal water highway systems . The one, constituted

by the Hudson River, the Erie Canal , and the Great Lakes,furnished a navigable route from the North Atlantic to a large

extent of territory lying west Of the Alleghenies and oriented this

territory toward N ew York City and other Atlantic seaports .

The other , consisting of the Mississippi-Ohio system, together

with the Missouri and other tributaries, oriented midwestern

settlement toward the Gulf Of Mexico through the port of N ew

Orleans .

Along these two great water systems settlement spread , and

!flourishing

cities arose at the most important junction points

a nd breaks in navigation . The federal census of 1840 records theleading points on the .Lakes . route, by order of size, as follows :lAlbany, 33 ,721 ; Buffalo, Detroit, Cleveland ,

E6,071 ; Toledo, 1 ,222 . The principal points on the Mississippi

£0 1110 route were Cincinnati , 46,338 ; Pittsburgh , 3 1 ,204 ; Louislv ille, 21 ,210 , St . Louis , Nashville, 6 ,929. At the head of

the Lakes route stood the city Of N ew York with a population

!in 1840 Of (including present boroughs) ; at the head Of

fthe Mississippi system stood the port of N ew Orleans with a

%population of lacking only 120 inhabitants of being thesecond city in the country at that time . (Baltimore ranked

second .)Of these two avenues Of contact with the rapidly developing

settlement of the West, the Mississippi-Ohio route was by far

the more important . This system , comprising more than 35

rivers aggregating over miles of navigable water, spread

like a great tree across the most fertile part Of the nation, its

main trunk reaching from the Gulf Of Mexico almost to thenorthern limits of the nation and its branches tapping innumer

able square miles of territory on either side, and seemed designed

by nature to form the structural framework Of American settlement, at least for that part of the territory lying between theAlleghenies and the mountain ranges of the West . But time hasproved that man-made highways are sometimes more importantthan nature ’

s routes in determining the structure Of settlement .

Until the outbreak Of the Civil War, the Mississippi systemconstituted practically the only outlet for the commerce Of

midwestern settlement . The introduction Of the steamboat inthe early part Of the nineteenth century served to accentuate

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

rapidly, to shift the axis ofmidwestern freight movement from a

north-south— as determined by the Mississippi system— to an

east-west flow. This process of transition .in the orientation of

settlement was accelerated by the disruption of river commerce

occasioned by the Civil War . The situation is summarized byF . H . D ixon :

The war served at once to close all southern p orts to commerce, and

destroyed the greater p art of the river trade. Steamboats continued to a

small extent to p ly the waters of the up p er Mississipp i and the Ohi o,

but throughtraffic southward ceased altogether. Railway bu ildingcontinued . The rail lines whichmost seriou sly threatened river commerce

were located north Of the Ohio, and were undisturbed by military op er

ations . Although hamp ered by lack of cap ital, extension of lines wasnot wholly checked, and the p rogress in railway bu ilding made duringthe time of disturbance was su fficient to increase materially theircomp etitive p ower . During this p eriod of waterway inactivity

the railways were not only extending their lines, but they were makingmore eflicient their existing facilities . Consolidation Of connecting linesinto single systems for the p urp ose of increasing the efficiency of longdistance Op eration was p roceeding rap idly. I n the sixties ap p eared thefirst of the fast freight lines , whichfacilitated enormou sly the handlingof through business from the West. Coop eration Of railways in theconstruction of union stations, connecting tracks, and similar facilitiesincreased in the decade 1860 to 1870 . Ship p ers became accu stomedto the new transp ortation agency . They found it more eflicient, and it

relieved them Of the bu rden of marine insurance. I n short, bu sinessrelationship s were established whichcarried on after the waterwayswere again available, and , excep t at certain p eriods when circumstances

were excep tional, the rivers did not even ap p roach their former p osition

of imp ortance.

3

After the close of the CivilWar , railway construction progressed

rapidly, the lines following in the wake Of settlement as it moved

westward across the continent . By 1890 all the main features Of

the present railway map had been established . Later constructionconsisted largely Of adding extra tracks to the main lines and

building branches and feeders . Even this development practically

came to an end shortly after the first decade of the present century .

The total railway mileage of the United States is about the same

today as it was 20 years ago—

approximately miles .

3 Frank HaighDixon, A'

Trafiic History of the M issi ssipp i River System,

National Waterways Commission, Document 11 , 1909, pp . 37—38 . Quoted byBureau Of Railway Economics in An Economic Survey of I nlandWaterway Trans

portation in the United States, Sp ecial Series, No . 56, 1930 , p . 37.

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STR U C TUR E AND OR I E N TAT ION

THE RA I LROAD A S A DETERM I NANT

Although themain outlines of the railwaymap were determined

by the pattern of preceding settlement, once the lines wereestablished they molded the pattern of subsequent settlement .

Towns and villages arose at intervals along the railroad tracks .

Points of intersection provided advantageous locations and Often

gave rise to larger centers . As a city grew in importance, cross

lines were built connecting it with neighboring cities . Through .

this process, the railway net continued to develop and to emphasize the relative importance of these focal points . Outstanding in

the general pattern was the city Of Chicago . Du e to its strategic

location near the southern tip Of Lake Michigan and in the heartof the great central plains, this city became the super-gateway

for both the east-west and north-south movements of commerce .

From a village of slightly Over inhabitants in 1840 before

Ch'

ic'

agOby developed into a

over people and had become the second

largest city in the'

Uf

nit—

cd States .

Chicago versus N ew Orleans — As Chicago grew in size, its

dominance, or gravitational power, increased beyond that of theOlder river cities, tending to orient midwestern settlement around

this focal point . Whereas formerly the Mississippi-Ohio cities

were oriented toward N ew Orleans as the gateway to the east andthe outside world, they nowbecame directly tributary to Chicago

as the integrating center . A rough conception of the extent to

which these river cities are now related to Chicago and N ew

Orleans respectively may be gained by the comparison in Table

5 1 of the volume Of pullman passenger traffic between the river

cities and the two integrating points , Chicago and N ew Orleans .

Relative to the populations of the two main Cities, the Chicagotraffic is no greater than the N ew Orleans ; but from the stand

point Of the actual extent of contact , it is apparent that Chicago

far outstripsher erstwhile competitor . Further, the fact that threeOf the four river cities are considerably closer to Chicago than to

N ew Orleans, and therefore more accessible by motor and day

coach service, makes the berth passenger data less indicative of

the total movement between these points and Chicago than of

the movement toward the Gulf port.

Chicago versus St. Louis — Since the close of the Civil War

there has been little question as to the relative drawing power

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 51 .—PULLMAN-BERTH PASSENGER TICKETS SOLD BETWEEN CHICAGO AND

FOUR RIVER CITIE S AND BETWEEN N EW ORLEANS AND THE SAME CITIES,1929“

Berthpassenger tickets Berth passenger ticketssold between common sold between common

points and points andCommon p omts Common p onnts

“ All statistics on berth passenger traffic appearing in this table and in Tables 52—54 werefurnished by the courtesy of the Pu llman Company, Chicago Special acknowledgment is madeto L. M . Bradish, Assistant Comptroller of the company, for the work of compiling the data . I n

every instance the statistics include both-way traffic.

of Chicago and N ew Orleans on the cities located along theOhio-Mississippi system . By 1870 Chicago outranked N ewOrleans

in number of inhabitants, and the differentials in size became

more pronounced at each census enumeration . Chicago ’

s p op ul a

tion in 1890 outnumbered that of N ew Orleans by more than

four to one . The keenest competition for commercial supremacy

in the Mississippi Valley came from the city of St . Louis . As thecenter of an extended river traffic before the arrival of the rail

road , St . Louis obtained a substantial lead on Chicago in the racefor economic dominance over midwestern territory . I t was not

until 1880 that Chicago surpassedher rival as a center of p op ul a

tion, but, from that time on, her lead advanced with almost

geometric progression. The 1930 census records more than four

times as many inhabitants in Chicago as in St . Louis .

The relative gravitational power of these two large cities withrespect to certain southern points is suggested by the statisticsin Table 52 .

Chicago versus New York City.— Chicago

’

s present rival inserving southern territory is New York . Both cities are well

provided with direct railway connections with the South , butN ew York reflects the greater magnetic influence with respect topopulation movements . Continuing with our berth passengerdata, we see from the figures in Table 53 the preponderance of

N ew York over Chicago as a point Of contact with territorybelow the Ohio River .

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Several features of Table 53 are worthy of attention. I n thefirst place, the total volume Of berth passenger traffic between

the points in this southern section Of the country and N ew York

City is more than twice as great as that between the same

points and Chicago .

FIG . 8 .

The statistics show a slight decline in 1929 as compared with

1923 in the aggregate traffic to and from N ew York and an

increase in the traffic to and from Chicago . The time interval is

too short, however, to warrant any conclusion regarding trend .

From all points listed save Louisville and South Carolina— the[ 136 ]

S TR U C T UR E AND OR I E N TAT ION

latter only in 1929— N ew York traffic exceeds Chicago traffic .Conspicuous among the southern foci of traffic is Florida . Thetravel between points in this state and N ew York constituted , in

1929, p er cent of the total for all places listed in Table 53 ,

and over a third of all traffic between Chicago and these southern

points . Parenthetically it may be stated that the aggregateberth passenger traffic between Florida and all other states Of

the Union was in 1923 and in 1929, or ap p roxi

mately one-twentieth of the total berth passenger traffic for

the country as a whole for each Of these years . The combined

traffic between Florida and New York, and Florida and Chicago,constituted 5 1 per cent of all traffic between Florida and outside

point-s in 1923 and 49 p er cent in 1929.

East-West versus North-South M ovement — A clearer picture

of the relative importance of these two north-south streams of

traffic is afl’orded when the statistics in Table 53 are plotted, as

in Figure 8 .

The streams of traffic as indicated by berth passenger data

in the foregoing tables are relatively small in comp arison with

the great east-west flow across the continent . The movement

between _N ew York“

City and Chicago is considerably greater

in volume than the aggregate traffic between N ew York City

and all the southern points listed in Table 53 . Likewise the trafficbetween Chicago and Southern California is notably greater

than the total traffic between Chicago and these southern points .

I n order to contrast this general east-west flow Of traffic with thenorth-south stream along the Mississippi Valley, Table 54 hasbeen compiled, illustrated by Figure 9. The statistics show theberth passenger movement between Chicago and points selected

to.

indicate travel between the east-west and north-south extrem

ities of the country.

Besides the striking disparity between the east-west and thenorth-south streams Of traffic, Table 54 shows that the movement

Of berth passengers between Chicago and the .Pacific Coast was

greater in both years than that between Chicago and the AtlanticCoast . The nature of the streams may be different . The trafficbetween Chicago and the Pacific Coast was probably augmented

by the movement of tourists and settlers, while the ChicagoAtlantic traffic was perhaps more largely composed of persons

traveling for business reasons . I t will be noticed also that thegreat bulk

.of the traffic between Chicago and the Atlantic sea

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 54 .— PULLMAN-BERTH PASSENGER TICKETS SOLD BETWEEN CHICAGO AND

POINTS SELECTED TO SHOW EAST-WEST AND NORTH-SOUTH TRAFFICSTREAMS, 1923—1929“ 1

East-west traffic

Chicago and the Atlantic Coast

Chicago and the Pacific Coast

Oregon and WashingtonCentral CaliforniaSou thern California

North-south traffic

Chicago and the

Chicago and North points .

Twin Cities

DuluthOther M innesota points

Pu llman Company, Chicago. See footnote. Table 5 1. I ncludes both-way traffic.

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

Mississippi . Gateway cities arose which integrated the populationsof difl’erent geographic areas and kept them in constant economic

and social contact with the older centers \ of the East. I n this

manner, the p resent'

national economy based on city regionalism

gradually expanded over the entire area of continental United

States .

The railways thus developed a form ofmetropolitan regionalism

characterized by gHtSW-

aym

cities supported by extended chains

of towns and villages strung along converging. lines . The growthOf the larger centers was accentuated in many instances by thefact that they became freight-rate breaking points, thereby

Obtaining certain advantages ascOmmercial distributing centers .

4

Whereas physical barriers such as waterfalls, shallows, and other

breaks in water transportation constituted the leading factors inthe location and growth Of cities during the régime Of water

transportation , rail junction points and the freight-rate structuresupplied the basis for gateway cities in the railroad era .

MOTOR TRANS PORTATI ON

Coming after the main outlines of settlement pattern were well-n

established, thé'

motor vehicle and the motor hfgfijz aylhayev nqt

material ly changed this basic structure. THe}? have created_ _n_q

new large cities . They have, however , effected modifications d in)localg elation

_s which, iii”

the aggregate, are —perhaps quite as

significant as those introduced by the railroads . Motor trans

p ortatiOE’

iS‘

a“

twentiethcentury phenomenon and the major

part of its developmenthas occurred within the last two decades .

Although some“ horseless carriages

”appeared on the streets of

certain American cities during the late nineties, the first motor

vehicle license in the United States was issued in the State of

N ew York in I n 1910 the total registrations for all typesOf motor vehicles were Ten years later this numberhadincreased to and , in 1930, to the unprecedented total of

Highways — Highway construction, the necessary counterpartOf motor traffic, represents a somewhat lower curve of growth; butthe total mileage of surfaced rural highways in the United

4 For further discussion of this p oint, see Chapter XI .

5 Highway Education Board, Highways Handbook, 1929, p . 1 .

6 National Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Facts and Figures of the Auto

mobi le I ndustry, 1930 . p . 15 .

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STR U C T UR E AND OR I ENTAT ION

States increased from in 1904 to in 1929. Thus

in the course of 25 years there were superimposed upon the l

transportation structure of the country miles of motor

highways, over twice the existing railway m ileage. I t is not

possible to trace the growth of motor traffic , but from the standpoint Of passenger travel it is safe to estimate that the yearlypassenger miles by automobile far exceed those of all other

agencies of transportation combined .

The evolution of the motor highway nethas followed a some

what different course from that Of the railroad lines . Inasmuch ashighway construction is regarded as a public rather than a

private function, the funds at first coming largely from local

taxing bodies— municipalities and counties— thefi

highWay’

s

'

Wi

ere

developed on a distinctly local basis . Construction led out from

cities and towns and only as state and'

federal funds became

available did through highway systems become common . Therailroads, on the other hand , were constructed as private enter

prises . The number and direction of the routes were deter

mined by economic expediency . Although the first railroads

were for the most part local lines , the through route in general

preceded_branch lines . Accordingly rail transportation had the

efl’ect of bringing distant points into direct economic contact

while it left unchanged the local systems of transportation .

A comparison of a highway map with a railroad map Of almostany region shows these essential points of difference between thetwo transportation systems . The mesh in the highway net isclosely woven in territory surrounding towns and cities, and

threads out into broken ends with distance from the populationcenter . The number of surfaced motor roads between distant

points is still comparatively small . I n spite of the enormous

increase in motor highway construction during the last 25 yearsthere is as yet not a single surfaced highway that extends,unbroken, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast ; whereas in the25-year interval following the arrival of the first railroad in

Chicago four transcontinental l ines had been constructed .

The motor highway net, which at first consisted of city streets

and rural wagon roads, is rapidly acquiring a form and structureOf its own. I n other words , it is becoming adapted to the conditions imposed by the increasing volume and speed of motor

traffic . There is rapidly developing under federal aid and state

highway funds, a system of primary motor highways connecting

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

the larger centers of population. These arterial thoroughfares

are becoming straighter and wider and are being located with

little regard for the courses followed by the earlier wagon roads .

As this system of‘

construction proceeds, it tends to canalize

intercity motor traffic and to fashion the pattern Of new settle

ment development. Frequently the course Of the through motor

highway bears little relation to that of the railroad line. Conse

quently many of the smaller towns and villages, located along

the railroad tracks, are not touched by the new intercity highways . I n many instances such places, as far as public transporta

tion is concerned, are more isolated now than formerly ; for therailroads have eliminated many of the local trains which used toprovide transportation service to these small centers .

Influence on Cities .—On

,the other. hand , the motor vehicle

and highway net have given to scores of minor cities a new—com

mand over surrounding territory and have occasioned a realign

ment o

'

f‘

local relations . Many of our smaller cities located on a

transcontinental railroad had no direct shipping contact with

near-by places on parallel lines . This applied particularly to

settlement west of the Mississippi where the main railway lines

run in a general east-west direction and where the cross lines arerelatively few. The“

change effected by themotor car in this region

is illustrated as follows :

I f a Siou x Falls jobber cou ld sell a bill of goods to a merchant inBrookings, S . D to be ship p ed from Sioux Falls by rail, it wou ld bebest to go via the N orth Western, and the route taken wou ld be westfrom Sioux Falls to Salem, S . D ., a distance of 40 miles, then northtoHuron, a distance of miles, and then east to Brookings, a distance Of72 miles, making a total hau l of miles, and the time consumedwou ld requ ire second morning delivery at Brookings . The total distancefrom Sioux Falls due northto Brookings by truck is 58 miles and theschedule now in effect by truck is a dep arture from Siou x Falls ata .m., and delivery at Brookings at p m. the same day.

7

I t thus appears that one of the important functions of motor

transportation has been to fill in gaps existing inthe railroadstructureI

‘

In SO flOing, the hashad theeffect of

rounding out the city’

s hinterland and of intensifying localrelations . I n a word, this new form of transportation has madefor the development of modern city regionalism .

7 Armour’

s Livestock Bureau ,

“The Motor Truck in the Food Industry,

Monthly Letter to Animal Husbandmen, Vol . XI , No . 8, November, 1930, p . 9.

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CHAPTER XI

DISTANCE AS A FACTOR IN THE

INTERRELATIONS OF CITIES

N OUR machine economy of large-scale production and inter

community division Of labor, distance is becoming an increasingly important factor . As cities extend their activities and

become centers Of diversified local economies, their relations with

one another become more and more complex . Urban living

necessitates more sensitive economic and social adjustments to

time and place than were required in the rural economy Of'

earlier

itimes . The whole tempo of life has been speeded up in recentyears, effecting a more sensitive balance in intercommunity rela

tions . And the more sensitive the balance the greater is thedanger of disequilibrium . I t is not surprising, therefore, thatincreasing attention is being manifested in all subjects pertaining

to transportation and communication . Every new development

in the agencies for overcoming d istance is given wide publicity

as a subject of popular interest . Cities are ever on the alert with

respect to changes or contemplated changes in facilities Of

transportation and communication ; realizing as they do that evenslight variations in freight rates , time schedules, and routes of

traffic may affect them for good or ill . I n the recent hearings

before the Interstate Commerce Commission regarding suggested

modifications of the freight-rate structure in the midwesternstates (Western Trunk Line Territory) , pages Of

testimony were taken, and approximately exhibits contain

ing more than pages were received .

” 1

I n our modern economy, distance is conceived largely in terms

of time and cost rather than in actual mileage. I n this respect,distance is variable, changing

“with every modification In thespeed and cost Of transportation. This variableness of distance

gives to every city and region an unstable economic p osition inintercommunal relations that is not adequately represented by the

4 I nterstate Commerce Commission, Rate Structure I nvestigation, Part 2,

Western Trunk-Line Class Rates, Report N O. May, 1930 , p . 14 .

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D I S TAN C E A S A FA C TOR

city ’s actual geographic location. The physical distribution of

population centers as shown on ordinary maps gives but slightindication of their spatial arrangement as measured by the time

or cost of intercommunication. If our geographies depicted therealities of human spatial relations, the distances that separatecommunities would be shown in minutes and cents rather than in

miles .

CHANG I NG TIME DI STANCE (PAS SENGER)

I t is common knowledge that space is contracting in response

to recent developments in the agencies of transportation and

communication; From the standpoint of the time required to

travel from one extremity to another , continental United States

is smaller today than the N ew England of a century ago . Priorto the com ing of the railroad when the stagecoach constituted

the fastest means of inland travel , it required from four to nine

days , depending on the weather, to make the journey from N ew

York to Boston— a distance of about 220 miles ; and from two to

three days to travel by stage from N ew York to Philadelphia— a

distance of 91 miles , whereas today one may travel by train from

N ew York to San Francisco in 74 hours, or approximately three

days, and by scheduled air service in less than 30 hours, that is , in

approximately one-half the time required to travel by stage from

N ew York to Philadelphia before the modern era .

2

Great as this general process of contractionhas been, ithas nottaken place uniformly throughout the nation . Just as the con

traction of the physical world created mountain folds and plains ,so the contraction of the economic and social worldhas been more

pronounced in certain places than others .

By an exam ination Of time schedules and freight_

rates it is

possible to gain a general , though inadequate, impression ofhowour economic and social world is becoming reduced in magnitude .

The substitution Of the motor car for the horse-drawn vehiclehascontracted local distance to about one-tenth of the former scale .

The motor vehiclehas not, however , materially reduced the time

or cost of travel , as established by the railroad , between distant

points . The speed Of themotor vehicle, increasing as it is, does not

as a rule equal that of the express train in intercity travel. Therefore, in measuring the contraction of space between distant

.

2 Stage schedu les as given by the U .S . Census, A Century of Popu lationGrowthin the United States, 1 790 -1900, 1909.

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TH E METROPOL I TAN COMMUN I TY

points, railway time schedules and freight charges at different

per iods may fairly be taken as gauges of changing time-cost

distance.

Railroad — As Chicago is the hub of the nation’

s rail trans

p ortation system, itmay logically be taken as the base from whichto note comparative changes in . the speed of travel to different

sections Of the nation. I n Table 55 the fastest running time of

TABLE 55 .— CONTRACTION OF SPACE AS SHOWN BY CHANGE S IN RA I LROAD/TIME

SCHEDULES AND BY AIRPLANE SCHEDULE S BETWEEN CHICAGO AND SELECTEDCITIE S, 1912, 1920, AND 1931

Railway Airplane‘

Increase or

Chicago toFastest running timeb decrease Fastest(In hours and minutes ) in fastest Route flying

running distance time, 1931

time, 1912 (miles) (hours and3 1 (hours and minutes)minutes)

New YorkWashingtonPittsburghClevelandDetroit

Los AngelesSan Francisco

OmahaKansas CitySt. Lou isSt. PaulJacksonvilleNew OrleansAtlanta .

NashvilleCincinnati

0 Route distances are taken from U.S. War Department, Oflicial Table of Distance, 1918. Theymay not correspond to the actual distances traversed by the fastest trains.b Ofiicial Guide of the Rai lways, April of each year.6 Compiled from The Oflicial Aviation Guide, August, 1931 , and Air Commerce Bulletin, July 1,

1931.

trains between Chicago and 17_large cities, selected to illustrate

changes in travel time in different parts of the nation, is listed forthree difl’erent periods : 1912, 1920, 1931 . Included in the tablealso is the fastest Official flying time between Chicago and thesame cities as Of August, 1931 .

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TH E METROPOL I TAN COMMUN I TY

The reduction of space as reflected in time schedules has notbeen uniform . The time distance between Chicago and N ew

Yorkhas increased slightly3 while that between Chicago and othereastern points has remained practically unchanged during thelast 20 years . The time distance to southern points has beensubstantially reduced , but the greatest changehas been betweenChicago and Pacific Coast points where the running time in 1931

was 10 to 18 p er cent less than in 1912 and about 20 p er cent less

than in 1920 .

The recent tendency in train time schedules is t oward a more

uniform scale of speed between all distant points . The speedof travel to western and southern points is becoming more in

harmony with the Chicago-N ew York time scale. Moreover, thetime differentials between fast and slow trains are decreasing.

There are relatively more fast and fewer slow trains than therewere a decade ago . For instance, in 1912 the median running time

Of 25 trains between Chicago and N ew York was 24 hours and

40 minutes, while in 1930 them edian running time for 29 trainswas 20 hours and 50 minutes . Although the proportion of fast

trains between Chicago and other points has not increased to a

similar extent, nevertheless on most lines therehas been considerable decrease in average running time .

Time reduction in railway schedules has been effected largely

through the elimination of small station stops . I n 1920 , when the72-hour schedule was in effect between Chicago and the PacificNorthwest, the Great Northern

’

s fastest train made 36 regular

stops between Minneapolis and Seattle ; the Chicago, Milwaukee ,St . Paul and Pacific Railroad ’s fastest train scheduled 65 regularstops . In 1931 the regular stops between these two centers were,for the Great Northern, 13 ; and for the Chicago, Milwaukee,St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, 43 . On the shorter hauls, as

between Chicago and St. Louis, or Chicago and Detroit, non

stop trains have been introduced and most Of the faster trainsstop only at the large centers .

Air.— The airplanehas initiated a new era in time" distance

in intercity travel . Flying time tends to approximate one-thirdOf

‘

th'

e fastest train time. The reduced time Of air transportation

results not only from the more rapid speed of travel but alsofrom the shorter route distances . The reduction in routemileage is

3 Subsequent to the comp ilation of these figures several Chicago-N ew York

trains reduced their schedules to 18hours .

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D I S TAN C E A S A FA C TOR

particularly pronounced where water or other physical barriers

necessitate a meandering of the routes Of surface transportation.

For example, the air time from Detroit across Lake Erie to Cleveland -is scheduled at present as 55 minutes as compared with 3hours and 50 minutes by fastest train service . Likewise the air

time from Detroit to Milwaukee across Lake Michigan is 2 hoursand 45 minutes as compared with 7 hours and 45 minutes by train ,

allowing no time for change of trains in Chicago .

FREI GHT TIME SCHEDULES

Even greater changes than those in passenger movement have

taken place in the speed of railway freight. The average freight

car mileage pen day increased from miles in 1922 to

miles in 1929, the peak year . N ot onlyhas there been an increase

in the speed Of freight movement but also greater regularity inservice .

“

I t is now the general practice to run a part of thefreight trains on schedules almost as stringent as those of passengertrains .

”4

Since 1923 the Chicago Association of Commercehas publisheda yearly chart showing the fastest time of through freight fromChicago to different centers throughout the country ; the 1930

chart shows a reduction Of two to three days since 1923 in thetime required for freight to reach Pacific Coast points .The general effect Of the increasing speed of intercity trans

portation has been to emphasize the relative importance of thelarger centers of population . The automobile, by supplementing

rail transportation, has rendered obsolete a Vast number of thesmaller station stops required duringthe regime of the horsedrawn vehicle and dirt roads . According to L . F . Loree, Presidentof the N ew York, N ew Haven and Hartford Railway,

“ There arerailroad stations in the country . If we could get rid of

of them, a great saving woul d be effected .

” 5 The largecity is especially concerned about the speed of freight deliveries .

For it is only by increasing the dispatch of freight that it can

hope to maintain direct contact with distant marketing pointsin this day of hand-to-mouth buying . Accordingly, many citieshave established transportation bureaus to cooperate with the

4 Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Distribution in the United States,1931, p . 52 .

5 N ation’

s Bu siness, Vol . XVI I , No . 3, March, 1929, p . 100 .

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TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMM UN I TY

railways in effecting more speedy movement Of m erchandisefreight.

Freight—cost Distance — Although cost is closely associated

with time, tending to vary inversely with the speed of movement,

nevertheless cost differentials as measured by freight rates areworthy of separate consideration as they tend to have a selectiveinfluence on the routing of freight and , therefore, on the interrelations Of centers .

The great complexity of the freight rate structure of the nationmakes it impossible to show general cost distances betweendifferent centers of population . Freight rates vary for differentcommodities and for difl’erent conditions of shipment . Class

rates, however— that is, group rates for merchandise for which

there are no specific commodity rates and which comprise about10 p er cent of the total volume Of freight— may be used to

illustrate space differentials as measured in terms of cost of

transportation . Commodity rates would show much wider costdifferentials but the data are

'

too complicated for presentationhere .

Table 56 shows Class I freight distances compared with actual

distances between Chicago and selected cities . The shortestroute distance (mileage) between Chicago and these points is

translated into Class I freight-cost distance using the rate betweenChicago and N ewYork City as a base. Thus the cost of transporting 100 pounds of Class I freight from Chicago to N ew York, adistance of 909 miles, is 142 cents, or miles for one cent. Thecost of transporting 100 pounds of Class I freight from Chicago toRochester, a distance of 603 miles, is 105 cents . If the ChicagoN ew York rate Of miles per 1 cent prevailed between Chicagoand Rochester , the 105 cents would transport the 100 pounds offreight 672 miles, 69 miles farther than the present distance.

Accordingly Rochester’s Class I freight distance from Chicago as

determined by the Chicago-N ew York base is 672 miles instead of603 , the actual distance . I n a similar manner the freight distancebetween Chicago and each Of the other cities listed in T able 56has been computed .

This table becomes more significant when the figures are givengraphic expression .

I t is quite clear that the economic position of a city as rep re

sented by cost Of transportation bears little relation to its geo

graphic location . On a cost basis, Chicago is relatively closer to

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 56.—FIRST-CLASS FRE IGHT DISTANCE COMPARED WITH ACTUAL DISTANCE

(M ILEAGE ) FROM CHICAGO To REPRESENTATIVE CENTERS, TAKING THE

CHICAGO-NEW YORK RATE CE M ILES TRANSPORTATION FOR ON E

CENT AS A BASE ,

Rate(centsp er 100 Actual

Chicago to pounds distancefirst-class (miles)freight)

Trunk-line TerritoryNew York

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Central Freight AssociationFort WayneGrand RapidsDayton .

FlintDetroit .

Cincinnati .

Lou isville .

ColumbusAkronCleveland .

Canton, OhioPittsburghBuffalo

Southern Freight AssociationNashville .

Memphis .

Knoxville .

Chattanooga

AtlantaNew Orleans .

Jacksonville

D I S TAN C E A S A FA C TOR

TABLE 56 .—FIRST-CLASS FRE IGHT DISTANCE COMPARED WITH ACTUAL DISTANCE

(M ILEAGE ) FROM CHICAGO TO REPRESENTATIVE CENTERS, TAKING THE

CHICAGO-NEW YORK RATE OF M ILES TRANSPORTATION FOR

ON E CENT AS A BASE ,— (Continued)

Rate (centsp er 100 Actual

Chicago to pounds distancefirst-class (miles)freight)

Southwestern Freight AssociationDallas

San

El Paso

Western Trunk-line TerritoryDes Moines

M inneapolisDuluthWichitaDenver

Transcontinental Freight Association Territory :

Spokane

Los AngelesPortland, OreSan Francisco .

San

0 Compiled from figures for December, 1930, furnished through the courtesy of Eugene Morris.

Chairman, Central Freight Association, Chicago.

eastern and farther away from southern and western points thanits geographical location indicates . Table 56 also demonstrates aprinciple familiar in the economics of railroad transportation ;namely, that costs per mile tend to increase as the length of hauldiminishes . The points close to Chicago show Wider differentials

between actual mileage and freight mileage than do points more

remote.

Railroad transportation is not conducive to compact economicregionalism . I t gives the local producer but little advantage overhis distant competitor in reaching the local market . The eco

nomics of motor transportation tend - to produce the oppositeeffect. The lower terminal and loading costs give the truck an

advantage over the railroad in the short hauls, an advantage

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THE METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

which diminishes as the length Of haul increases .

6 Accordingly

motor transportation has the effect of intensifying economic

activity within the local area .

E FFECT OF THE PANAMA CANAL

Barring the introduction of the motor vehicle, the Opening of

the Panama Canal unquestionablyhas been the most important

transportation development Of the century with respect to thesettlement structure Of the nation . Although Panama traffic

constitutes a very small percentage of the total freightmovement

of the country, ithashad the effect Of disturbing the equilibriumof the freight structure and causing a renewal of interest in theinland water systems . The wide differential between land and

water freight rates— one which tends to increase rather than

diminish— has the effect of bringing the Atlantic and Pacificseaboards closer together ; while inland points depending upon

rail transportation are becoming relatively more remote . I n

Chapter II facts were presented showing the tendency Of p op ulation to mass at strategic points along the deep-water rim of thenation . This tendency, no doubt, is directly related to thedifferential between land and water freight rates . The recent rapidgrowth Of population along the Pacific Coast and in the N ew

York region seems to have a close relation to the opening Of thePanama Canal .

TABLE 57.- COST DISTANCE FROM PHILADELPHIA TO SAN FRANCISCO BY WATER

COMPARED WI TH COST DISTANCE OF SELE CTED I NLAND POINTS TO SAN

FRANCISCO BY RAIL, 1930“

Rail rate,”to San Francisco from

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Philadelphia Business Progress Association, . Transportation Faci lities in the Phi ladelphia Area,

August 11, 1980, p . 15 .

5 All rates based on 100 pounds.

3 In a recent p etition (June, 1931) to the Interstate Commerce Commissionfor an advance in freight rates, the railroads stated that the effective radius ofmotor-truck comp etition was from 150 to 200 miles .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

accessible to the canal route . The situation is illustrated by thefollowing quotation

There is little doubt Of the imp ortance Of the effect of a rate structure

upon the ability Of a manufacturer to sellhis p roducts . Here lies successor failure. A clear and typ ical examp le is seen in the effect Of the Panama

Canal up on Chicago’

s ab ility to sell in the Pacific Coast territory . Prior

to the bu ilding of the canal, Chicago ship p ers enjoyed a su bstantialbusiness in this territory. Up on the canal ’s comp letion, steamshipcomp anies began Op erating between the Atlantic and Pacific ports ,carrying merchandise and other commodities at rates materially lowerthan the all-rail rates from Chicago . As this business increased, withservice regu lar and dep endable, the bu siness of the MiddleWest ship p er

gradually decreased until, with excep tion Of sp ecialties, and , to a very

limited degree, Of some few commodities, the Pacific Coast territoryhas been lost to the Chicago market. N umerous efforts were made byChicago ship p ers in coop eration withtranscontinental railroads to

secure rates whichwou ld 'meet this comp etition, and not until theTransp ortation Department, coop erating with the I llinois CentralRailroad and Redwood Steamship Line, were rates secured p ermittingChicago ship p ers to meet this comp etition . These rates ap p ly only on a

few commodities, but it demonstrates clearly the effect of freight ratesup on the ability to sell and distribute manufactures .

7

CONCLU S I ON (WATER R IM )

The nation is gradually turning its face toward the water rim ,

not only to reach its own markets more efficiently—

b ut also to

participate more effectively ln the world market . I n the past, theocean gateways Of the United States were concentrated alongthe eastern seaboard ; but the Opening of the Panama Canal andthe increased contacts with South America and Asia are stimu

lating the development of many additional ocean gateways as is

indicated by the recent rapid growth Of Gulf and Pacific ports .

The margins Of the country as measured by cost distance fromthe national and world markets are the inland points remote from

contact with deep-water navigation. Large sections of the NorthCentral and Mountain states are tending to become

“ blighted

1areas”in the changing pattern Of the national economy . N ot

only has most Of this territory been unaffected by the major

industrial developments Of the decade, but it has become relatively more remote from the national and world market withrespect to the sale of its basic products .

7 The Chicago Association of Commerce, Chicago Commerce, December 7.1929, p . 201 .

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D I S TAN C E A S A FA C TOR

The effect of freight rates on the growth and interrelation of

cities is difficult to measure. There can be no doubt, however ,that, had the earlier freight rate structure of the country beenbased on distance, as it is now tending to become, the presentpattern Of communal life would be quite different . I t is axiomatic

that commercial centers tend to arise at points Of break in

traffic . But breaks in traffic are due not merely to geographical

barriers, which necessitate transfer from one type of carrier to

another ; they are due also to'

breaks in freight rates . The countryis divided into freight territories, and sudden changes in rates

frequently occur at the boundaries Of these territories . Cities,therefore, which are breaking points in the freight rate structure,enjoy advantages over competing centers less fortunately situated .

157 1

CHAPTER XII

COMPETITION AND INTEGRATION

HE general contraction Of space, the increasing fluidity of

products and people, together with the rapid development of

large cities— the number of cities of and over in theUnited States increased from 38 in 1900 to 93 in 1930— have

the effect of intensifying intercity competition and of bringing

about various forms of intercity and interregional division Of

labor . Of all the forms Of human aggregation the city is perhapsthe best example of the free interplay of economic forces . Unl ike

the nation as a whole, which may impose tariff barriers and

immigration restrictions to shield itself against outside competi

tion,

1 the city, as far as the domestic market is concerned, must

meet competition in an Open field . I ts size and position in thelarger economy are determined by its relative strength in thecompetitive process .

I NTERCI TY COM PETI TION

There are two identifiable though related aspects to thequestion of intercity competition . One is the competition among

small centers under the shadow of themetropolis ; the other is therivalry among the larger centers that are aspiring toward orhavealready attained commercial dominance over surrounding settlements . They may be thought of as intraregional and interregional

competition . These two types of intercity competition are so

intimately related and similar in nature that it is Virtuallyimpossible to discuss them as separate phenomena . With respect,however, to the competition among the small cities within theimmediate area of the metropolis, there seems to be a tendency

toward accommodation to a regional economy .

1 The city or regionmay u se its p olitical influence tohave its basic commoditiesp rotected by tariff s . The p rotection that one region Obtains for its p roducts islargely paid for by other regions in the form of increased p rices . Consequently,tariffs, like the geographic distribution of federal government funds, p rovide thebasis for muchp olitical rivalry between different regions within the nation .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

ADJU STMENT TO THE N EW SCALE OF DI STANCE

Indeed , the regional trend is up setting‘

to both the smaller

regional satellites and to the many aspirants for commercial

dominance . Most of our cities were established before the era of

motor transportation and other recent developments which tend

toward modern regionalism . Consequently, the pattern of d is

tribution is frequently out of harmony with present cond itions .

In some regions large cities are located too close together for

each to become a center of regional activities . I n other areas,

remote from larger centers, small cities are assuming the status

Of embryonic metropolises for surrounding settlements and

are gradually taking over many of the local functions formerly

performed by the larger and more distant cities . This process

of readjustment to modern regionalism is causing a pronounced

rearrangement of urban populations 2 and forms the basis of muchof the present intense rivalry among the larger cities of thenation.

S ize as a Factor.— I n the competition between cities , size is an

important factor . Inasmuch as the concentration Of many func

tions seems to be cumulative in character , the city which onceattains an advantage over its competitors in number of inhabitants can maintain its dominance largely by virtue of bulk

momentum . Consequently, the will to grow, to increase in pop ulation, wealth, and prestige, dominates the p sychology of most

American cities . 3 This will to grow is evidenced in the generalconcern about local rates of aggregation . Following each decennial census, numerous cities throughout the country protest tothe Bureau Of the Census against what they consider to be an

underenumeration of their inhabitants . The large city is con

cerned not merely with its own rate of growth but with that Of

its region as a Whole . For , as a city expands its economic influenceover adjoining settlement, it benefits, in many respects, as much

from regional growth as from increase Within its corporate limits .

Publicity.— This desire for -growth and status is furtherrevealed

in the literature of publicity issued by cities and their civic organiz ations . Extravagant claims regarding resources, the scope and

character Of marketing areas, and other local advantages fill the2 See p p . 30—33 .

3 Notwithstanding the general app rehension regarding the rap id urbani z ationof population, the individual city rejoices in its rap id growth.

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COM PE T I T ION AND I N T E GRAT ION

pages of the periodicals and pamphlets distributed by many an

American c ity . To illustrate :

An enterp rising and delightfu l southern city with a p opulationslightly in excess of has recently p u blished throughits leadingtrade organi z ation what ap p ears to be a most creditable market datahandbook. I ts trading areas are described in circles . I ts advertisershaveconceived a 500-mile radius for the circle of its trading territory. Chicago,

Detroit, Cleveland, Bu ffalo, Baltimore, Washington, St. Lou is, and

Kansas City are boastfu lly listed among the 35 of the 100 largest citiesof the country lying within its radius— therefore, Within the city

’

s tradeterritory.

4

An examination of such publications over a period of time,

however, discloses a tendency on the part of many cities toward

more tempered statements and more scientific analyses of

regional data . Facts are marshaled and presented with greater

care than formerly and the compass is being discarded in themapping of market areas . This tendency toward more scientific

procedure is due, perhaps, in part, to the example set by theBureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce in its careful re

gional studies ; and in part also to the growing realization thatthe more desirable types of business and industry are not be

guiled by. reckless advertising.

Competition among the larger cities assumes a wide variety of

forms, most of which never become focused in public attention.

From a national survey of community advertising made several

years ago by the United States Department of Commerce it wasfound that the principal Objectives of the expenditure of funds

for community promotion as listed in the questionnaires re

turned by 322 cities , were as follows :

Tou rist business, 22 p er cent ; bu siness p romotion, 21 p er centfip restige and good-will, 17 p er cent ; conventions and p u blicity, 14 p er

l

‘

cent ; agricu ltu ral development, 13 p er cent ; residence and settlers, 1 1p er cent. Eight resp ondents added indu strial p romotion, whichwasintended to be included under bu siness p romotions, while mining and

fishing development and the p romotion of attendance at a local collegewere also mentioned as Objectives .

5

An interesting feature brought to light in this survey was thefact that community promotion, or the consciously directed

4 An Outlinefor MarketSurveys : Prepared for Manufacturers, Distributors, andCommunities, by George C . Smith, I ndustrial Club of St. Lou is, 1930 , p . 12 .

5Wroe Alderson (U.S . Dep artment of Commerce) , Advertisingfor CommunityPromotion, 1928, p . 6 .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN ITY

competition of a city with its rivals , is more pronounced among

the intermediate group of centers than among the greatmetropolises .

The largest direct exp enditure for advertising comes in the middlegroup Of cities, those withp op u lations of from to I t is

in this group of cities that the phenomenon known as the communityadvertising campaign p ecu liarly belongs, in which a good many thou sanddollars are raised by an intensive canvass and budgeted to a variety of

mediums for advertising over a p eriod of two to five years .

6

Much of the present intercity rivalry may be regarded as a

temporary stage in the process of readjustment to an inter

regional economy . I n time, no doubt, new forms of accommoda

tion and division of labor will develop between the larger citiesto counteract the conditions making for the present severity

Of intercity competition. Much will_depend upon whether new

inventions, particularly those relating to the agencies for over

coming distance, will be introduced to start new successions inintercommunal relation. There is evidence that life is becoming

adjusted to the conditions imposed by motor transportation ;there is also evidence that certain cities have begun to settledown and take stock of their limitations as well as of their

advantages . The more cities are thrown back upon the resources

of their respective regions the more stable is our intercity econ

omy likely to become .

I NTE GRATI ON

While the forces of competition tend to set cities and regionsapart as separate economic and social entities, other forces at

the same time are drawing them together in an ever finer webof functional interrelationship . The trend toward closer integration Of settlement is represented in the expansion of communica

tions— in the highways, airways, pipe lines, and particularly inthe modern agencies for the dissemination of intelligence. Thethickening of the web of routes, the increasing speed of traveland transport, the development of the metropolitan p ress , of

toll telephone service, the mails, and the radio, all are Objectiveindices of the trend toward more intimate relations among thevarious units of settlement .

Commercial Patterning — A national system of key cities ,each dominating a more or less definable trade area, is arising in

6 I bid ., p . 3 .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

Once a city becomes established as a regional distributing

center, its banking, transportation, and other facilities compel

new concerns entering the region to select it as their point of

Operation . This cumulative process is one of the chief factorsin explaining the recent rapid growth ofmany of the more isolated

cities of the nation, particularly those ln the South and Middle

West where state rates Of population increase have been rela

tively low .

10 This tendency toward concentration of business

function in certain types of cities is indicated roughly by statis

tics pertaining to the recent construction Of Office space. Whileincrease in Office spacehas been one of the conspicuous develop

ments in the construction field in postwar years, ithas been muchmore pronounced in the larger than in the smaller cities , as

indicated by Table 58 .

TABLE 58 .— GROWTH OF NEW OFFICE SPACE , 1919— 1929, COMPARED WITH

POPULATION I NCREASE , 1920—1930 , IN FOUR GROUPS OF CITIES IN27 STATES“

Square feet of new office spacePopu lation 0“ thousands)constructed, 1919—29

NumberSize group

548

406

508

Total

a Special tabu lation by F. W. Dodge Corporation.

Although the construction of office space since the World War

has been relatively greater in the larger groups of cities, therehave been wide differences in the amount of space constructed in

cities of approximately the Same size . I n short, location as wellas size is an important factor in the selection of a city as an Officecenter . I n Table VIII of the Appendix the number of square feetof new office space constructed during the 1 1-year period 1919to 1929 is given for individual cities , grouped by Federal Reserve

1° See p . 58.

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COM PE T I T ION AND I N T E GRAT ION

Districts . Certain cities in each district stand out much more

prominently than others with respect to office construction . I n

the Boston Federal Reserve District, Hartford , with a populationof

'

164,000, is credited with over square feet Of new

Office space, while Providence, with a population of

records only square feet of new Office space . Obviously

the proximity of Providence to Boston diverts much of its business function to that larger metropolis . The proportion of new

Office construction to population increase is three times as great

in Boston as in Providence . Equally striking disproportionate

developmentsp

in new office construction appear among the cities

in the other Federal Reserve districts . I n general , industrial

cities and centers located relatively close to a larger commercial

city show smaller proportionsof new office space to population .

NATI ONAL ORI ENTATI ON

Head Oflices .— I n addition to the establishment of a large

number of regional centers, there is a tendency for certain

services to concentrate or to become oriented around single

TABLE 59.—LOCATION OF HEAD OFFICE S OF NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS,

1929“

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 Compiled from the alphabetical list of Commerci al and I ndu strial Organi zations of the Uni tedStates, 1929.

5 Two offices each.One office each.

national centers . The pattern of national integration is indicated

in part by the distribution of head Offices of national-

organiza

tions of . various types . Although Table 59 shows pronounced

concentration in the location of the head offices of national

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

organizations, it also reveals considerable spread . The scatter ,however, is due primarily to the fact that a number of theorganizations do not maintain independent Offices . Their headquarters are merely the places where the secretary happens to

reside . If such organizations were eliminated from the foregoingtabulation, the concentration would be much greater in N ew

York and Chicago .

The distribution of head offices of chain-store organizations

follows a somewhat similar pattern, except that Washington

drops out of the list of those having more than two head offices .

TABLE 60 .— DISTRI BUTION OF 168 HEAD OFFICE S OF CHAIN-STORE

ORGAN IZATIONS EACH HAVI NG 100 OR MORE STORE OUTLETS,1930“

Twin Cities

Cincinnati

Kansas CityLos Angeles Jersey CityPittsburghSan Francisco 40 cities°

Philadelphia

Secured from Brokers Division, Chain Store Headquarters. 1930 edition, National Associationof Real Estate Boards.

5 Two offices each.One oflice each.

News Centers .—Further light may be cast upon the genera l

pattern of national orientation from data obtained by the Associated Press in a one-week survey (November 10—16, 1929) of

the origin of the news items that enter into the making of a daily

newspaper. The items represented in this survey

bore date lines from different communities, of whichwere in the United States, and 172 were foreign. Of the domestic items

or app roximately one-fourth, bore the date lines Of 17 cities . The10 cities supp lying the largest number were as follows :

New York 785 San FranciscoWashington 605 Boston

Chicago 396 Seattle

Los Angeles 350 Detroit

St. Lou is 254 Atlanta

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

functions where the factor Of communication is dominant . I t is

primarily the national broadcasting center, the money-marketcenter, the publishing center of art and scientific journals .

Chicago , on the other hand, is the hub of the national trans

p ortation system , the point at which the entire population of

the nation could assemble in the shortest interval of time . Thepattern of division of labor is neatly illustrated in the field of

publishing and distribution . Several magazines designed to

summarize the latest news are published in New York butprinted and distributed from Chicago .

13

Finance and Business — The respective positions Of these two

cities in the national economy may be illustrated by statistics

showing the proportion of the banking cities and towns in thevarious census divisions of the United States which maintain

correspondent relations in either city .

TABLE 61 .— NUMBER OF BANKING POINTS REPORTING N EW YORK CITY AND

CHICAGO BANKS AS CORRE SPONDENTS, BY CENSUS DIVI S ION Sa

Division

New EnglandM iddle AtlanticbEast North Central6West North CentralSouth AtlanticEast South CentralWest South CentralMountain

Pacific

Total .

0 Bureau of Business Research, College of Commerce and Business Administration, An Analysisof Bankers’ Balances in Chicago, University of I llinoi s Bulletin, Vol. XXVI , No. 10, November19, 1928, pp. 9- 11.Outside Greater New York.Outside Chicago.

N ew York dominates as a banking center in seven of the nineterritorial divisions. Attention is called particularly to N ew

York’

s dominance in western and southern territory . Chicagoholds a fairly prominent position in Pacific Coast and Mountainterritory, but falls far below N ew York in southern divisions .

1 ? The news-magaz ine Time is a consp icuous illustration. Time is edited inNew York City but p rinted in and distributed from Chicago .

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COM PE T I T ION AND I N T E GRAT ION

I t would seem that the southern part of the country is orientedtoward N ew York as its financial and business center rather

than toward Chicago . Even the section lying west of the MissisS lpp l , which is more directly aligned by transportation with

Chicago, seems to maintain a closer integration with N ew

York .

14 This is further demonstrated by data collected in a recent

study Of the “ Distribution of Dry Goods in the Gulf Southwest”

made by the United States Department Of Commerce . In this

survey it was discovered that southern merchants patronized

New York as the main center for the purchase of all lines of

specialty merchandise . The results of the survey in this respect

are summarized as follows

Muchthe most imp ortant p rimary market traded in by dry-goodswholesalers and jobbers of the Gu lf Southwest is N ew York, althoughmuchof the merchandise p urchased through N ew York has its origins

in other p arts of the country.More thanhalf Of the jobbers rep orting,

and all but two withyearly sales of over maintain N ew Yorkconnections for buying. Of 17hou ses giving estimates considered reliableas to quantity

“

buying by sources , four withnet sales over

rep orted 75 to 90 p er cent Of their total p urchases as coming throughN ew York, while the rest estimated anywhere from 50 to 90 p er cent of

their merchandise requ irements to be similarly sup p lied .

1 5

Style.

-I t would seem that, as style becomes an increasing

factOr'

inmerchandising, N ew York ’

s position as a market center

is enhanced . T his is indicated by the extent t o which women’

s

clothing is manufactured or distributed from N ew York . I n 1927,

p er cent Of the total value of the national output of women’

s

clothing was credited to N ew York City as against p er cent

in 1909, and 68 p er cent in 1904 . I n men’

s clothing, however,Where the element of style is less significant, there is a much wider

distribution of production. I n 1927 only p er cent of the valueof products in this classification was credited to N ew York .

The concentration Of style merchandise and speciali z ed p ro

fessional services in N ew York City has the effect Of drawing to

that center selected occupational groups such as designers ,artists, brokers, and publishers . I n each of these occupations

New York contains ratios far beyond its population quota .

14 For data relating to the relative extent of travel on railways between com

mon southern p oints and New York City and Chicago, see Figure 8 .

‘5 U .S . Dep artment of Commerce, Domestic Commerce, July 20 , 1931 , p . 20 .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

The relation between these two great cities, Chicago and

New York, seems to be drawing ever closer, as is evidenced by

the flow of passenger trafli c 16 and the increase in the u se of

long-distance telephone service . While the number of toll mes

sages increased 34 p er cent over the country as a whole in thethree-year period 1927 to 1930 , the toll business between Chicagoand N ew York increased 1 15 p er cent .

17

SUMM ARY

Certain general tendencies are observable with regard to theinterrelations of cities . (1) The smaller satelliteswithin the shadowof a large city are tending to become adjusted to the metropolitan

situation . Their relations with one another and with the centralcity are assuming the form of integration and division of labor,thus eliminating some of the earlier features of competition .

(2) Rivalry between the larger cities— those that have become or

are aspiring to become centers Of commercial regions— seems to

be getting keener, as evidenced by the concern shown regarding

trade areas and numbers of inhabitants . (3) While competition

is tending to set ou r large cities apart in regional provinces,communications and national organizations are integrating them

within a larger interregional complex . (4) This interregional

economy functions through a system of sup erinterregional

centers . (5) N ew York City and Chicago are key supercenters

in the United States ; they integrate the various smaller regional

centers and thus orientate the entire country . (6) Between thesetwo great cities a division of labor has evolved , N ew York

becoming the center in the network of communications and

Chicago the center in the transportation structure .

1° See Figure 9, p . 138.

17W. H . Harrison,

“Recent Developments in the Toll Telephone Service,

Bell TelephoneQuarterly, Vol . IX, NO. 2, Ap ril, 1930, pp . 125—126 .

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CHAPTER XIII

POPULATION PATTERN ING WITHIN THE

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY

HE preceding chapters have dealt with the rise of the metro

politan community as a population aggregate and an econom

ic entity . The remainder Of this monograph will deal with

certain aspects of change within the metropolitan community

and with some of the problems arising therefrom . Outstanding

in this regard is the changing pattern of population distribution.

The ceaseless movements of population from one locality to

another within the city and its surrounding territory have occa

sioned far-reaching transformations in the internal organizationof the city and have given rise to many administrative and

financial problems .

THE CENTRI FU GAL DR I FT

The most conspicuous form Of population shift within themetropolitan area is the so-called suburban or out-going”

tendency . This is usually measured in terms of the proportionwhich the population of the central city or cities bears to the totalpopulation of the metropolitan district . For the last three decadesthe Bureau of the Censushas published figures for the metropoli

tan districts Of the large cities . As already noted , the procedureadopted in defining the 1930 districts was somewhat different

from that used in the two preceding decades ; 1 consequently strict

comparisons cannot be made over the 30-year period . However ,for 85 Of the 96 districts defined in the 1930 census, theBureau has adjusted the 1920 data to make comparison valid .

Table 62 presents the figures for these 85 districts by size groups .

I t will be Observed that the rate Of increase in the outside

territory of these 85 metropolitan districts is a little more than

twice as great as that in the central cities, and , as would beexpected , the rate differentials tend to increase with the size of

the districts . To be sure, wide variations are found in the relative1 See p . 39.

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN IT Y

rates of change for diflerent districts, depending largely upon

the practice of annexation. For instance, six of the districts showan actual decrease in population since 1920 in the territory outsidetheir central cities ; but in all save two— Duluth and Evansvillethe decreases were due to recent annexations .

2

TABLE 62 .— POPULATION AND PERCENTAGE I NCREASE OF 85 ME TROPOLITAN

DISTRICTS IN CENTRAL CITIES AND OUTSIDE TERRITORY, BY SIZE GROUPS,1920—1930“

Population(in thousands) Percentage

District increase,

1920-80

All districts of and over

In central cities .

Outside central cities .

Districts of to

I n central cities .

Outside central cities

Districts of to

In central cities .

Outside central cities

Districts of to

I n central cities .

Outside central cities .

Districts of to

In central citiesOutside central cities .

Districts of and over

I n central cities

Outside central cities .

0 U.S. Census, 1930, MetropolitanDistricts, compiled fromTable 4. pp . 10—13. For l ist of districtsnot included in this tabulation, see footnote 6, Table 18, p . 42.

Another point to note in regard to these 85 metropolitan dis

tricts is the relatively large proportion of the popu lation,

p er cent, that is recorded as outside the central cities . For 1 1 of

the districts the outside population is greater than that in thecentral cities . I n the Pittsburgh district it is almost twice as great

2When a city annexed a comp lete civil division between the two census p eriods.the Bureau of the Censu s added to the city

’

s 1920 p opu lation the p op ulation of

the annexed division at that date ; but in most cases the annexed territory cut

across civil divisions and therefore was not adju sted by the Bureau . The generaleffect of this is to reduce somewhat the actual rates of increase of outside territory.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 63 .— POPULATION CHANGE BY CONCENTRIC ZONES FROM THE CENTER

OF THE CITY OUTWARD, 1910—1930“(New York, Chicago , Cleveland , Pittsburgh )

Percentage increaseor decrease

9

4-mile zones”5

9

64 5

11 1

Outside cityc

9 o

2-mile zones“

Outside city°

2-mile zones"

103.

Outside cityc

Pittsburgh 679 3 770 3 867 3

2-mile z onesb

Outside city° 499 . 1 582 . 4 732 . 9

0 Data compiled from U.S. Census , 1930 , on the basis of census tracts : that for New York byWalter Laidlaw, Cities Census Commission, New York ; for Chicago by Charles Newcomb , University of Chicago ; for Cleveland by Howard W. Green, Cleveland Health Council ; for Pittsburghby Philip E. Keller, Bureau of Social Research . Pittsburgh . Due to the fact that the outer zonesare not strictly coterminous with the political boundaries of these cities the figures for total popalations vary somewhat from those given in the census reports.

5 When zone boundaries intersect census tracts or other statistical areas the population is estimated ou the basis of the proportion of the area falling on either side of the dividing line.

t’As given in the U.S. Census. 1920 , Pap ulation, Vol. I . Adjusted by P. K. Whelp ton, ScrippsFoundation, to make data comparable for the three periods .

4 Less than 1 p er cent.

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POPULAT ION PATT E RN I N G

FIG . 12.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

delphia,Boston, St. Louis, and Detroit, though not directly

comparable, tell a similar story . The depression seems to be

causing considerable backwash to these lower-rental areas, but in

all probability this is only a temporary cessation of a general

centrifugal process .

Figure 12, which shows population change by districts in

Chicago for the decade 1920 to 1930 , fairly typifies the patternof recent expansion in the larger cities of the United States .

THE GROWTH PROFI LE OF A METROPOLI TAN DI S TRI CT

The outflow of population from the inner zones of the largecity meeting the incoming tide from surrounding rural territory

I3 I7 2 1 25 2 9

MILES FROM CENTER OF CITY.

FIG. 13.

effects a rather interesting growth profile for the metropolitan

region which , from the data at hand, can be shown only in

general outline . Figure 13 gives a rough approximation of thegrowth profile of the Chicago district for the decade 1920 to 1930 .

The 1920 population in successive zones, as in Table 63 , is taken

as the base line and the percentage change, minus or plus, for the[ 178 ]

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

In general the statistics for these districts show that theproportions of females, foreign-born whites, and Negroes werehigher in the central cities ; while the proportions of children,

males , and native white Americans were higher in the suburban

territory . Females outnumbered males in central cities in 68 of

the 96 districts, whereas in the outside territory this was the casein only 17 districts . Likewise in 82 districts the percentage of

foreign-born whites in central“

cities was higher than in the outsideterritory ; and in 90 districts this was also true of the percentageof Negroes .

The most pronounced form of selection shown by the statisticsof metropolitan districts pertains to the distribution of the child

population. In all but 4 of the 96 districts the percentage of

children under 15 years of age was higher outside than insidecentral cities . These data indicate the tendency of family groupsto establish themselves around the periphery of the community .

Broad comparisons of such heterogeneous population aggre

gates as are found in large cities and their surrounding settlements

give but slight indication of the operation of selective processes .

I t is well known that the suburbs of any large city may differ

greatly, one from another, in the make-up of their p op u la

tions . Residential suburbs, particularly the more exclusive ones ,

tend to have a high proportion of women, a relatively low ratio of

children, and a small percentage of foreign born ; while in most

industrial suburbs the conditions are reversed . The unincor

p orated territory adjacent to large cities almost invariably shows

high ratios of males and children.

The selective processes involved in city expansion seem to

operate in a somewhat orderly and typical fashion from the centerto the periphery of the community . I t is now possible by means

of census-tract statistics to show how different elements of thepopulation become segregated and arranged throughout the community as a Whole . Obviously it is impracticable to attempt a

detailed analysis of such data here. A sampling of a cross section

of metropolitan Chicago may serve to illustrate how, selective

forces operate.

In Figure 14 is shown the age-sex composition of the p op ula

tion of Oak Park Village, a residential suburb , and of six census

tracts lying along Madison Street between Oak Park and thecenter of Chicago. The tracts selected are approximately

miles apart . Inasmuch as the population of a large part of this

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POPULAT ION PATT ERN I N G

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THE METROPOL I TAN COMMUN ITY

area is characterized by a high degree of mobility, it is safe to

assume that it has changed many times in the 20-year intervalshown . Yet the age

-sex composition of the respective tracts hasbeen altered only slightly . I n each decade an excessive proportion

of adult males is found in the area lying close to the Loop— themain business center— with a tendency toward a more even age

sex distribution as one proceeds out toward the fringe of themetropolitan area . The general tendency of women and children

to withdraw from the central section of the city is quite apparent .

So, too, is the decrease in the proportion of childrenin the outly

ing tracts , although in interpreting this fact considerationmust be

given to the general decline throughout the city during the lasttwo decades in the proportion Of children to adults . Research on

a more extended scale may well show that this age-sex pattern is

somewhat typical of metropolitan communities .

Economi c Selection.

—Perhaps the most important form of

selection involved in metropolitan expansion is that pertaining

to the distribution of the different income and occupational

classes of the p opulation . I t is a matter Of common observation

that the inner and Older sections Of a city, particularly those

lying close to the main business center , are usually inhabited bythe weaker and less stable elements of the population, while theouter zones and suburbs tend to have higher proportions of

the more substantial members of the community .

TABLE 64 .—DISTRIBUTION OF FOUR SERIES OF SOCIAL DATA IN I NDIANAPOLIS,

BY ZONE S“

0 R. Clyde White, The Relation of Felonies to Environmental Factors in I ndianapoli s,Journal of Social Forces, Vol . X, No. 4, May, 1932, pp . 498—509.

5 Cases of the I ndianapolis Family Welfare Society p er married or widowed women, datafor November, 1929.

c The per capita contributions (residence of contributor) to the Indianapolis Community Fundin 1930—1931 .

d Percentage of all males over fifteen years of age who are single, U.S . Census, 1980.

0 Percentage of land used for business purposes

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

nevertheless the editor of this directory assures us that thebasis of selection has remained relatively constant . Accordingly

the trend in residential distribution of these families as shown in

Table 65 may be taken as a fair index of the movement of De

troit’

s most competent citizens .

TABLE 65 .— RE SIDENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF DETROIT’S SUBSTANTIAL FAM ILIES,

1910—1930“

Total families 100 . 0 100 0 100 0

Business center to GrandBoulevardb .

Grand Bou levard to city limitsBeyond city limits .

0 Compiled by Thomas M . Pryor, University of M ichigan, from Dau’

s Blu e Book and its

successor, the Social Secretary.

5 Approximately the area within a three-mile radius of the main business center of Detroit.

The general exodus of competent families from the inner zoneOf the city is apparent . The 1930 figures Show a distribution

almost the reverse of that prevailing in 1910 . Whereas in 1910 ,

p er cent resided within the Grand Boulevard circle and

p er cent beyond the city’

s corporate limits ; in 1930 , 50 p er cent

lived outside the city ’

s municipal boundaries and inside

Grand Boulevard . The remainder of the group in either yearresided in territory lying between the boulevard and the city ’s

corporate limits .

The families that have moved beyond the city limits haveconcentrated in two suburban districts : Grosse Pointe Village,located just east of the city, and the Bloomfield Hills-Birminghamdistrict lying to the north .

The data in Table 65 also show that a considerable part of

the movement from the area within Grand Boulevardhas been toother areas within the city rather than to suburban territory .

For example, the Indian Village district, located on the Detroit

River just east Of Grand Boulevard, has shown a rapid increasein its number of “

substantial families,” having 94 in 1910 , 114 in

1920, and 433 in 1930 . I n short, the process of segregation as well

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POPULAT ION PATT E RN I NG

as the process of expansion is involved in the distribution of thehigher income groups .

Further indication that the shift of residence of the city ’

s

social élite is not always to suburban communities is found in

the rapid growth of Chicago ’

s Gold Coast district, only a few

blocks distant from the main business center Of the city , and by

the rapid development of fashionable apartments on ParkAvenue, adjacent to the leading business district Of N ew York .

I n fact in the largest cities there seems to be a tendency for thevery wealthy to establish at least a winter

“

residence close to

the Office center . This inward movement, however , is statistically

insignificant when compared with the general drift toward theoutermargins of the community .

Cultural Selection.— I t is apparent that the cultural and

institutional structure of a community bears a close relation to

the trend in population patterning . The exodus of the betterelements of the city ’

s population— including a wide range of

income classes— from the inner to the outer zones is reflected in

the cultural life of the community . Measured by almost any in

dex, the city shows a tendency toward increasing wholesomeness

and social stability With distance from the center . As indicatedearlier in this chapter, rates of destitution, measured by family

TABLE 66 .— JUVENILE DELINQUENCY RATES, BY ZONE S FROM CENTER OF CITY

OUTWARD“

Rates by zones"

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a This table is compiled from Clifl'

ord R. Shaw and Henry D . McKay , Rep ort on the Causes ofCrime, Vol. I I , National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, Government PrintingOffice, Washington, D. C June, 1931 .b The juvenile court records from which the above cases were taken are for the following years

Chicago, 1917—1923 ; Philadelphia, 1927; Richmond, 1927—1980 ; Cleveland, 1919—1921 ; Birmingham.

1927—1930 ; Denver, 1924—1929; Seattle, 1926—1929.

0 Percentage -of boys ten to fifteen years of age in each area brought to the juvenile court on

petitions alleging delinquency.4 No data.

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

welfare cases, show a pronounced tendency to decline with dis

tance outward . This same gradient pattern of distribution applies

to many cultural phenomena . Clifford R . Shaw, of the ChicagoInstitute for Juvenile Research , has computed juvenile delinquenoy rates by concentric zones for a number of large American

cities and in every casehas found a definite tendency for the ratesto decline with distance from the center of the city . Table 66

summarizeshis findings in this regard .

R . Clyde White, in his study of adult crime in Indianapolis,found a similar gradient pattern of distribution, as shown in

Table 67. I t will be observed that the rates of both felons and

felonies decline rapidly with distance from the business center

of the city.

The evidence seems conclusive that the selective processesinvolved in the expansion of American cities

'

tend to make for

increasing wholesomeness and stability as the outermargins of thecommunity are approached .

TABLE 67.— FELONS AND FELONIE S PER MALE S 15 To 74 YEARS OF AGE

AND PER SQUARE M ILE OF AREA, BY ZONES“

I I

I I I

IV

a R. Clyde White, The Relation of Felonies to Environmental Factors in Indianapolis,Journal of Social Forces, Vol. X, No. 4, M ay, 1982, pp. 498—509.

b Zones are established by drawing concentric circles at one mi le intervals from the center of thecity . Zone V is a wider area.

I NSTI TUTI ONAL ACCOMMODATI ON

In the process of city expansion, new developments tend to

concentrate at the center and around the periphery of the com

munity . The intermediate area, in which , as a rule, the poorerpeople congregate, lags behind the center and the rim in theprocess of cultural advance . Old buildings , old institutions, andOld ways of doing things characterize the economic and cultural

life of this intermediate zone . Here the city , in its growth , leaves[ 186 ]

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TABLE 68 .

— DISTRIBUTION OF MOTION-PICTURE THEATERS AND SEATS, BYC ONCENTRIC ZONES FROM CENTER OF CITY OUTWARD IN CHICAGO,

PHILADELPHIA, DETROIT, 1920—1930a

o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o

CHICAGO

PHILADELPHIA

16

13

39

39

34

14

18

4

3 340

0 400

187 180

DETROIT

9

1

658

980

763

708

694

830

575

375

340

400

751

978

880

937

822

000

9 Data for Chicago supplied by Herbert Blumer ; for Philadelphia by Albert Comanor ; for Detroitby E . W. McFarland .

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POPULAT ION PATTE RN I N G

I 2 3 4 5 8 7 8 9 IO I I l2 l3 I4

MILES FROM C EN TER OF C ITY

FI G . 15 .

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

tribution of theaters according to size within these cities . Thelarge theaters— those having seating capacities of or more

are found only in themain business centers and in the outer zonesof the city . The increase in the average size of the theaters

located in the outer sections is significant . I t is important to

Observe that the average size of the theaters located in the zoneslying immediately beyond the main business center is notably

smaller than that of the theaters at the center or farther out .

Moreover, in both Chicago and Detroit, the aggregate number of

theater seats in this intermediate areahad declined considerablyby 1930 . I n Philadelphia , the decline was only relative.

The general pattern of distribution of theater seats in thethree cities, together with the changes recorded between 1920

and 1930 , is clearly portrayed in Figure 15 . The contours in this

figure should be compared with the land-value profiles shown in

Figures 29 and 30 , pages, 234 and 236 . The sim ilarity of thelines describing these two series of data is striking— first, the peakat the main business center , followed by a sudden drop of the linein the intermediate area , then by an upward turn almost as

abrupt as the outlying districts are reached . I n other words, thedata indicate the tendency of American cities to grow at thecenter and the rim and to decay in the intermediate territory .

SUMM ARY

To summarize briefly the data presented in this chapter : (1)The centrifugal movement Of the city

’

s population has beengreatly accelerated since the advent of motor transportation .

(2) This outward movementhas been selective in character , themore efficient elements of the population gravitating in “higher

ratios than the weaker economic groups to the margins of thecity ; (3) The wholesomeness of the urban environment. improves

with distance from the center of the city ; (4) Institutional development has followed closely the patterning Of population, by

confining location largely to the center and rim of the city ;

(5 ) The general outcome of recent city expansion has been thecreation of blighted areas in many of the Older close-in districts .

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0 0 0 O O O Q0 0 0 Q' N

SONVSOOHL N I NOLLV1 ndOd

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EX PAN S ION OF POL I T I C AL AR E A

aries as population accumulates around its margins . I t thus

succeeds in maintaining within its corporate limits at least part

of the curve Of population growth within the region . The processis illustrated by Figure 16 .

I n this figure the political areas at diflerent periods in thehistory of three American cities— Cleveland , Boston, and St .

Louis— are considered as separate communities , and the curve of

population growth is plotted from the date when such area was

established down to 1930 . Thus the population growth in the cityof Cleveland as of 1830 is followed through to 1930 ; next theCleveland Of 1840 , which includes the incorporated territory of

1830 plus that annexed during the following decade, is likewiseheld “

constant down to 1930 ; and so with the area of the city as of

each subsequent decade . The same procedure is used in plotting

the curves for Boston and -St . Louis . The fewer bu t larger annexations of these two cities, however , produce less uniform curves Of

growth .

I t will be seen that each political area tends to come to a

stationary , if not an actually declining, population ; also that thegeneral growth of the cityhas been maintained through periodic

annexations of new territory . Cleveland, by virtue Of rather

frequent annexations, has succeeded in maintaining a rather

uniform curve of growth . That the time has arrived for further

extension Of Cleveland’

s political limits if the city is to keep pacewith the rate of growth of the district as a whole is shown by

the fact that between 1920 and 1930 the population inside thecentral city increased only p er cent, whereas that of the“

outside terr itory” of the metropolitan district increased

p er cent, and the metropolitan district as a whole, including thecity of Cleveland , p er cent .

Boston and St. Louis have made fewer annexations thanCleveland . Boston’

s last annexation was made in 1912, -whenHyde Park Town , comprising approximately 5 square miles Of

territory and people , was added to the city. Prior to that,Boston had annexed no territory for a period Of 32 years . St .

Louis has made no annexations since 1876, when approximately

43 square miles were added to the territory of the city .

The comparatively low rates of growth“

of these two citiesduring the last decade is partially explained by their failure toextend their boundaries . From 1920 to 1930 the population of thecity of Boston increased only p er cent, while that of the f‘out

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side territory of the Boston metropolitan district increased

per cent . The corresponding figures for St . Louis in this same

period are p er cent and p er cent respectively .

The failure or inability Of a city to annex the suburban territoryinto which its population moves is an important factor in ex

plaining the low rates of growth Of a number of the larger citiesof the United States . This is indicated in part by the figures

presented in Table 69. Included in this table are 18 of the 24

TABLE 69.

— I NCREASE IN POPULATION IN CITIE S THAT-ANNEXED No TERRITORYBETWEEN 1890 AND 1930, COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE OUTSIDE TERRITORYOF THE METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS IN WHICH THE CITIES ARE LOCATED,

1920—1930“

Percentage increase

Des Moines

Elizabeth-Jersey City-PatersonbHartfordNew HavenNew YorkPhiladelphiaProvidence-Fall River-New Bedford"St. Louis Mo

San AntonioSan FranciscoScranton

WashingtonWorcester

U .S. Census, 1930, MetrOpolitan Districts. The total number of cities over popu lationthat annexed no territory between 1890 and 1930 was 24 . Only 18 are shown in the table. Four ,Yonkers, Camden, Cambridge. and Lynn, were omitted because they are in immediate proximityto metropolitan cities and it is felt that they do not represent the typical situation. New Orleansis omitted because popu lation figures for the outside territory are not available. St. Pau l is omittedbecause of the impossibility of separating its outside territory from that of M inneapolis.

5 Combined by the Bureau of the Census into one district, the New Jersey Division of the New

York City metropolitan area. The city of Newark is excluded because it annexed some territorybetween 1890 and 1930.

0 One metropolitan district.

cities with populations in 1930 of or more which have not

extended their political boundaries since 1890 ; a number of

them have made no annexations for a much longer period . Bycomparing the rates of growth of these cities with the rates of

increase in the outside territory of the metropolitan districts in

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TH E ME TROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

during the decade 1920 to 1930 , and the total area annexed was

less than in the preceding l O-year period , indeed less than duringthe last decade of the nineteenth century . Thirteen of the 82c itie s included in Table 70 have made no annexations since

1890 , and some have made none for a considerably longer period .

FREQUENCY AND AVERAGE S I ZE OF ANNEXATIONS

I n order to ascertain what the tendency is with regard to thefrequency and the average size of annexations, the figures in

Table 71 have been compiled .

TABLE 71 .— FREQUENCY AND AVERAGE SI z E OF ANNEXATIONS OF 35 CITIES,

BY DECADES, 1850—1930a

Decade

Total .

a Data derived from city engineers’

reports . Each separate parcel of land added to a city isconsidered as an annexation in this table.

The following 35 cities are included in this table (see Table IX of the Appendix) :

and

I t will be noticed that the trend for these 35 cities is towardmore frequent annexations , but the average size of the parcelsannexed is becoming smaller . For the first four decades , from1850 to 1890 , the frequency of annexations remained more or

less constant with an average of about 39 parcels of land p er

decade ; from 1890 to 1900 the number increased to 5 1 ; from 1900

to 1910 , to 95 ; from 1910 to 1920 , to 135 ; and from 1920 to 1930 ,

to 187. On the other hand , the average size of territorial accessions seems to be decreasing, although there are some noticeableexceptions . The average size of annexations from 1850 to 1860

was square miles, while for the following two decades therewas a marked decline to and square miles respectively.

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EX PAN S ION OF POL I T I C AL AR E A

From 1880 to 1890 , there is an increase to square miles .

The trend from 1890 to 1930 is noticeably downward , although

the average size of annexations is higher for the decade 1910 to1920 than for 1900 to 1910 . The lowest average is square

miles, which occurred between 1920 and 1930 .

EXAM PLE S OF LARGE ANNEXATI ONS

From time to time, certain cities have annexed unusually large

parcels of land . In 1898 N ew York City consolidated with

Brooklyn (now the borough of Brooklyn) , Queens County (nowthe borough Of Queens) , and Staten Island (now the borough of

Richmond) , which added approximately square miles to thecity . I n 1915 Los Angeles annexed SanFernando, an area of

square miles, to its territory . I n 1854 the city limits of Philadelphia were made coterminous with the county limits, thereby

adding square miles to the city . Other cities that have

made large annexations include Baltimore, square miles

of land in 1918 ; St . Louis, approximately 43 squaremiles in 1876 ;San Francisco, square miles of land and square miles

of water in 1856 ; Buffalo, square miles in 1854 ; Oakland ,square miles in 1909; Miami , squaremiles of land and

square miles of water in 1925 .

Generalizing, it can be said that American cities are not

annexing territory in keeping with the expansion of their p op u

lation . Even the cities that have made most rapid extension of

their political boundaries in recent years have failed to in

corporate territory as fast as populationhas moved out or accu

mu lated near by. This is well illustrated by the cases of Los

Angeles and Detroit . Since 1910 Los Angeles has increased itspolitical area from 100 to 441 square m iles ; and Detroit from 40

to 139 square miles . Yet the 1930 census recorded over

people in the Los Angeles metropolitan district residing outside

the city of Los Angeles and in the Detroit metropolitan

district outside the corporate limits of Detroit .

ANNEXATI ON AND M ETROPOLI TAN GOVERNMENT

Obviously there is little possibility for the central city of a

metropolitan community to meet the problem of governmental

integration through the expansion Of political boundaries . I n

the first place, metropolitan population is spreading too widely

and too rapidly for the central city to hope to keep pace with

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

it by extensions Of political limits . In the second place, thereseems to be a well-defined tendency for the population of a metro

politan region to become multinucleated within the larger whole .

This process of nucleation appears even within the politicalarea Of the city where population becomes organized around

various business subcenters . I t appears in a more pronounced

fashion outside the corporate limits of the city in the form of

politically independent communities . As indicated in a previous

chapter, a large proportion of the new incorporations between

1920 and 1930 took place within the immediate orbits of thelarger cities .

3 I t would seem_

that at least part of the stimulus

in the recent suburban drift is the desire to move to communities

where life may be organized on a smaller scale and where individ

ual participation can be more effective .

3 See p . 71 .

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

and (6) the distribution of the parcels into widely dispersed

ownership .

I n View of the public interest involved, in this process, public

regulation or control has been asserted in a number of ways ,depending in large measure upon the location of the property tobe subdivided . The greatest amount Of control is exerted over

properties lying within “

the political boundaries of cities or

municipalities ; very little is exercised over others . I n nearly every

case, however, the subdivider is obliged to file for record with theproper authorities a map showing howhe' proposes to subdivide

the property, including the provision made for streets, the exact

property lines established, etc . Before this map can be accepted

for record, it must have the approval of the administrative body,such as the city council or the board of supervisors, controlling

the area in which it is located . These bodies usually have es

tablished regulations governing the width of roadways or streets

and other mechanical or technical details concerning the method

of subdividing . When such a map has been recorded, title to theparcels may be transferred by reference to this map . The only

alternative to thismethod is that of selling “ by metes and bounds

description that is, by placing in the instruments that transfer

title an elaborate and technical description of the location of thelines that bound each parcel . This is a laborious process, fraughtwith imminent danger of m istakes and subsequent flaws In titles .

In some jurisdictions, it is forbidden .

3

Furthermore, in several instances municipalities have been

granted some powers of regulation of plats beyond their own

boundaries .

4 All of these powers, however, are confined solelyto the regulation of the manner in which subdivision shall take

place . In no instancehas any authority been granted to regulate

the amount of subdividing or the time when it may occur . De

cisions on these matters are left entirely to the judgment of

individuals.

When the sites have been prepared, they become graduallyabsorbed into urban uses, as permanent structures are erected on

3 The injunction is contained in the “Standard City Planning Enabling Act

p repared by the U .S . Dep artment of Commerce and widely adop ted. For sum

mary of legislation see Lester G . Chase, “Regional Planning Commissions or

Organi z ations,”1932 ;

“A Tabulation of City Planning Commissions in the

United States, 1932 ; Survey of City Planning and RelatedLaws,” 1929, 1931 ,all published in mimeographed form by the U.S . Dep artment of Commerce.

See footnote 3 .

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EX PAN S ION OF UR B AN L AND AR E A

them . Some time must Obviously elapse before this takes place .

The major reason for a necessary lag between the preparation and

the utilization is that the two operations are conducted on a

diflerent scale. Preparation must be wholesale ; while utilizationis piecemeal . With the ownership of the sites distributed widely

among difl’erent individuals, seldom more than a half dozen lots

FIG . 17.

are likely to be brought into u se by the same operation. But

during this interval the land has been thrown out of rural or

semiurban uses and still waits the coming of the u se for which ithas been prepared . The improvements that have been installed in

the process meanwhile represent a large capital investment that

lies idle . Hence a social interest attaches to the problem of

reducing as far as is possible the interval between the two .

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TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

The problems of the territorial expansion of urban commu

nities , therefore, center in this penumbra between the two usesand focus on two major considerations ; namely, (1) the geographical distribution Of subdivision activity in the penumbra ; and (2)the degree to which subdividing and utilization are correlated as

FI G . 18 .

to time, or the length of time necessary to complete the transitionof the area from rural to urban uses .

Expansion of urban uses and of subdividing activities in this

penumbra is not, as one might suppose, gradual or steady . Theurban community does not creep out steadily but expands by

leaps and starts . Subdividing activity is especially irregular and

erratic . Instead of appropriating the land at the edge of the202

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1919, from 1920 to 1924, and from 1925 to 1929. Each dot rep re

sents five lots . The heavy black line represents the median”

line of growth and is located by superimposing upon the map a

series of triangles of 7% degrees, with the angles radiating from

a spot chosen arbitrarily as the center of the city . The dots ineach triangle are then counted and a point chosen within the

FIG . 20 .

triangle beyond which the number of dots is equal to the numberbetween the point and the center of the city . These median pointsare then connected by the heavy “

median” line .

I t will be noticed at once that the first period , 1910 to 1914 ,was characterized by subdividing activity in rather widespreadareas, while during the next period , 1915 to 1919, the location

[ 904 ]

EXPAN S ION OF UR B AN LAND AR E A

of activity was much nearer to the center Of the city . In no

direction did activity in this period reach so far out from thecenter as ithad inthe preceding four years . As a matter of fact ,

this period represented the filling-in process that follows a period

FIG . 21 .

of reaching out . I t may be urged that this second period is notrepresentative because the war intervened to

_interrupt usual

processes .While this is partially true, still 1915 and 1916 were notwar years in America ; and the history of previous periods of urbangrowth seems to suggest that the situation was not abnormalduring these years in so far as the geographical location of ac

tivity was concerned .

During the following decade, another period of expansionwas experienced, similar to the one that was coming to an end

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

between 1910 and 1914 . Subdividing activitie s sprang out arterial

highways to far-distant areas, overleaping much of the intervening territory in the swift outward movement, until by 1925 to1929 they had come to the remote corners of the whole region .

The period of expansion is marked not only by far-flungsubdividing but also by an enormous increase in volume . Thus in

FIG . 22 .

the Grand Rapids metropolitan region, from 1922 to 1928,inclusive, the number of lots in subdivisions placed on record was

or an average of a year ; while from 1915 to 1921

only or an average of 482 a year, were placed on record .

Likewise, during the three years 1929 to 1931 an average of only

298 a year were recorded . Doubtless the inactivity between 1915[ 206 ]

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A very similar story is told by the data from Detroit, Toledo,

and B irmingham , Alabama . A period of relative inactivity

lasting from 7 to 15 years has consistently been followed byfeverish activity that boosted the total number of new lots to a

figure several times that recorded during the inactive periods .

FIG . 24 .

The data on utilization of the lots created during these spurts

of activity are much less extensive, being confined to those for

the Grand Rapids region alone.

l The maps shown in Figures

21 to 24 indicate the geographical location of the lots utilizedduring the periods 1910 to 1914 , 1915 to 1919, 1920 to 1924 ,

and 1925 to 1929. Comparison of these maps with those in

7 The data on utili z ation are also from Fisher and Smith, op . cit.

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EXPAN S ION OF UR B AN LAND AR E A

Figures 17 to 20 suggests the following observations : (1) Utiliz ation lags far behind subdividing as far as geographical distribu

tion of the sites involved is concerned . (2) Compared with the

.lso u 12 0 14 6 15 17 u n mo z i 22 23 24 25 26 27 20 29 |930 3l

FI G . 25 .

tendencies in subdividing, utilization tends rather to creep fromthe already built-up fringes into the penumbra with occasional

I909 I0 I I I2 I3 I4 IS I6 I1 18 I9 20 2I 22 23 24 25 26 27 20 29 30 3!

FI G . 26 .

sorties deeper into it . Utilization shows some tendencies, however ,to jump from the periphery of the built-up area into isolated anddetached locations, gradually filling up the interstices . But this

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

tendency is far less pronounced than it is in subdividing . (3) Thegeographical distribution Of utilization is much more uniform

than that of subdividing . Whereas subdividing activities are

grouped with heavy masses falling in some spots and practically

none in others, utilization is more evenly spread over the penumbra with the principal grouping tending to fall near the inner edge .

I n connection with the number of lots subdivided and thenumber utilized each year the greatest discrepancy appears . I n

Table 72 the number of each is given from year to year , from 1909

to 1931 , in the Grand Rapids region withthe central core Of thecity excepted . The figures are charted in Figure 25 . The cumulative total number of lots on record and the total number utilizedfrom year to year are given also in Table 72 and shown in Figure

26 .

I t will be noticed that for the entire period lots were

subdivided for every one utilized . The two series move almost

together , with the number of lots subdivided nearly always

practically double the number utilized . This correlation is inter

rup ted only for the years preceding the war and those following

1928, when sirbdividing all but ceased .

The principal explanation of these movements is found in therole that speculation plays in the extension of the urban territory .

Subdivision lots are created with reference to a market, not a

need . During periods of speculation, the market is active and a

large portion of the lots created are sold not for u se but as so

called “ investments . The purchasers expect to hold their lots

for a rise in price and a consequent profit . I n some cases, partie

u larly early in the period , such hopes are realized . These cases

serve to encourage further speculation, and a“

runaway market”

develops . The supply Of lots created during such a period appears

to have no relation to any reasonable apparent need for additional

sites for utilization .

This rOle of speculationhas as its basis the historical development of American communities . Pioneer days of

“ boom towns”

are still fresh in memory, and it has not yet been .generally

accepted that the “ period of explosive expansion” is over . Indeed ,there will probably be cases Of similarly rapid expansion in certain

communities, but the conditions that justified much of it in

earlier days no longer exist throughout the country as a whole .

The historical attitude still remains, however, as a general back

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Another suggestion is that subdividers be required not only

to secure approval of the mechanical features Of a proposed plat,but that they also be obliged to secure froma properly constituted

authority, such as a city or regional planning commission, a

certificate of public convenience and necessity, similar to that

required of a public utility, before they can offer subdivided lots

for sale .

8 This suggestion appears to have merit and is gaining

some favor . I t would not be surprising to find it adopted by many

communities .

Another suggestion is that subdividers be required to install

throughout a subdivision all the necessary public utilities, or

file a bond guaranteeing their installation, before Ofl’ering the lots

for sale . This requirementhas been used effectively in some juris

dictions. But this remedy is only a palliative. I t does serve to keep

the most irresponsible subdivider out of the field by requiring a

certain amount of financial stability . I t prevents gross misrep re

sentation and failure to live up to promises made dur ing theeffort to sell . I t will not, however, prevent and will scarcely

minimize the overexpansion due to speculation. This fundamental

force must be attacked and throttled by any plan to remedy thesituation.

Finally, some check upon speculative activities would be

exerted by the widespread dissemination of statistical data cover

ing the actual situation from time to time . Studies of this nature

would not be popular, however, in periods of speculation, and

their interpretation would be warped to fit the needs of particularinterests . They would, however , impose the necessity of explanation, at least to an informed prospective speculator . I t would

appear desirable to give such studies some form of official recognition and some official body the power to enforce the intelligentinterpretation of such data upon those who encourage speculationand would without some official restraint exaggerate the excessesof subdividing . I n other words, some power to exercise social

control or regulation of the amount of subdividing appears to benecessary .

3 See Coleman G . Woodbury, Some Suggested Changes in the Control ofUrban Land Development,

” Journal of Land and Public Uti lity Economics, Vol .V, No . 3, Augu st, 1929, p . 249.

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CHAPTER XVI

THE STRUCTURAL METAMORPHOSIS OF THE

CITY

HE changing pattern of population distribution within themetropolitan region is associated with important changes in

the physical structure of the community and with the mode Of

function of its various institutions . A city is a physical mechanism

aswell as a population aggregate . The relations between the physical shell and its human content are reciprocal and interactive .

The one influences and directs the other . We have already

dealt with certain tendencies in aggregation and patterning

of population ; we shall now consider some of the structural

accommodations .

PHYS I CAL B ASE

The physical base of the city is expanding in response to thecentrifugal drift of the population . All the public utilities— streets,

water mains, sewage facilities , electric lighting, gas and telephone

services— show rapid rates of expansion within the past decade .

The increase in street pavement, which is generally paral leled by

the other services, may be taken as an index. I n 201 cities studied

TABLE 73 .-TOTAL AREA OF STREET PAVEMENT LAID IN 201 CITIES, BY

POPULATION GROUPS, 1925—1929“

Area (in thousands of square yards)

to

to

to

to

and over

Total

4 Ar thur H. Redfield, Street Paving in Rep resentative American Cities, 1925- 1939. U.S. Bureau

of Mines, 1. C. May, 1931 , p . 7. Names of cities given in this publication.

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

by Arthur H . Redfield dur ing the years 1925 to 1929 inclusive,a total of square yards of pavement were laid, theannual amount increasing until 1927 and declining somewhat in

1928 and 1929. The data are summarized inTable 73 .

These figures pertain merely to pavement within the corporatelimits of cities . But a city

’

s street system is no longer confinedwithin its political boundaries . The paved motor highway net

encircling every city is really an extension of the street system .

From this standpoint it . is no longer possible to tell where thecity ends and the country begins .

The physical city has expanded in response to new conditions

of transportation and population distribution, whereas thepolitical structurehas lagged behind . I n a sense, the entire metro

politan complex made up Of its scores of incorporated communi

ties of varying size is rapidly acquiring a common physical base

in the form of streets, sewers, water mains, light, power, and

transportation and communication facilities . Superimposed upon

this common physical and econom ic unity is a multiplicity Of

separate political , judicial , police, tax-levying, and other ad

ministrative jurisdictions . This failure Of the political structureof the metropolitan community to become adjusted to thephysical and social structure of the larger community constitutesone of the major problems in local government at the presenttime .

1

BU I LDI NGS

The buildings in a city— houses, churches, schools, stores,

factories, Office structures, and the like— are physical manifesta

tions of the pattern of its social and economic organization .

Therefore tendencies in regard to type and extent of the variousclasses of buildings found in any city are significant indices Of

developments in the social and economic relations of its inhabitants .

Trends in building construction are here considered only as

they indicate change in the organization and life of the community,not as they affect the building industry itself . Inasmuch as an

increasing proportion Of all buildings constructed in cities rep re

sents construction for sale or rent rather than for u se by theowner , tendencies in construction are good barometers of thechanging organization of the city . Buildings, like motor cars or

household furniture, are made for profit, and therefore are resp on1 For a discussion Of metropolitan government, see Chap ter XXI I .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

in 10 of the 13 years for which data are available. I t gained

in relative importance from 1921 to 1924 and held a position of

OVer 60 per cent of the total through 1928 , only to drop Off sharplyin 1929. Commercial construction, of whiChthe chief subclass isoffice buildings, maintained a fairly uniform percentage of thetotal to 1931 when it declined to Factories dropped

suddenly in relative importance after 1920 , with a slight upward

trend between 1924 and 1929 and a pronounced sag in 1930 and

1931 . The effect of the depression is seen not only in themarked decline in total construction after 1929 but also in thechanging ratios in the several classes of building . N oncommer

cial classes— hospitals and institutions, educational and public

buildings— have gained in relative importance in the construction

program since 1929.

Residential Construction — In residential construction thereare at least two general trends that areWorthy of special atten

tion . The first is the recent tendency for new residential space to

increase faster than population ; and the second is the tendencytoward multiple dwellings . I n regard to the former, Leo Wolman,

who has conducted extensive research in this field, makes thefollowing summary statement

In the four years p rior to the American entry into the World War,

there was an average construction of 209 square feet p er p erson added tothe p opulation . When the war years are inclu ded, this average drop sto 205 square feet. The postwar boom of 1919 not only wip ed out all thehortage created during the war but raised the average to nearly 221square feet. Then followed another two years witha low constru ction

record, whichagain brought the average below the level established inthe fou r years from 1913 to 1916 . But, beginningwith 1922, constructionbegan a consistent upward movement, and by the end of 1927 theaverage residential constru ction p er p erson added to the p op u lation wasmore than 286 square feet.

2

The amount Of residential floor space allotted each new inbahitant varies considerably, however, in different localities . Table 75

shows the relation between the amount of residential construction

and the increase in urban population in the F .W. Dodge terr itories

for the 10-year period 1920 to 1930 . I n order to make the recentrecords comparable with those of earlier years, it was necessary

to combine a number of the territories . Consequently, the regionsLeo Wolman,

“Consumption and the Standard of Living, Recent Economic

Changes in the United States, Vol . 1, National Bureau of Economic Research, I nc1929, p . 63 .

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TH E S TR U C T URAL METAMOR PHOS I S

for which the data are assembled are somewhat larger than thepresent Dodge territories . I t will be noted that the sparsely

settled regions, on the whole , provided less new residential floor

space than the more congested territories .

TABLE 75 .

— RELATION OF N EW RE SIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION (ALL TYPES) TOURB AN POPULATION I NCREASE , BY REGIONS, 1920—1930a

(Based on contracts awarded in 37 states)

Region

1 . New England2. New York and northern N ew

Jersey3 . M iddle Atlantic4. Pittsburgh5 . Central West

6. North West

7. South East

0 F. W. Dodge Corporation, special tabulation.

5 These are the F. W. Dodge Corporation statistical divisions as of 1929. A number of the districts intersect state boundaries and can be accurately described only by reference to county units .

The territory included in each district is roughly as follows : ( 1) The six N ew England States ; (2)New York State and northern New Jersey ; (3) eastern half of Pennsylvania, rest of New Jersey,Maryland, Delaware ; District of Columbia, Virginia ; (4) western half of Pennsylvania, states of

West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio ; (5) southern peninsula of M ichigan, the states of I ndiana, I llinois,M issouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, I owa, most of Wisconsin, parts of Arkansas, Tennesseeand M ississippi ; (6) states of M innesota, North and South Dakota, western Wisconsin, and theupper peninsu la of M ichigan; (7) states of North and South Carol ina, Georgia. Florida, Alabama,

Lou isiana. parts of M ississippi, Tennessee. and Arkansas ; (8) state of Texas . Precise boundaries ofthese districts may be obtained from the F. W. Dodge Corporation or from the author.

Adjusted to make the 1930 urban area correspond with that of 1920 . See U.S. Census, 1930,

Pop ulation, Vol. I , p. 7.

4 Data available for only seven years.0 Data available for only five years.

1 Adjusted to period for which data are available.

M u ltip le Dwellings .

—The rapid increase in the proportion of

families provided for in apartments is strikingly shown in a

compilation of building permits for 257 cities of population

or over published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics .

3 Between1921 and 1928 the percentage of one-fam ily dwellings, as indicated

by the building permits, dropped from to the ratioof two-family dwellings rose from in 1921 to over 21 p er cent

3 U .S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review, Vol . XXXI , Ap ril,1931, p . 171 .

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

of the whole for 1922 , 1923 , and 1924, then declined to p er

cent in 1928 ; and the percentage ofmultifamily dwellings climbedfrom in 1921 to in 1928 . In 1929 and 1930 the percentageof one-family dwellings increased again, reaching p er cent

in the last-named year ; and 1930 also saw the percentage of

two-family dwellings climb to and the percentage of multi

family dwellings fall to But this interruption of the trendnoted between 1921 and 1928 is probably a temporary reaction

to the econom ic depression . Despite fluctuations, the generallong-time tendency is definitely toward themultifamily dwelling .

4

A closer analysis of the building-perm it data, however, indicates

that this tendency is a product of metropolitanism and is not

characteristic of the housing movement in the smaller indep end

ent cities of the nation . Robert Whitten , analyzing the buildingpermit data of the Bureau Of Labor Statistics for 1921 and 1929 inconnection with the President ’s Conference on Home Buildingand Home Ownership , 5 brings out this distinction clearly . I n

the 14 largest cities, with populations of or more, thepermits for multifamily dwellings increased from to p er

cent of the whole . Increases for other urban communities were as

follows

Number, type, and popu lation of cities

31 central metropolitan cities

57 suburban cities (popu lations or more)46 independent cities (popu lations or more)65 independent cities (popu lations to

64 independent cities (populations to

I n all the cities studied , except those in the third category,which were communities of population or more outside ofmetropolitan regions, the percentage of two—fam ily dwellings

declined ; in cities of that category it increased from in 1921

to in 1929. I n general , these figures reveal a much smaller

percentage of apartments both -at the beginning and at the end

4 This p ertains to construction within the corporate limits of cities . Were

statistics available for the smaller suburbs, the p roportion of Single dwellings

would undoubtedly be muchhigher .

5 From an unp ublished App endix, p rep ared for the Report of the Committeeon Family Typ es and Community Relations as Determining Housing Needs, byRobertWhitten.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

apartments is fragmentary but nevertheless suggestive. A . G .

Hinmanhas summarized the records of the Chicago City HealthDepartment as follows

Of ap artment units constructed in Chicago, the p eriod 19131928, 6 p er cent have one room ; 12 p er cent, two rooms ; 14 p er cent,

three rooms ; 29 p er cent, forir rooms ; 24 p er cent, five rooms ; and 15 p er

cent, six or more rooms . The average siz e of ap artment units in thebu ildings constructed in the p eriod 1913—1919 is rooms and in thosebu ilt since 1924, rooms .

7

The statistics published by the Regional Survey of N ew York

Show a similar tendency toward the smaller apartment .

I n 1913 the average number of rooms p er ap artment in new construc

tion was in 1925 it was in 1926, in 1927, and in

1928,

OFFI CE BU I LDI NGS

The most conspicuous development in the large structural

unit is the office building . Every year seems to establish a new

record in the height and floor space of the office structure . Accord

TABLE 77.— CHANGE IN THE SIZE OF N EW OFFICE BUILDINGS IN THE CHICAGO

LOOP DISTRICT, 1871—1930a

Decade

Compiled from material in the office of the Chicago Real Estate Board .

ing to the annual surveys of the National Association of BuildingOwners and Managers, which cover old as well as new construc

tion, the average rentable floor space per Office building reported

increased from square feet in 1924 (23 cities ; build

ings) to square feet in 1930 (43 cities ; buildings) .

7 A. G . H inman, An I nventory of Housing in a Suburban City, Journal ofLand and Public Utility Economics, Vol . VI I , May, 1931 , p . 174 .

8 Regional Survey of New York and I ts Environs, Vol. VI , Bu i ldings . Thei rUses and the Spaces about Them, 1931, p . 238.

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THE STR U CT URAL METAMOR PHOS I S

The Chicago Real Estate Board has compiled data on officebuildings constructed in the city of Chicago since 1871 . Thetrend toward increasing size of the building unit is clearlyindicated .

VERTI CAL EXPANS ION

The increasing size of the structural unit is a result of vertical

growth evenmorethan of expansion of the building site . American

cities are reaching upward as well as outward . The verticalgrowth , like horizontal spread , is a natural structural response

to the Operation of economic forces under present conditions of

technological culture . Recent developments in vertical trans

portation have been less conspicuous but almost as important

as those in horizontal transportation . According to information

furnished by the Otis Elevator Company, the total number of

power elevators in the country increased from in 1920 to

in 1929. This increase in the number of elevators does

not fully indicate the advance in vertical transportation . Although

it cannot be shown statistically , the increase in the volume and

mileage of vertical “

traffic has undoubtedly been very great inrecent years .

According to M r . Clarence T. Coley, Op eratingmanager Of the Equ itable Bu ilding, the 48 p assenger elevators in that great structure carry

on the average p eop le p er day between the hours of 8 AM . and

6 P .M . During the course Of a year they travel miles, or 1 1 times

around the earth at the equator, each car carrying 6 p ersons for every

mile. The bu ildinghas 40 stories, square feet of net rentablearea, and a p ermanent p op u lation of The p eop le p assing in and

ou t of its various p ortals each day number The real estatemanagement firm of Cushman Wakefield has had a count made of

the number of p assengers carried by the elevators in 16 office bu ildingsunder its management in the Grand Central z one of N ew York City .

The 16 bu ildingshad a combined height of 303 stories and were servicedby 75 elevator cars . During the year 1928, including 305 working daysbetween the hours of 8 AM . and 6 R M p ersons were carriedby the elevators . The 75 cars made a total of trip s, equal to a

total of miles . These figures, inadequate as they are, give u s

some idea of the enormously heavy traffic carried by the “ verticalstreets of N ew York City.

9

9W. C . Clark and J . L. Kingston, The Skyscrap er, A Study in the EconomicHeight of Modern Ofiice Bu i ldings, American I nstitute of Steel Construction,

1930 , p . 128 .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

While the tall building is still largely confined to a few of thegreat cities Of the nation, it is beginning to appear in the smaller

cities as well , where building regul ations ,permit . I n 1929 theThompson Starrett Company, I nc ., made a nation-wide census

of“ skyscrapers ,

”the results of which are summarized in Table

78 .

TABLE 78 .— CENSUS OF SKYSCRAPERS, BY SIZE OF CITIE S, 19296

Class of cities

Underto

to

to

and over .

Total .

a American City, September, 1929.

This census, taken four years ago, does not depict the situation

at the present time. In fact, it is admittedly incomplete for thedate at which it was taken . Nevertheless, the statistics indicate,perhaps fairly accurately, the distribution of tall buildings among

the various size classes of cities .

The ratio between land area and rentable floor space is a

determining factor in the economy of the skyscraper . The rentablefloor space Of the Empire State Building is more than twenty-fivetimes its ground area . I n order to achieve this, it had to be

extended to 85 stories . For the Chrysler Building the ratio is a

little over 20 to 1 . For the Woolworth Building it is a little over

16 to 1 . For the Metropolitan Tower‘iit is under 13 to 1 . But theratio does not increase in direct proportion to height, largely

because Of the additional space that must be given to elevators

in the higher buildings . There is, therefore, an economic limit tothe height of city buildings , and it is possible that that limithasbeen attained or even passed .

10

Skyscraper Apartments — Although high buildings are p re

dominantly office and hotel structures, there are indications that1° Stewart Browne, President of the United Real Estate Owners ’ Association,

is quoted in the N ew York Times, March20, 1932 as p redicting, “

that duringthe p resent year (1932) all skyscrap er bu ildings bu i lt during the p ast four years,excep t those owned by large financial institutions, will be foreclosed unless suchbu ildingshave already been foreclosed.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

ferentiation of various types Of economic and social activity

within the city . I t is generally known that, as cities increase insize , their different economic activities tend to group themselves,giving rise to financial , shopping, wholesale, amusement, and

other kinds Of districts . Locality specialization, whether in theform of districts or individual streets, has always been a dis

tinctive feature Of large cities“

, even those without modern

facilities for transportation . The old cities of the Orient are

renowned for their speciali z ed streets, along which rows of small

shops display similar or complementary_wares for sale. The

financial districts of London and N ew York are examples of oldand seemingly permanent groupings .

The recent tendency in American cities is for the building,rather than the street, to become the physical unit for suchcomplementary groupings of activities . The tall building is likethe old specialized street, stood on end . By housing competitiveor related services under a common roof, and by substitutingvertical for horizontal transportation, a great saving of time is

effected . The situation is well illustrated in the Chicago Merchandise Mart . This great structure, covering square feet of

ground but having square feet of rentable floor space ,

had listed on its directory of tenants , in July, 1931 , differentnames, representing wholesaling, manufacturing, and advertising

firms .Were these firms distributed on the old pattern, they wouldrequire many times the ground space occupied by the Mart,

and the customer would have to travel many miles of streets to

obtain the selection of merchandise at present available in thissingle building .

The department store, which made its appearance in thenineties, with the introduction of the electric street car, rep re

sented the beginning of the movement toward the large, speciali z ed building unit structurally designed to house a series Of

associated economic services . This type of buildinghas now beenwidely im itated . Banks, theaters, hospitals, schools, and evenchurches are assuming the department-store pattern of organization and are conducting their -operations in fewer but largerbuildings which are more systematically organized .

Of course the extreme expression of this tendency is theoffice building, the existence and the peculiarities of which can

be partially explained by the fact that the managerial functionsof a modern business can be carried on apart from its Operative

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TH E STR U C TURAL METAMOR PHOS I S

or productive functions . Management needs relatively small

space and it is not tied down by problems of transportation . As

R . M . Haighas said :The exercise of this managerial function of coordination and control

is at first glance singu larly indep endent of transportation . I t does notrequ ire the transfer of huge quantities of materials . I t deals almostexclusively with information. What is all-imp ortant is transp ortation

of intelligence. The mail, the cable, the telegraph, and the telephonebring in its raw material and carry out its finished p roduct. I nternallyeasy contact of man with man is essential. The telephone is p rodigallyu sed, Of course, but the p ersonal conference remains, after all, themethodby whichmost Of the imp ortant work is done. Conferences withcorp o

ration Oflicers , wi th bankers, withlawyers, and accountants, withp artners, withfellow directors, fill the day. The work is facilitated when thetime of the men whose time is most valuable is conserved . The districtmust be conveniently accessible and must be at theheart of the system

of communication. I t must be arranged so as to give the greatest p ossibleease of contact among menwhose p resence is desired in arriving at

deCIs1ons .

1 1

SUMM ARY

The trend in building construction in the decade followingthe World War reveals the following characteristics : (1) a rapid

increase in residential space, with a pronounced tendency toward

the multifamily type of dwelling ; (2) a tendency toward larger

apartment buildings , accompanied by a decline in the number of

rooms p er family apartment ; and (3) a phenomenal increase in

office building construction, particularly of the skyscraper type .

These structural developments depict certain changes which

occurred in our mode of life during this period . The growth of

residential floor space was undoubtedly associated with theaccelerated movements of population within the urban area and

with the general rise in the level of income. The declining size of

the family apartment reflects the decline in the size of the fam ilygroup .

1 2 The growth of oflice space and the tendency toward

larger buildings indicate the increasing importance of business in

our economic life and the tendency for business function to

concentrate geographically .

1‘R. M . Haig,“Towards an Understanding of the Metrop olis, Quarterly

Journal of Economics, Vol . XL, May, 1926, p p . 426—428 .

13 See W. F . Ogburn, The Family and I ts Functions, Chap ter XI I I , inRecent Social Trends, 1933 .

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CHAPTER XVII

THE ECONOMIC TOPOGRAPHY OF THE

CITY : URBAN LAND VALUES 1

HE movement of city land values not only reflects tendencies

in the general growth of population within the urban area ,

but also indicates the processes involved in the physical expansionof the community . As the city increases in size, it also changes in

structural form. These structural changes, which relate to thepatterning of population and institutions, are registered in corre

sponding changes in land values . Thereforea land-valuemap of a

city at any given time affords an important index of the internalorganization of the community. And by comparing such maps

for different periods it is possible to ascertain the trend in thecity ’

s structural development .

The following study presents some of the characteristics of theeconomic topography of the large American city and indicates a

few of the important changes that have occurred in structural

form In recent years .

The study of trends in urban land values can be approached

from two different points Of View : (1) that of the changes and

trends in total urban land values ; and (2) that of the distributionof value over the various portions of the urban area . The attemptin this chapter is to present the data available from both of these

points of V iew and to suggest the trends that are discernible fromthe data .

SOURCE S AN D LIM I TATIONS OF DATA

The data available for this type of investigation consistprincipally of the records of assessed values of real property .

2

In some instances the total value is divided as between land and

buildings, but unfortunately this division is not universal . Thedata for the city of Chicago , however, are taken from Olcott

’

s

Blue Book of Land Values .

1 Prepared by J. Rowland Bibbins, Washington, D . C .

2 As reported in Financial Statistics of Cities, Government Printing Office,Washington, D . C.

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

39 0 0

29 0 0

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THE E CONOM I C TOPOGRA PHY

increasing budget expenditures . The rate of increase in assessed

values, it will be noted , was generally greater after 1920 thanduring the previous decade. This fact probably reflects in addi

tion to increased governmental expenditures the influence of

postwar conditions, particularly the increase in building thatprevailed in most communities during this period . Annexationswere also common inmost cities during this period and influenced

the rate of increase in assessed valuations . I t is interesting toObserve that this upward trend is less pronounced in Pittsburgh ,Milwaukee, and Boston than in the other cities . The upwardtrend was not pronounced in N ew York until 1921 , or in Wash

ington until 1922 ; but it began in Chicago, Milwaukee, San

Francisco , Buffalo, and Los Angeles in 1919. I n Detroit, theupward trend after the break from 1915 to 1917 continued at a

fairly uniform rate from 1917 to 1925 , doubtless reflecting theinfluence of the expansion of the automobile industry in that city .

I n Table 79 the assessed value of all real property and of land

and buildings separately is given for Detroit, with the ratio of

aggregate land to building value, from 1896 to 1930 , with theexception of 1910 . I t is interesting to note how this ratio fell

almost constantly between 1896 and 1915 , when it reached thelow figure of A change in assessment technique accounts

for. the sudden rise in the ratio in 1916 , but it will be noted that

the ratio immediately began to decline and has fluctuated only

slightly around unity since 1917 . This fact is the more remarkable

because of the large annexations that occurred during the decadeof the twenties .

I t would be worth while to know whether this tendency for

aggregate assessed value of land and buildings to be approximately

equal prevails also in other communities , and if so, what its

implications are with respect to both public finance and com

munity growth .

The most important influence in the upward trend of land

values is doubtless population growth . Thedirect influence Of

population growth cannot be shown in Figure 27, where total

real property values are charted chronologically . I n Figure 28,total real property values are plotted against estimated p op ula

tion, both series Of data being plotted on a logarithmic scale .

Thus the increase in population and the increase in real property

values are correlated . I n the upper part of the chart, the smaller

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T H E M ETROPOL I TAN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 79.—ASSESSED VALUATION OF LAND AND BUILDINGS IN DETROIT FROM

YEAR TO YEAR, 1895(I n thousands of dollars )

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

O O O O O O O O O O O O O OO O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 Compiled from the records of the Board of Assessors of the city of Detroit.

cities4 and , on the“

lower part, the larger cities5 are charted . A

direct relation between population growth and increase in real

property values is suggested by the uniformity of slope of thelines in the figure . I t will be noticed that the lines representingthe larger cities have an especially uniform slope and the relationshown between population growth and increase in property

4 M ilwaukee, Newark, SanFrancisco, Buffalo, St. Lou is, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Washington, and Boston .

5 Cleveland, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and NewYork.

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

values indicates a tendency for property values to increase as

the square of the increase in the population. The notable excep

tion is Los Angeles, where the slope Of the line is distinctlydifferent . This slope represents a tendency for land values toincrease in proportion only to

_the increase in population and

not to the square of the population.

6 The light radial lines insertedon the chart represent the exact direction which would be taken

by the other lines if the increase in property values were preciselyin proportion to the increase of p op ultion (n l ) or to f thesquare Of the increase in population (nThe smaller cities do not follow the uniform trend . I n those in

the upper part of the chart, namely, Milwaukee, San Francisco ,

Buffalo, and Newark, a trend is indicated sim ilar to that whichexists in the larger cities where values tend to increase as thesquare of the population ; but in the lower group of cities, St .

Louis, Baltimore, Boston, Pittsburgh , and Washington, real

property values tend to increase less rapidly . The increase inthis group is more nearly directly proportional to population

increases .

I t is impossible to generalize very broadly on the basis of thesedata, but the uniformity Of the trends in the different groups of

cities indicates tendencies that can certainly be called unmis

takable and that need to be investigated further .

THE GEOGRAPHI CAL DI STRDBUTI ON OF LAND VALUE

I t is well recognized that land values are not spread uniformlyover the urban area, but quite the opposite . If values were

charted in topographical fashion, the chart would represent high

peaks and low valleys . Changes in the location and height Of thepeaks and the depths of the valleys have been rapid in thepast decades, and the forces operating to affect this distribution

of land value are numerous . Many Of them have been discussed

in other chapters . They may be summarized as follows

1 . There has been an exodus of population from the centralportions of the city . This exodus is caused in small measure by an

increase in the S ize of central areas utilized for business purposes ,but much more largely by the progressive deterioration of

structures in large portions of the central areas . The effect of this

Mathematically, the equation would be y kx" , where y p ropertyvalues, a: population, 15 a constant, and n 2 . For Los Angeles, the valueof n would be 1 .

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TH E E CONOM I C TOPOGRA PHY

deterioration is a creeping paralysis , commonly referred to as

blight.

”

2 . The exodus of population from the central area together withthe settlement of new population in suburban areashas caused a

drift Of the masses of the population outward radially . Much Of

this drift is due to the promotional and sales efforts which havebeen made in connection with the development Of new suburban

areas .

3 . With the outward radial drift of population has come a

recentralization Of outlying-district business centers, sometimes

reaching the proportion Of satellite business communities .

4 . The provision Of rapid-transit facilities has tended to

aggravate further the decline Of the central area by providingnon-Stop express service through such areas and non-stop high

ways for automobile traffic .

The study Of the distribution Of land values and of the changes

that have taken place centers in three phenomena : (1) theincrease in values in the strategically located restricted central

areas ; (2) the increase in values in the outlying district subcentersand (3) the decline Of values in other portions of the inner area .

On the decline of values in the inner area Of the city not includedin

_

the intensively developed portion, data are not available.

I t is a common observation, however , that this declinehas beengreat and is probably proceeding at an accelerated rate . So rapid

has the decline been that in many cities the revenues from

taxation Of real estate have been shrinking to an a larming extent .

The phenomenon needs very careful study .

The degree of concentration of value in the centralized and

intensively developed financial and central retail area is striking

in every city . The relative smallness of the area characterized by

intensive uses and high values, however , is not generally ap p re

ciated . Land value reaches its highest peak in most cities at fairlyaccurately ascertainable points . The high values are found

distributed along a principal street, falling Off abruptly on eachside Of the street and rapidly, but less abruptly, along thestreet itself.I t is impossible accurately and graphically to portray the

situation as it exists in the high-priced area and in every direction

from it . I n Figure 29, however, an effort is made to indicate therapidity with which land values decline from the highest pointon the highest value street in a number of cities . The data are

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THE METROPOL I TAN COMMUN ITY

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[ 236 ]

TH E E CONOM I C TOPOGRA PHY

manifestly would be revealed by these and similar data for other

cities .

In the upper portion of Figure 30 , the assessed land values per

front foot are given for the different blocks along Madison Street

in Chicago, from Michigan Avenue west to Austin Avenue . Thelower line in the upper part of the chart represents assessed

values of land per front foot in each block in 1921 ; the upperline, assessed values in the same block in 1930 . The most striking

feature of the chart is the similarity in curves with points of high

value having been established in 192 1 , the changes that havetaken place being Changes in the extent to which increases in ,

value .have occurred . Values in the Loop district east of theChicago River increased only p er cent . The greatest increasein value occurred far west on Cicero Avenue, where the percentage of Increase was 889. The influence Of blight in the Inner area isindicated by the small percentage Of increase between theChicago RiVer and Racine AVenue, which was Only 32 . Theincreases rose rapidly, however , from Racine Avenue until they

reached a maximum at Cicero . The decline was less rapid beyondCicero Avenue, and if the line were projected beyond the city

limits the increases would be found to be very large . The highpercentage of increasein the outlying areas is a manifestation Of

the tendency toward decentralization.

The peaks Of value come at remarkably regular intervals .

This fact can be partially explained by reference to the transportation system, which provides important crosstown street

railway intersections at or near the points Of peak value . As a

matter of fact, the peaks appear to be slightly beyond theimportant intersections rather than at them .

Similar tendencies are shown in the lower portion of Figure30 , which presents the data for land values on 63d Street, west

from Stony Island Avenue. The largest increase in land valuesagain falls far from the area which originally had the highestvalue, namely that at Halstead Street. The increase was 900p er cent in the area between Central Park Avenue and

Kostner . The area in either direction from this point of

greatest increase likewise had large increases , but the HalsteadStreet area also received the large increase of 463 p er cent .

Again, the peaks of value come at regular intervals and tendto lie beyond the intersection of important crosstownstreet-railway lines .

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

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CHAPTER XVIII

THE BIOLOGICALAND CULTURALCOMPLEXITY OF THE CITY

N Chapter XIII we dealt with processes involved in metro

politan expansion. The data presented show certain char

acteristics of the outward movement . We shall now consider

in more detail the patterning of population and Of cultural

phenomena within the city . I t is common knowledge that, as a

city increases in size, its population tends to become segregated

geographically on the basis Of such factors as race, language,income, and occupation . This g1ves u se to districts , colonies,quarters ; in a word , to the formation of natural areas within thecity.

Segregation is a characteristic of great cities the world over .

The large city with its complex division of labor not only tolerates

but encourages variety in its human composition. But, while

biological and cultural differences are factors in bringing people

together for diversified types of employment, these very differ

ences cause them to live apart in separate districts and colonies

within the community .

ETHNI C AN D RACI AL COLON I ES

American cities are renowned for the ethnic and racial hetero

geneity Of their inhabitants . As foci of migration, they have

drawn their human elements from all quarters of the globe . The1920 census lists 45 different nationality groups in the foreignpopulations of cities of or more. Naturally not all Of thecities contained representatives from every one of the 45 foreigngroups . And the proportions of the different nationalities variedfor different cities . Nevertheless, it is apparent that in extent ofethnic diversification the larger cities of the United States are

unparalleled in any other country .

The foreign colony in the American cityhas been a subject of

muchconcern on the part of city Officials and civic organizations

for more thanhalf a century . Social settlement and other welfare

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B IOLOG I C AL AND C ULTURAL COM PLEX

groups have endeavored to assist the immigrants to become

assimilated into the life and culture Of the larger community .

Recent detailed studies of some of our foreign colonies reveal thefact that they are ever in process of disintegration. Based, as

most of these colonies are , on cultural difl’erence, they tend todissolve as members Of the group acquire the language and

customs Of the larger community . The process Of change seems

to, occur in a somewhat successional manner . As a rule, the new

Immigrant first enters the city in the lower rental areas located

close to the main business center . As he acquires the languageand rises in occupational status , he leaves the area of original

settlement and moves to a slightly better district. Ifhe continuesto be successful in his economic activities, he withdraws fromthis second area Of settlement and takes up residence in a more

favorable location. These various steps Of change repeated by

thousands of immigrantshave given rise, at least in some of thelarger cities, to typical first, second, and third areas of immigrant

settlement, each progressively farther out from the businesscenters, or areas of original settlement, Of the community .

The continuity Of the foreign colony in the large cityhas beenmaintained through‘

the constant recruitment of fellow country

men from abroad, not infrequently from the same town or

village in the home land . To be sure, not all immigrant colonies

in a given city share equally in such replacement . Those estab

lished during the period of the “

Old imm igration ”— immigration

from northern Europe— have largely disappeared from lack Of

new recruits to take the place of the former immigrants, who havegraduated from the areas Of original settlement. Most of thepresent ethnic colonies in our larger cities are composed Of

immigrants from eastern and southern Europe ; that is, Of peoples

belonging to the“

new immigration .

”The rapid influx of Italians,

Poles, and Russians in the years preceding theWorldWar caused

the sudden expansion of the colonies Of these peoples in certain

of our northern cities . Frequently this has involved the invasionof adjoining settlement, causing not only displacement Of theformer population but a rapid Obsolescence of local institutions, as each foreign group tends to reconstruct its home-landenvironment where it locates in the American city . This type Of

expansion and displacementhashad the effect of accelerating therate of change throughout the whole city and has given rise tomany problems of an economic and social nature.

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

The recent stoppage Of immigrationhas shut Off the source of

new life to most of the present immigrant colonies, and in all

probability the existing colonies will in time tend to vanish, as

was the case with the Older ones . Naturally they will not all

disappear with equal rapidity, as certain foreign groups appear

to have greater cultural cohesiveness than others . This is espe

cially true Of the foreign-born Jews and Italians .

Racial Coloni es — Colonies of colored people, notably those Of

Negroes, the largest colored population in American cities,reveal a different history . In the first place, Negro segregation i s

based on color and economic status rather than on language or

other cultural factors . The Negro colonymay expand or subdivideinto smaller parts, but it does not disintegrate like the colonyof foreign-born whites . The northward migration Of Negroes into

a number of our large industrial centers following the cessation

TABLE 80 .

— CONCENTRATION OF NEGROES BY SELECTEDWARDS AND STATISTICALAREAS IN SIx NORTHERN CITIE S, 1930a

Concentration by wards or

statistical areas

Total PercentageNegro increase

p op u la in Negropopu lation1920—30

Percentage Of Negroes tototal popu lation in each ofthe first four wards and

statistical areas of highestNegro concentration

New York(Manhattan)

ChicagoClevelandDetroit

PittsburghPhiladelphia

0 Compiled from U.S. Census, Population Bu lletin, 2d Series, 1930, Table 23 for each city.

of foreign immigrationhas caused an unprecedented expansion of

Negro colonies in the cities affected by this movement.

The pattern Of Negro distribution in the large city varies toomuch to be considered here in detail . I n some cities, notably

New York and Chicago, the Negroes are highly concentrated in a

few districts . I n others , such as Philadelphia and Washington ,

small colonies are scattered widely throughout the city. Local242

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Filipinos, and Mexicans. These colored groups are highly con

centrated in the lower economic areas of the cities in which theyreside. Although Chinese have been residents of the United States

TABLE 81 .— PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL POPULATION THAT WERE NEGROES,

PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN TOTAL POPULATION AND IN NEGROPOPULATION, 1920—19306

Total Percent Percentage change in Percentage change inpopu lation Negroes total population Negro population

Census tract

1920—30 1920—30

Total city

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Note: M inus sign denotes decrease.

° Taken from Popu lation Characteri stics by Census Tracts , Cleveland, Ohio, edited by H. W.

Green for the Plain Dealer Publishing Company, 1931.

since the middle of the nineteenth century, they still live in theirChinatowns, geographically and socially isolated from the re

mainder of the community . A survey of the distribution of

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B IOLOG I C AL AND C ULT URAL COM PLEX

Chinese in San Francisco and Seattle indicates that they are at ,

present even more concentrated geographically than they were

20 years ago . Japanese, Filipinos, and Mexicans— more recent

arrivals— are also highly concentrated in the cities in which theyhave taken up residence. Individuals Of these various colored

groups may move from one city to another, but wherever they

go they tend to live in compact racial colonies .

This general tendency on the part of colored peoples to live incolonies represents a form Of accommodation to the Americancommunity . By minimizing contact, segregation tends to reduce

race friction. I t is usually when a colored colony expands or whencertain of its members attempt to move into other areas thatinterracial friction becomes manifest.

AGE AN D SEX

More fundamental than the processes involved in ethnic or

even racial segregation are those relating to the spatial distribution of the different age and sex elements of a city ’

s population .

The city may be likened to a great sieve which Sifts and sorts itshuman elements and arranges them in space in accordance with

their economic efficiency and their rOle in the life of the com

munity . The physical structure of the city— its buildings, streets,and transportation systems— constitutes the mesh of the sieve,and competition among the human elements the dynamo which

drives the machine.

Toward the center of the city, where hotels and rooming houses

abound,gravitate the transient adults , mostly males . Out along

the"

radial transportation lines, where family hotels and fashion

able apartments tend to group , the proportion of women in thetotal popul ation is abnormally high . In the intervening p ieshaped areas

,and In the industrial suburbs, excessive proportions

of children are almost invariably found .

I n Figure 32 are diagrams that Show the typical age-sex

structure of the populations found in different types of areas

within the large city . The diagrams are arranged in two series

those on the left indicating types of areas in which children p redominate ; those on the right, areas in which adults predominate.

Each series Of diagrams, when read from the top to the bottom of

the page, shows the geographic distribution of the various areas ,beginning near the Loop district of Chicago and advancing out

toward the periphery Of the city. The diagrams on the left side245

THE METROPOL ITA N COMMUN ITY

FIG. 32 .— Typ es of districts in Chicago as determined by the age-sex compositio

of the pop u lation, 1920 . (P repared by Charles N ewcomb.)

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

among the different sections of a ci ty seems to vary directly with

the size and occupational characteristics Of the population .

Most of ou r great cities possess residence areas ranging from

extremes Of poverty to heights of wealth‘

and luxury . N ot in

frequently the most widely differentiated districts are located in

close spatial proximity .

The cu ltural characteristics Of a given area within the citybear close relation to the economic conditions Of the inhabitants .In almost any aspect Of social relations wider differences may be

found between different districts within the same city than between any two regions of the United States . By means of census

tract data it is now possible quantitatively to measure and com

pare the conditions of life in different districts of the city . This

has been done by H. W. Green for Cleveland . On the basis of

equated rental values, Mr . Green divided the Cleveland metro

politan community, including the central eity'

and four suburbs,

TABLE 82 .—VARIATIONS IN SOCIAL DATA AMONG 14 ECONOM IC AREAS INCLEVELAND AND IN FOUR ADJOINING SUBURBS, 1930a

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On the basis of data on value and rental of homes collected by the Bureau of the Census .

Cleveland was divided into 14 economic areas, having the equ ivalent monthly rentals shown in

the table. Rates of incidence of other phenomena were also calcu lated for the same 14 areas . Thefour adjacent suburbs are Lakewood, Shaker Heights , East Cleveland, and Cleveland Heights .

Data furnished by HowardW. Green, Cleveland Health Council . For a fuller description of methodsee Population Characteristics by Census Tracts, Cleveland, Ohio, edited by HowardWhipple Greenfor the Plain Dealer Publishing Company, 1931, where several of the above series appear.

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B IOLOG I C AL AND C ULT URAL COM PLEX

into 14 economic areas, and computed rates for various series Ofbiosocial phenomena . Table 82 shows these 14 areas arranged in

ascending order Of rental levels, together with rates for thedifferent social phenomena.

The facts in this table speak for themselves . The vast differences that appear -in the rates between the lower and higherrental areas afl’ord some indication of how culturally differentiated the ordinary city becomes . Moreover, data compiled for

such comparatively large sections of a city as the 14 areas in

question fail to Show the extreme divergences that exist between

smaller sections within the metropolitan community.

SUMM ARY

The significance of segregation as a phenomenon of city lifehaslong been recognized by social workers and others dealing with

welfare problems . I t is being increasingly recognized by business

men and administrative Officials as a factor to be dealt with .

More and more it is being realized that a city cannot be satis

factorily administered as a single population entity. More and

more business and social organizations are beginning to analyze

the biological and economic differences that exist in various sec

tions Of“

their cities and to deal with each district according to its

particular characteristics .

CHAPTER XIX

NUCLEATION : THE PATTERN OF RETAI LMARKETING 1

NASMUCH as the forces which nucleate and integrate p op ula

tion within the city pertain largely to'

the retail marketingstructure, research in this field is basic to an understanding of theprocesses involved in city expansion . Al ready much attention

has been given in this monograph to marketing practice and its

relation to the organization of life within the metropolitan com

munity. Our data, however, have referred to the interrelationsbetween the central city and its satellites rather than to the commercial organization of the city itself . The following detailedstudy Of retail marketing in Baltimore, based upon Official census

records, is presented as an illustration of the distribution Of

retail services within a large American city . Unfortunately thedata apply only to a single year, 1929, and therefore do not in

dicate the trend of development in retail patterning . However ,this pioneer study suggests the importance Of further research

in this field .

In an effort to discover factors influencing the location of

retail stores, an experimental study showing the pattern of retail

distribution in the city Of Baltimore was undertaken. Through

the courtesy of the United States Bureau of the Census, thisstudy was based on the Baltimore returns of the Census of Dis

tribution, taken in 1930 by that Bureau, supplemented withother data, and on considerable field work conducted by theBureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce .

For the purposes of this survey, the city was divided into three

geographical zones or districts . These districts have been called

the central shopping district, which is the retail heart of the city’

s

business district ; the mid-city or urban shopping district, whichis a broad circular zone surrounding the central shopping district ;and the outlying or suburban shopping district, which is essen

1 Prepared by I nez K. Rolph, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce,U.S . Department of Commerce.

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zone . A very small proportion Of the general merchandise stores

of the city are now in the central shopping district, although

TABLE 84 .— PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE N ET SALES, IN

BALTIMORE , BY KINDS OF BUSINESS IN THE VARIOUS RETAI LDEVELOPMENTS, 1929

Total . . 100 0

Food .General merchandiseAutomotiveApparelLumber and buildingFurniture and household .

Restaurants and eating

placesDrug stores

Jewelry storesOther stores

Represents negligible amount.

those that remain do more than two-thirds of the generalmerchandise business and considerably more business than

any other commodity group . N ot quite one-fourth of the apparel

stores are located there, although this district is generally thought

of as the clothing center of the city. They do, however , consider

ably more than one-half of the apparel business and account for alarge proportion of this district ’s chain stores, which aremainly Ofthe sectional-chain type.

3 Furniture and household stores located

there are few in number but do approximately one-half of the3 Several typ es Of chain store are identified by the Bureau of the Census for

analysis Of data on retail distribution. Three typ es are considered sep aratelyin this study : the local, sectional , and national . As defined by the census,

“A

local chain is a group of substantially similar stores under the same ownership and

Op eration, merchandised from a central warehouse or other common point or

points, but not from the stocks of a p arent store. I n a local chain a majority of

its stores are located in and around one city.

” “A sectional chain is one whose

stores are located in a number of cities so that its interests are more than local,but a large majority of whose stores is located within one geographic division,

or an equ ivalent area.

” “ National chains are those Op erating in two or more

geographic divisions, whose interests and op erations are broader than those of

any one section of the country.

”U .S . Census, 1930, Census of Distribution, Retail

Distribution, State Series, Missouri , p . 6.

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NU CL E AT ION

city’

s furniture and household business . Exactly one-fourth of

the city ’

s jewelry stores are there and they do three-fourths Of thecity ’

s jewelry business . These four kinds Of business— general

merchandise, apparel , furniture and household goods, and

jeweli'y— dominate the retail pattern of the central shopping

district.

Although the other commodity groups— foods, automotive,lumber and building, restaurants, and drug stores— are rep re

sented in the central shopping district, they appear far more

frequently and do a greater volume of their total business else

where. The general pattern Of retail distribution outlets alongwith a rough knowledge Of urban developments indicates that

these five groups have spread out from the center, leaving as

dominant only the general merchandise store supplying diverse

needs and those other forms of retail business that are in direct

competition with it .

Another point in regard to the central shopping district is that,although all types Of management are represented, p er cent

of the establishments and p er cent Of the volume Of business

are attributable to independently operated stores with not more

TABLE 85 .— PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE STORES IN BALTIMORE ,

BY TYPES OF OPERATION IN THE VARIOUS RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS, 1929

Single-store independents2 and 8-store independentsLocal chainsSectional chainsNational chainsOther chains and unclassi

fied types of operation

Represents negligible number .

than two branches . For the city as a whole, p er cent of thestores and p er cent of the business are of this nature. Thedata are shown in Tables 85 and 86. National chains predominate

numerically, but the sectional chains do the greatest proportionOf chain business in the central district.

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TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE 86 .— PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NET SALE S, IN

BALTIMORE , BY TYPES OF OPERATION IN THE VARIOUS RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS,1929

0 0 28 l

Single-store independents . 5 2

2 and 3-store independents 8 1 2 . 5

Local chains 7 0 1 0

Sectional chains 9 0 4 4

National chains 8 8 3 1

Other chains and unclassi

fied types of Operation .

a I ncluded in the figure for other chains and unclassified types .

5 See note a.

M ID-CI TY S HOPPI NG DI STRI CT

Lying immediately around the central business core is the midcity shopping district, comprising 18 subcenters, 1 1 public

markets, 5 string streets, and those outlets not connected with

any retail development and referred to in this study as“not

concentrated business .

”The mid-city district is an area of

square miles, or 26 p er cent Of the total land area Of the city,exclusive of parks and cemeteries . Some persons, or 65

p er cent of the total population, live in the area. Within itsboundaries are included the majority of the city’

s foreign-born

and colored populations, most of whom are Of low economic

status . As in other cities, it is a small-income area and is rather

uniform in this respect. The total retail business Of the districtrepresents 80 per cent Of the stores and p er cent of the volume

of business of the city as a whole.

I n the mid-city district, residence is not distinctly set apart

from business ; people live, Shop, and Often work within its

boundaries . While it might'

have been desirable to divide this

area into communities, the lack Of natural boundaries prevented

it at this time. On the other hand, despite the general “salt-and

pepper” design created by the large number of not concentrated

business establishments, it was possible to locate the differentforms of retail development.

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TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN IT Y

ments attracts those who pass along the street or who are in

the district for other purposes, such as employment . Hence, as

will appear, they are dependent only to a\

minor extent on theadjacent residential community . Five major string-street devel

opments appear in Baltimore ; their locations are indicated on

the map of the city .

I n these developments apparel stores are in the majority,with food stores, restaurants, and furniture andhousehold establishments following. General merchandise stores do the greatestvolume Of business, followed in order by the automotive, apparel ,and furniture groups . The amount of business done by these com

modity groups emphasizes the importance of specialty shops and

specialized districts as part of string-street developments.Three Of the streets were found to be essentially apparel develop

ments, particularly for men and boys ’ clothing and furnishings ;the other two were found to be dominated by automotive estab

lishments. Food sales are lower on the string-street developments

than in any other area, and the volume Of restaurant business is

greater than in any other retail center except the central distriet, indicating that these outlets like those at the commercial

core depend upon a transient trade rather than that derived from

near-by residential areas .

The string-street stores comprise p er cent of all stores in

the city and do p er cent of the volume of business . Closely

paralleling the distribution for the city as a whole, p er cent

of these establishments are independently operated . N et sales,however , give the chain stores p er cent Of the businessvolume . Among the chain stores the sectional type here, as in thecentral district, is the more important when measured in amount

of sales . A large proportion of the sectional—chain business is doneby the general merchandise, automotive, and furniture and

household groups .M id-city Subcenters.

—Located at various points in the midcity area are a number of shopping centers that appear to be

small reproductions of the original central retail district . Ohservation indicates that these subcenters are local community

developments surrounded by racial and economic groups . Gen

erally theymean to the local area what the central district and thestring-street development do to the whole city . Embryonically,they were around-the-corner grocery stores, later developinginto a group Of neighborhood retail outlets as the immediate

‘

area

256

NU CLE AT ION

came to depend on them . Theremay be said to exist four classes Of

subcenters measured by the extent to which the needs Of thecommunity are met rather than by quality or quantity Of mer

chandise sold . For the purposes Of this study, a class A subcenter

was defined as one where nine principal commodity groups were

represented— food, general merchandise, apparel , automotive,furniture and household , lumber and building, restaurants and

eating places, drugs , and jewelry .

4 A class B subcenter is defined

by the presence of any seven of the nine groups ; a class C subcen

ter, by any Six ; and a class D subcenter, by any five . NO attempt

was made to evaluate the different commodity groups, for thevalue Of the presence Of various commodities depends upon thecharacter of the surrounding community . A restaurant, for

example, may be of more value to some communities than a

furniture store, and Vice versa .

Approximately 80 p er cent of the stores in the city are located

in the mid-city district, and one-sixth of the district stores are

4 The kinds of outlets constituting eachof the nine commodity group s, togetherwithminimum services requ ired for subcenter classification, are as follows :

1 . Food group— candy and confectionery, delicatessen, fru it and vegetable,grocery, meat, bakery goods, and other food stores . A sufficient variety of

services for the p rep aration Of a meal .

2 . General merchandise group— dep artment stores, dry-goods stores, generalstores, variety, 5-and-10, and to-a-dollar stores. At least one outlet .

3 . Ap p arel group— men and boys

’

clothing and furnishing stores, women

and children’

s ready-to-wear specialty shop s, family clothing stores (men, women,

and children’

s) , millinery shop s, shoe stores, furriers— fur shop s, hosiery shop s,and knit-goods shop s, other ap parel and accessories stores. A sufficient varietyto p rovide necessary garments for all members of a family.

4 . Automotive group— motor—vehicle establishments (new, trade-in, and

u sed cars) ; accessories, tires, and batteries shop s ; filling stations ; motor cycles,

bicycles, and supp lies stores ; garages (rep airs, gas, Oil, other automotive

establishments. At least a filling station.

5 . Fu rniture and hou sehold group— furniture stores ; floor coverings, draperies, curtains, and upholstery stores ; China, glassware, tinware, aluminum, etc. ,

stores ; hou sehold-ap p liances stores ; other house furnishings and app liances

stores. At least a furniture store.

6. Lumber and bu ilding group— lumber and bu ilding-materials yards, hardware stores, electrical shop s,heating and p lumbing stores, p aint and glass stores.

At least ahardware store.

7 . Restaurants and eating-p laces. group— restaurants, cafeterias ; lunch

rooms ; lunchcounters, refreshment stands, box-lunchp laces ; fountains . At

least one where a meal can be bought.8 . Drugs

— drug stores without fountain, drug stores withfountain. At least

one drug store.

9. Jewelry— jewelry stores, service ; jewelry stores, installment credit. Atleast one jewelry store where minor rep airs to a watchor other jewelry

“

can be

made.

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THE METROPOL I TAN COMMUN ITY

to be found in the 18 subcenters . Among the subcenter outlets,more than one-fourth are food stores . Next in order comes theapparel group , followed by the general merchandise outlets .Other commodity groups are more equally represented . Meas

ured in either volume Of business or in numbers, the subcenterstores constitute about the same proportion of the city ’

s total ,

p er cent by volume and p er cent by number .Within thedistrict, the two measures reveal certain differences . Food stores

account for about one-fourth Of the number of outlets but do only

one-fifthOf the total business . Apparel shops exceed general

merchandise stores in number but drop to the level Of the latterin net sales . Jewelry stores, however, rank lowest according to

either determinant .

Chain stores account for only one-tenth Of the retail outlets

in the subcenters . Among the chains the local and national

types are equally represented in number and exceed the sec

tional . The sectional stores, however, lead in business volume

chiefly by reason of their furniture, general merchandise, and

automotive sales . Three-fourths of the subcenter business isdone by independent outlets .

Public Retail M arkets — Most Of the 1 1 pub lic markets inBaltimore are nearly as old as the city itself . With well-established patronage, they exert a great influence on food distributionin the city, and their customers are distributed over the entire

area . These markets , with their outlets, 5 represent

per cent of the city ’

s retail establishments . Fourteen-fifteenthsOf the market outlets are in the food group , and they command

all but one-fortieth of the business volume. While the markets

are essentially raw-food centers, restaurants and other eating

places comprise the bulk Of the few remaining outlets . Retail

market stores are predominantly independent . The chain store

is represented solely by the local type, and the few that are

present do only 5 p er cent Of the business .Not Concentrated Business .

— Fifty-nine p er cent of thecity ’

s stores doing p er cent of the total business are separated from the various retail concentrations and are referred toas

“not concentrated business .

” Field investigation revealed an

average of two or three of these stores to a block over the entiremid-city area , ordinarily serving none but the local neighborhood .

SO few of the not-concentrated-business outlets are found in the5 I n some cases a market outlet includes several states.

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TH E ME TROPOL I T A N COMMUN ITY

Summary of M id-city D istrict — The centralized retail pattern

established by the central shopping district is continued on thestring streets adjacent to it . Imitating the downtown retail

district are 18 subcenters, each the core of a surrounding local

community . Adjacent to the subcenters, and sometimes perhaps

responsible for their existence, are 1 1 public food markets . And

finally, there is a large number Of scattered stores serving com

munity needs , but existing apart from the various concentratedcenters .

Independent operation characterizes the great majority

of retail outlets in the mid-city district . There are V irtually no

chain stores on the string streets, in the public markets, and

among the not concentrated businesses . About one-fourth of thesubcenter outlets are chain stores, divided in nearly equal p ro

portion among the national, sectional , and local types .

THE OUTLYI NG S HOPPI NG DI STRI CT

The outlying shopping district lies in a zone that is essentially

residential . Hence the retail services owe their existence to thevarious community developments comprising the district . Our

cities are no longer mononucleated ; rather they are fast becom ingheterointegrated . More and more they are being composed Of a

number Of separate communities , and the farther removed

these communities are from the center of the city the more

clearly defined they are and the more accurately does their

retail business reflect the people Of the community .

The boundaries Of the outlying shopping district of Baltimore

can best be identified by referring to Figure 33 . This district con

tains 538 square miles, or p er cent of the total land area of

the metropolitan city, exclusive of parks and cemeteries . Thepopulation Of this area is approximately or 35 p er cent Of

the city total . Eighteen separate communities are identifiable,chiefly on the basis Of racial or income composition . Income dif

ferences in this district are particularly significant . Since most

Of the residential communities are populated with native-born,

although there are some few where a German or a

“

Russian

element is sufficient to carry identity, racial composition is much

less significant in establishing differences here than in the midcity district .

Outlying Subcenters .— The predom inant form Of retail

development in the outlying district is the subcenter, and 20 such

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NU CLE AT ION

concentrations Of varying degrees of importance were located .

Two of them were found to be Of the type that could supply all

essential retail needs (class A) , one of them was found to supply

even Of the nine essentials (class B) , ten of them were found to

supply six Of the nine essentials (class C) , and the remainder,seven, were found to supply five of the nine essentials (class D) .As the central shopping district and the string streets have

much in common, so the subcenters in the mid-city districtand those in the outlying district have the same characteristics .

Since communities in the outlying district have a much smaller

degree of p op luation density than those in the mid-city district,their subcenters are also much smaller, containing altogether only

p er cent of the city ’s stores (Table Close to one-fourth

of this number of outlets belong to the food group , indicating thatmost subcenters probably started as small concentrations of food

stores . While all other commodity groups are represented , they

are proportionately few in number . Automotive outlets (mainly

filling stations) rank second, with an equal representation Of

general merchandise, apparel , and lumber and building estab

lishments (mainly hardware stores) following . From the point ofview Of sales, food stores do almost half of the subcenter volume.

I t - is significant that, while there are almost twice as many food

outlets in the mid-city subcenters as in the outlying subcenters,the volume of food business which the two developments do is

very close . Measured by sales volume, the other services stand in

about the same order as that in which they are placed by their

numerical frequency. The automotive group (mainly filling sta

tions) ranks second in volume, lumber and building establish

ments (mainly hardware stores) and drug stores together rankingthird, and general merchandise stores ranking fourth (TableThere is, as might be expected, a marked difl’erence between

the apparel stores in the mid-city subcenters and those in theoutlying subcenters, both in number of stores and in amount of

business . Furthermore, the very commodity groups— food and

automotive— which are lowest from the point '

Of V iew Of sales inthe central shopping district are the groups which do the greatestvolume Of business in outlying subcenters .

Chain stores are more important in the outlying area than inany Of the other concentrations of retail outlets . Approximatelyone-sixth of all outlying subcenter stores are chain Operated and

they account for two-fifths Of the business volume. Although

261

THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

local chains are the least important in the center of the city, thefarther out one goes the stronger they become. National chains

are also stronger here than sectional chains, the reverse of whatis true in the central shopping district (Tables 85 and

Neighborhood Developments_.— A

“

neighborhood develop

ment, in this study, has been thought of as a group of stores

selling only convenience goods to the exclusion of the greaterdiversity of the subcenter . I t is usually dependent on the neighborhood around it, although sometimes it owes its existence to a

transportation transfer point . The neighborhood developments

selected for analysis are all located in the outlying district . There

are, of course, numerous developments of this form in the midcity district, but because of their confusion with not concentrated

stores in an area zoned largely for commercial u se, it was

impossible to isolate them . They are believed, however, to be far

more significant in the outlying district because of their greaterdependence on contiguous neighborhoods . Eighteen distinct

neighborhood developments were found and analyzed as such in

this study .

Neighborhood developments are, ordinarily, limited to theselling of convenience goods— food, drugs, hardware, and

gasoline . Of all the stores in the Baltimore district, p er cent

are located in neighborhood developments, and two-thirds of

these neighborhood stores are food outlets, constituting a greaternumber of food establishments than are found in the centralshopping district. Drug stores, hardware stores, and filling

stations each constitute one-ninth of the remaining number of

stores . The volume of business done in this form of development

amounts to per cent of the city’

s total . The greater proportionof this amount, seven-elevenths, is done by the food outlets, an

amount equal to that done by the food outlets in the centralshopping district . Filling stations do three-elevenths of the business, an amount three times as great as that done by filling stations and other automotive establishments located in the centralshopping district. Drug stores located there do approximately

one-eleventh of the business, and hardware stores an even smalleramount (Tables 83 and

Although the chain store once'

more fails to dominate the retail

pattern, it does account for two-ninths of the outlets and for

just less than half the business of the neighborhood developments .

National chains do four times the volume of business done'

by

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

ately dense communities, with to persons to thesquare mile, one finds a moderately complete retail pattern

stores representing a few commodities other than conveniencegoods but not a complete representation of all principal com

modities , such as was found in the subcenters in the denselypopulated areas . By correlating retail business and population

density , ithas been possible to trace the development of the retailsubcenter . Convenience goods usually make their appearance

first. Then, as population increases , restaurants, in some one of

their several forms, and general merchandise outlets, usually

small , follow . Of the principal commodity groups, the last to entera subcenter are apparel , furniture, and jewelry . This appears to be

the normal development of a subcenter . Likewise, it is possible tocorrelate types of operation with population density . Wheredensity is moderately high, one finds the greatest number of

chain-operated stores . Here population is closely related to

income , a matter which will be referred to later . I n all sparsely

populated communities , the independent store predominates, as

it does in the most densely populated communities at the other

extreme . I t appears, therefore, that population density is signifi

cantly correlated with concentrations of retail business, with

the kinds of business represented in those concentrations, and

with the types of operation that prevail there .

Next to population density, income exerts the greatest influenceupon retail pattern. Both high and low-income areas repel

concentrations of business . The high-income areas are generally

found in the outlying district where the demand 1s not sufficient

to support diversified business and where property restrictions

forb id its location . I n such areas, retail stores are limited to theselling of convenience goods— those commodities bought fre

quently . The-

more frequently we buy a commodity the fewer theelements that enter into the selection of where we buy it . I t is themoderate- income areas with a fair share of both buying habit and

buying power that support concentrations of community busi

ness . I n addition to affecting the number and variety of.outlets,income also exerts an influence

'

on type of operation . The mod

erate- income areas make the_greatest appeal to the chain

operated store . This was found to be true in both the mid-city

district and the outlying district . Conversely, it was found to be

true that the very high income and the very low income groups

constitute the independent establishments patronage . The[ 264 ]

N U CLEAT ION

high-income areas attract the fairly large independent stores

because of service and a greater variety of merchandise with

respect to needs ; the low-income areas attract the small independents because they cannot support chain—operated business .

Topography is an important influence on retail pattern, to theextent that it frequently determines where people travel and ,

consequently, where they shop . There are instances where, by

engineering skill , topographical barriers have been surmounted,but ordinarily they still tend to isolate a community and thereby

restrict the limits of its shopping area . There is considerable

undeveloped land— low, wooded, or for other reasons not yet

developed— surrounding most of the shopping units in the out

lying districts of Baltimore . There is also considerable land de

voted to park and cemetery purposes . These lands have created

barriers which serve as shopping obstacles, and frequently in

spite of other influences, such as transportation, they have deter

mined the physical limits to which shopping will ordinarily

extend .

Generally, a more important influence than topography

within a city is transportation structure. The extent to which thepeople of Baltimore .travel to the central shopping district to dotheir buying is indicated by the fact that the downtown core doesonly p er cent of the retail business of that city . But as an

indication of the fact that the central shopping district supplies

certain needs, doubtless city wide, it was found in Baltimore that

this district is supported largely by the four commodity groups

previously referred to, namely, general merchandise, apparel,furniture, and jewelry . The same means of transportation, however, that carry the city ’

s population to the central shopping

district for certain purposes, have produced other buying centers

of considerable importance . Specific locations of concentrations of

stores and the size of those concentrations can be partially tracedto public transportation intersections and to the importance of

those intersections as transfer points . I n the mid-city district inBaltimore, there are 18 retail centers of importance. At one of

these centers, more than worth of retail business was

done in 1929; at another one there was an expenditure of more

than and the remaining 16 centers in this district didamounts of business proportionate to their size . All of them are

located at or very close to important transfer points where street

car and bu s traffic is heavy . I n the outlying district, this same

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

subcenter pattern is forming and , where population density is

comparatively high, the subcenters have reached the same degree

of importance to their communities as have those in the mid-citydistrict . I n the eastern part of the outlying

’

district in Baltimore,

there is no crosstown transportation and this has resulted in

almost no subcenter growth . This condition stands out in marked

contrast to the condition in the western part, where there is

considerable crosstown transportation and following it perfectly

there is a network of subcenters . So the influence of transportationis at work in all parts of the large city . As population moves ,transportation and business move with it .

Concentrations of racial and ethnic populations also help

determine the retail structure of the city. I n Baltimore, ap p roxi

mately 47 p er cent of the population is divided among first and

second-generation immigrants and Negroes . Areas were found to

be dominated by Germans, Poles , Lithuanians, Negroes, Ru ssians, Italians, and other groups . Since the newest comers to any

city, as well as the Negroes, are usually of the lowest economicclass, they are found in the cheap residential area surrounding

the downtown Center . Hence it is not strange that, ashas alreadybeen observed, the 18 mid-city subcenters were identified as

nuclei of communities of particular nationality or racial groups .

I t is probably the econom ic level of the mid-city population

rather than its nativity or color that determines the pattern of

retail business . That is not to say, however, that ethnic composi

tion exerts no influence, for as has been stated elsewhere, new

immigrants tend to reproduce the structure and habits of thecountry in which they originated . Hence, certain specialized

wants or customs of doing business were found to have an eflect

on the pattern of retail distribution.

In conclusion, it may be said that the peculiar needs and p ractices of the difl’erent communities that make up the several

parts of a city vary in market characteristics even more than dothe different regions of the country . And it appears that p op ulation density, income, topography , transportation facilities, and

racial composition are the chief forces at work in setting up theretail pattern of a city .

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CHAPTER XX

TRENDS IN URBAN TRAFFIC 1

F THE manifold problems associated with life in the largecity perhaps none receives more popular attention and com

ment than that of traffic and transportation. Several times a daythe average city dweller employs some form of mechanical trans

portation in the pursuit of his activities . The larger our cities

become and the wider their population spreads the greater is thereliance upon private or public transportation facilities . Since theadvent of the motor vehicle, the problem of traffic congestionhasheld a leading place in the discussion of the city ’

s transportation

difficulties .

But the problem of traffic is more involved than the overt

conditions -might imply . I t afl'

ects the entire structure of the community . Indeed one might difl’erentiate stages in the evolution

of the city ’

s structure by the periods when new forms of trans

p ortation were introduced . The city before the advent of theelectric railway had quite a different form from that which it

acquired after this agency of transportationhad come into com

mon u se. Likewise the city as determined by electric transporta

tion was quite a different organism from the present motor city .

Even yet the city is far from being adequately adjusted to themotor vehicle . Business and population have responded more

readily to the new conditions than has the physical structure of

the city . This lag in structural accommodationhas the effect of

rendering obsoletemuch of the older structure of the city, therebyinducing blight and lowering land values .

The changes that have come in recent decades in types and

volume of urban traffic form the basis for predicting, with whatever validity is possible, the course of future trends . An analysis

of this problem, therefore, must include an examination of thequantitative significance of various types of transportationmechanisms, the extent to which each performs the functions

1 Prepared _by M iller McClintock, Director, the Albert Russel Erskine Bureaufor Street Traffic Research, Harvard University.

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

required of the whole transportation equipment, how the re

qu irements placed upon any one type or group of equipment

affect the other types or groups, and the influence of the size of

the community upon the shifts in demands made upon the different kinds of equipment . These are (1) the automobile, themotor bus, and the motor truck ; (2) the surface street car ;

(3) rapid-transit facilities, including suburban train service ; and

(4) horsedrawn vehicles . Pedestrian traffic is also significant in

the whole complex and must be appraised .

Since automotive equipment is the newest form of mechanism,

it Will have to receive the largest amount of attention, with an

effort being made to determ ine its quantitative significance and

its influence upon other equipment. These questions can be

studied in the light of statistics on the total numbers of automo

tive units in u se and on the changes that have come in relative

u se of both automotive equipment and preexisting types of

transportation facilities . The latter may be conveniently referred

to as“

riding habits .

”When riding habits are studied over several

decades in cities of various sizes, it may be p ossible to discover

some of the factors that determine them and will influence them

in the future . Thus the basis will be laid for such predictions asseem justified .

THE AUTOMOTI VE REVOLU TI ON

Motor vehicles have exerted a sudden and profound effecton American cities . I n the 35 years since their introduction, they

have become an important if not an essential part of practicallyevery urban activity. In fact, so much of the productive and

distributive operations of cities is predicated upon automotive

vehicles that none of the larger communities could continue theirpresent scale or type of existence without these mechanisms .

The rapidity with which the automobile has been introducedhas resul ted in many revolutionary changes both in physical

conditions and in social habits . The ful l implications of thechange have not yet been felt, and continuing maladjustments

form the principal elements in the so-called traffic problem .

The national figures of automobile registration as presentedin Table 87 give a preliminary view of the magnitude of themovement.

The degree to which cities have participated in this nationalmotorization is shown by the fact that 48 per cent of the passenger

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

commodity cartage. I n the earlier period the struggle was by no

means one-sided, but increasing efficiency in motor vehicles hadmade their final victory quite certain in 1915 .

The degree to which the motor car has'

replaced the horse incity traffic is revealed in a number of recent traffic studies . Thus,of vehicular movements recorded in Washington, D . C . ,

in 1930, were by passenger automobiles, by motor

trucks , and 868 by horse-drawn vehicles .

2 A sim ilar study made

in Boston in 1928 showed a total of vehicular movements

of which were by passenger automobiles, by

motor trucks, and were by horse-drawn vehicles .

3 Theannual increase inmotor-vehicle registrations and the corresponding decline in horse-drawn vehicles are illustrated in Chicago,

which is one of the few cities to keep accurate records of the latterclass of vehicles (see Table Assuming that it will be possible

TABLE 89.

— MOTOR—VEHICLE REGISTRATIONS IN CHICAGO, 1910—1929“

o o o o o o

o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o

0 Figures supplied by the Chicago Association of Commerce.

5 I ncludes motor cycles and demonstrators.c Eight-month record only.

for cities to maintain a reasonable fluidity of traffic movement,

it appears probable that the relatively near future will see thecomplete disappearance of the horse as a factor in city trafli c .

Absorption of the motor carhas been by no means uniform in

all cities throughout the United States. I n general it may be said

that the number of motor vehicles p er population is likely

to be greater in the smaller cities and that western and mid

2 Parking and Garage P roblem of the Central Business District of Washington,

D. C. , National Cap ital Park and Planning Commission, 1930 , p . 23 .

3 The Street Trafiic Control Problem of the City of Boston, 1928, p . 405 .

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TREND S I N U R BAN TRA FF I C

western cities are likely to have proportionately greater numbers

of motor vehicles than the larger industrial cities of the Atlanticseaboard . The national ratio of persons p er automotive vehicle

is now The extreme range in the great cities is from a ratio of

in Philadelphia to one of in Los Angeles .

The Future of Automobiles in Cities — Automotive vehiclesmay be accepted as the standard mechanisms for the urbanmovement of commodities and for the private transportation of p er

sons . Unless there are introduced new types of traffic units nowunknown, it is probable that the urban registration of motor

vehicles will increase steadily in the future, though at a less

rapid rate than in the past . This increase will continue until apoint Of balancehas been reached ; that is, until in any particular

community the ratio of population to vehicles ceases to decline

and remains relatively constant . From that time on, increases

in motor-vehicle registrations will bear a relatively constant

relation to population increases . I n would be hazardous to esti

mate at what point the balance ratio may be reached in any com

munity . I t will be influenced by many variables . The average

city, however , will probably have a ratio lower than the presentnational ratio of

I n the larger metropolitan centers the saturation point will bedetermined by ability to u se rather than by ability to buy . I n

other words, physics and not econom ics will control the ultimate

degree of concentration of automobile ownership . There is now

in all of the larger cities a considerable number of persons who are ,

potential automobile owners but who do not wish to purchase .

because of present traffic conditions ; that is, they are financially

able to own and operate a motor car but progressive inconven

ience and hazard have eliminated them from the market . Im

p rovements in traffic conditions may bring all or some portion of

these persons into the owner group . The process, however , willbe slow, for normal growth in necessary traffic will tend to main

tain congestion and consequent inconvenience . Should trafli c

inconvenience become increasingly great in the future, as it hasin many cities in the past , it is to be anticipated that many automobile owners will abandon their ownership . This process of

elimination will affect private owners more quickly than com

mercial owners, for they are more sensitive to inconvenience,normally have alternative methods of transportation, and have

no way of compensating themselves for the inconvenience[ 273 ]

TH E METROPOL I TAN COMMUN ITY

suffered . Thus, one may see street traffic become increasingly

commercial in character, as it now is in some of the more con

ge'

sted parts of the great cities. Operators of public carriers,trucks, and taxicabs will tolerate a great deal more inconvenience

than will the private operator, for their compensation can be

adjusted in some degree to cover their losses .

I n the smaller cities where congestion is a less importantfactor , the balance or saturation point of automobile ownership

will be controlled more definitely by economic considerations,that is, by capacity to buy . I t is probable that the smaller cities

will have an average ratio of population to automobiles d is

tinctly lower than that of the larger cities .

PUB LI C TRANS PORTATION

There is a widespread and probably justifiable belief that theextensive u se of the private automobile has served to retard thedevelopment of public passenger transportation. While figures of

trends during the past few years would seem to substantiate thisV iew, collateral considerations make generalizations hazardous

and sometimes misleading . For example, would city populationshave increased so rapidly without the introduction of auto

mobiles ? Would cities have developed widespread residential

districts with substantial public-transportation demands withoutthe freedom afforded by the motor car ? Would concentration inbusiness and industrial districts which results in large transporta

tion loads have been so intense without motor vehicles ? Would

people be so intolerant of walking except for riding habits created

by the automobile ? All of these questions can be answered in thenegative with some qualification . N o matter to what extent they

might modify final conclusions, however, there can be little doubtthat the motor car has absorbed a very large volume of urbantraffic which might otherwise have gone to public-transportationagencies .

Statistical proof of this observation is difficult to find . Such

material as is available is open to question as to whether the communities from which it is drawn are typical and whether they can

be said to represent adequately all the elements in the problem .

When all these reservations are made, however , the data serve asvaluable confirmation of general observation. Thus Figure 344

This figure is rep roduced from The Relation of I ndivi dual to Collective Trans

portation, Rap id Transit Commission, Detroit, 1928, p . 22.

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

indicates distinctly the tendency for the number of p er capita

rides in collective transportation facilities to decline as the number of automobiles increases . Likewise, the statistics in Table 90indicate the tendency for p er capita revenue rides to decrease as

the number of automobiles p er population increases, andvice versa. A few notable exceptions, however, must be men

tioned : I n San Francisco thereare 198 automobiles p erpopulation, but the number -

of per capita rides is 461 . I n Rich

mond, conversely, the number of automobiles is only 78 per

but the number of p er capita rides is only 221 ; and Winnipeg,with only 80 automobiles p er reports only 197 rides p er

capita . Notwithstanding these exceptions, however, the datarepresent unmistakable evidence of the fact that the privateautomobile is a strong competitor of the public conveyance.

Some further light is thrown on this problem by the datapresented in Table which reflect the experience of street

railways and motor buses over the decade 1920 to 1929.

I n the 46 cities included in the summary table therehas beena nominal increase amounting to p er centi n the total revenuepassengers carried by the railways . The increase in passengerscarried by buses for the same period has been p er cent .

I n 1920 the bu s traffic amounted to p er cent of the rail

traffic ; by 1929 it had increased to p er cent. I n the Wholegroup of cities, therefore, the electric-railway industry remained

practically static, while the increase in the number of bus p as

sengers came from the total increase in all passengers . Theadvances made by buses can be said to have been obtained by

inroads, not so much upon existing patronage of electric railways ,as upon their potential increase of patronage.

When the cities comprising the entire group are brokendowninto size groups, however, conditions are found not to be uniform,

and a study of the variations of conditions between groups givesa valuable indication of probable future trends . The five citiesin group A, all with populations of more than contrib

ute more than half of the total street-railway p assengers .

\as

'

shownfor all 46 cities . The cities in this group have shown a very sub

stantial increase (amounting to p er cent) in street-railway5 The data in this table were p rep ared by the Statistical Dep artment of the

American Electric Railway Association after a comp rehensive analysis of all

available material. The author wishes to exp ress app reciation to the Association,

and esp ecially to Edmund J. Murphy, Director of Information, for assistance in

the comp ilation of this table.

276

TRE ND S I N U R B AN TRA F F I C

revenue passengers in the 10-year period . I n this group thenumber of bu s passengers has materially increased , but only by

p er cent, as compared with the 794 p ercent increase in all

cities . Bu s passengers in this group of cities amounted to p er

TABLE 91 .—ESTIMATED NUMBER OF REVENUE PASSENGERS CARRIED BY STREET

RAILWAYS AND MOTOR BUSES IN 46 AMERICAN CITIES, 1920- 1929(I n thousands)

TOTAL 46 CI TI ES WI TH 1930 POPULATIONS OVER

1926

GROUP A. 5 CI TIES WI TH 1930 POPULATIONS OVER

1928

GROUP B . 7 CI TI ES WI TH 1930 POPULATIONS BETWEEN AND

GROUP C. 34 CITIES WI TH 1930 POPULATIONS BETWEEN AND

cent of the railway passengers in 1920 and to per cent in 1929.

These facts suggest that railway traffic is increasing in the majormetropolitan centers and that bu s traffic is likewise increasing

but less rapidly there than in the entire group of cities with pop ulations of more than

TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN ITY

Group B includes cities withpopulations between and

000 . I n these cities street railways havehad a less favorable

exper1ence. The 10-year period shows an actual decrease of

p er cent in the number of revenue passengers carried . The numberof bu s revenue passengers in this group, however, increased

p er cent in the decade. They were equivalent to p er

cent of the railway passengers in 1920 and to p er cent in 1929.

The heaviest losses to railways have been in cities in group C ,

with population between and The decline inrailway passengers in these cities for the period was p er cent .

I n 1920 the number of passengers carried by buses was equ iva

lent to per cent of the railway passengers, and in 1929 to

p er cent . Figures are not available for cities with less than

population . There is reason to believe, however, that theywould show an even greater loss for street railways thanhas beenexperienced in cities in group C .

I t seems fair to conclude that the trend is toward a static or

an even more important position for street railways in cities of

more than population ; that they may hold their own in

cities with a pop ulation between and that

in cities with populations less than their patronage will

decline.

Special Public Carrier Developments— There are three special

developments in urban transportation which are significant and

which may deeply affect future trends . They are rapid transit,suburban train operation, and bu s transportation .

Rap id Transit— Rapid transit has been restricted entirely to

the larger metropolitan centers . N ew York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston are the only cities possessing well-developed

systems of rapid transit in the form of subways, elevated rail

ways, or both . I n these cities the number of passengers in publiccarriers has increased rather than decreased , as is shown by thedata presented in Figure The increase is particularly noticeable in connection with rapid-transit facilities and is probably due

to a number of factors including (1) the presence of largemasses ofindustrial employees economically unable to own and operate

motor cars ; (2) street congestion discouraging the u se of auto

mobiles ; and (3) the superior service rendered by rapid-transit

as compared with street-car operation . True rapid-transit devel

6 Relation of I ndividual to Collective Transportation, 0 p . cit , p . 24.

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THE METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I T Y

TABLE 92 .— REVENUE PASSENGERS CARRIED BY SPECI AL TRANSPORTATION

AGENCIES IN FOUR CITIES, 1920—1929“(I n thousands)

Surface and rapid-transit railways

Philadelp uia New York City and Chicagoand Boston

4 cities figures notseparable byagencies

Years

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 Prepared by the American Electric Railway Association. Rapid transit and surface railwaytraffic figures are reported separately for NewYork City and Chicago. For Philadelphia and Boston,

no separation between rapid-transit and surface-railway trame is available.

Suburban Trains .

— I n many cities highly developed suburban

train.

service gives transportation comparable in speed and con

venience with that afforded by regular rapid-transit systems . Thehauls are usually for relatively long distances as compared with

those of strictly local transportation ; thus this type of service

directly affects suburban population patterns . Several notable

instances of improvements in service through electrification or

other changes have resulted in recent years in greatly increased

traffic . I n N ew York, Philadelphia, Chicago , and Boston,

suburban commuter service plays a very large part in the transportation scheme of the metropolitan district . Other cities showsimilar tendencies which will undoubtedly grow in the future.

The Motor Bus — The motor bus is relatively new in the localtransportation field . I ts. development followed that of the “jitney,

” whichhad a spectacular rise and fall in the second decade

of this century . The “ j itney” proved that between the street car

and the private passenger automobile there was a definite transportation need . I ts practical demise proved likewise that theservice could not be rendered satisfactorily except by organizedand responsible agencies . I t paved the way for the bus .

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TR E ND S I N UR B A N TRA FF I C

The motor bu s as an agency of local transportationhashad a

very rapid growth during the past 10 years . (See Table 91 , also

Table 92, for increases in number of revenue passengers .) Aside

TABLE 93 .— GROWTH IN LOCAL BUS SERVICE IN PLACES WI TH MORE THAN

POPULATION“

Number of placesPlaces with buses and trolleysPlaces with buses onlyPlaces with no local bus serviceNumber of railway operators of busesNumber of independent operators of busesNumber of buses in local service" .

Number of local routesMiles of local bus routes

“Facts and Figures of the Automobi le I ndustry, National Automobile Chamber of Commerce,

1930, p. 29. The latest figures supplied by Bus Transportation show as of January 1, 1931, numberof buses in local service, miles of route, number of cities with bus transportation,

only 210. The total number of electric railways Operating buses, either as substitutions for trolleyservice or in feeder servicewas 262 as of January 1.5 Exclusive of jitneys in Detroit, St. Lou is, Spartanburg, S. C., Columbia , S . C Atlanta, andsavannah, Ga.

from the rapid growth in the number of buses and the miles of

city operation, it is significant that the number of cities with busservice exclusively increased notably , and likewise that the number of independent operators declined materially . More formal

and responsible organization of the bus business has been demanded by the requirements of both competition and publicservice. I t is also noteworthy that many electric railway com

p anies are operators of buses .

As yet it is quite impossible to anticipate what will be thedominant type of public-carrier transportation in the cities of thefuture. I t seems very probable, however, that the street-railwaylines, at least in the larger cities , will be able to maintain themselves and possibly will improve their position. This will be more

likely where there is some type of rapid transit Which is dependentto a degree upon rail coordination.

The bu s has proved its capacity to render a desirable type of

local transportation service under certain conditions . I n thelarger cities it is not probable that it will replace the more impor

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tant rail lines, although it may develop certain special routes

which will be very heavily traveled, such as Michigan Boulevardin Chicago and Fifth Avenue in New York City. I n metropolitan

service the trend would appear to be toward coordination of bu s

and rail operation, with the u se of bu s for local service, for cross

town connections, for expansion of service into new territories,and for replacement of street-car service on routes so lightly

traveled that they do not justify continued maintenance of streetrailway right-of-way and equipment .

I n the smaller cities where traffic is less dense and Where theprivate motor vehicle, because of less congestion and more widely

distributed ownership , offers more intense competition to public

transportation, it is entirely possible that the motor bu s may

become the dominant type of public carrier . This eventuality

may be greatly expedited with the perfection of experimental

types of buses with greatly imp roved’

operating economies .

DI STRIB UTION OF TRAFFI C AMONG VARI OU S TYPE S OF

VE HI CLE S

The importance of each type of traffic is revealed by a study of

its actual flow within a city . I n no cityhas an attempt been made

to analyze all of the intracity movements during a single day,

but the more important currents have been studied in detail .The most significant business-day flow is that to and from thecentral business district . The available figures resulting from

TABLE 94 .— METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION USED BY PERSONS RIDING To AND

FROM CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS or SELECTED AMERICAN CITIES“

transit

Boston (1927)ChicagoKansas CitySan Francisco (1926)Washington (1929)PhiladelphiaM ilwaukee

0 Unless otherwise noted, figures are from studies by the Albert Russel Erskine Bureau .

0 Phi ladelphia Trafi c Survey, M itten Management, 1929, I I , p. 17.

Transportation in the Mi lwaukee Metrop olitan District, Mcclellan and Junkersfeld, Inc., 1928,

p. 186.

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TABLE —COMPARISON OF TRAFFIC VOLUME AND I TS DISTRI BUTION AMONGDIFFERENT TRANSPORTATION AGENCIE S IN CENTRAL BUSINESS D ISTRICT

OF PHILADELPHIA, 1925—1928“

Kind of Vehicle

Passenger automobilesTaxicabs”.Trucks

Horse-drawn vehicles .

Surface cars .

Bu ses

Subsurface and elevated

0 Philadelphia Traf ic Survey, M itten Management, 1929, I I , p . 17. The two years from 1926 to

1928 showed a p er cent increase in the number of automobiles entering the Loop district inChicago. Street Traflic Economics , American Electric Railway Association, 1928, p . 70.

b Taxicab drivers not included.

TR END S I N UR B AN TRA F F I C

using taxicabs and horse-drawn vehicles declined . This may or

may not be a typical case, but it does seem to indicate whatsignificant changes may take place.

There are no satisfactory materials warranting conclusionswith respect to the relation between transportation types anddistances traveled . I t is well known, however, that the automobile

FIG. 37.

has assisted in the residential development of areas which were

not accessible by public transportation . Without the motor car

some of these districts might have been made available by trans

portation extensions , but in many instances it is apparent that

the length of the haul and the light trafli c would have made suchservice impossible .

A study of the transportation habits of government

employees was recently conducted in Washington , D . C . (seeFigures 36 and The data gathered in this study clearly show

7 Parking and Garage Problem of the Central Business District of Washington,

D. C., National Cap ital Park and Planning Commission, 1930 , pp . 58—59.

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THE METROPOL I T A N COMMUN ITY

the large u se made of street cars for short hauls and of automo

biles for long haul s . The working places of the great majority of

the employees studied are in the area below and to the rightof the center of the figure. I t will be observed that in the near-byresidential districts public-carrier riders exceed in number theautomobile riders . I n the outlying residential districts the situa

tion is reversed, and , with the exception of one or two areas,

automobile riders exceed in number those using public carriers .

URB AN TRAFFI C AN D THE COMMU NI TY PATTERN

The population and business patterns of communities have

been very largely influenced by traffic and transportation condi

tions . Before the development of the automobile, the street

railway played a major part in the opening of new residential

districts, in the creation of neighborhood business areas alongthe more important lines, and in providing added access to thecentral business district . This influence of the street railway , now

combined with that of the bu s, is by no means past, but theattraction is no longer so certain as it once was . Formerly theconstruction of a street-car line in a district gave property

owners along the line a kind of monopoly within their area .

Business locations could be established with certainty that

practically all of the workers of the area would daily u se the lineand therefore be exposed to the wares or services offered . Propertyowners could build rental properties, flats, or apartment houses

upon the route or closely adjacent to it with assurance that

they would remain accessible to those who must u se the street

car line for daily travel . The establishment of a bu s line gives no

such assurance. There are no capital expenditures In fixed

improvements comparable with tracks which tie the trans

p ortation to the particul ar route. If traffic conditions warrant,it can be transferred to another route by a simple order.Public carriers exert the most powerful influence upon the

community patterns when they assume the form of rapid transit .

The subway routes in N ew York City, Philadelphia , and Boston,

and the elevated routes in certain parts of Chicago have been

notable developers of business'

and residence districts . Rapid

transit lines give a stability which other forms of transportation

cannot give. Their capacity is vastly greater than a street-car

line, and , once constructed, the lines are definitely fixed .

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Some of the resulting decentralization of business would have

taken place, without doubt, under the earlier forms of transporta

tion; but it has been expedited greatly by the automobile. Thecustomer who comes by automobile composes a substantial partof retail patronage (see Table He may choose his markets

freely, for he is not bound by public-carrier routings . If theroutes to the established markets become congested, he will seekmore convenient service elsewhere . Aside from certain habits

and traditions, which are at best unstable, it may“

be taken as a

principle of the relation between traffic and retail trade that,values being equal , the market will be favored which is most

conveniently accessible.

Decentrali z ation.— The present trend toward decentralization

makes it appear quite obvious that unless the capacity of princi

p al arteries to central districts can be improved , and unless suit

able terminal facilities for automobiles can be provided , central

districts will fail increasingly to gain their proportionate share of

community business . The shifts necessitated may prove to be

more costly than would have been the provision of traffic facilities

to and in the central districts .

The automobilehas also tended to bring about a wide distribution of population in residential areas . Suburban districts almostentirely lacking in public transportation service but well p opulated are to be found in any large metropolitan area .

The relative speed of the automobile and the street car in typ ical movements between central business districts and outlying

districts is clearly illustrated in Figures 38 and

The data upon which these figures are based represent typicalafternoon peak-hour conditions, in other words , conditions dur ingthe period of time when the largest number of central-districtworkers are home-bound , and therefore the conditions that are

most likely to afl’ect the selection of a home site. I t will be ob

served that there is very little difference between the distancecovered by street cars and automobiles in the first five minutesof the outward journey . This is due to the fact that on crowdedstreets, where the two operate together, street cars tend to controlthe speed of all other traffic . This equality of speed disappears inthe second five minutes of outbound travel , and from that time

on the motor car proves to be much speedier . The effect whichthis facthas on the distribution of population is indicated by the

9A Trafiic Control P lan for Kansas City, 1930, pp . 88, 92 .

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TREND S I N UR BAN TRA F F I C

TH E ME TROPOL I T AN COMMUN ITY

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5 . Public carriers have in general better maintained theircompetitive position where rapid-transit service is provided ,though this does not necessarily mean better financial return .

6 . I n the larger cities there has been a

‘

tendency to coordi

nate bu s and street-railway operation, using the former as an

auxiliary to the latter ; but in the smaller cities therehas been a

tendency for the bus to replace the street railway .

7 . The private automobile, the bu s, the street car, and , in

the larger cities, rapid transit, have proved their utility in urbantraffic, and in the future they will p robably d evelop side by sidewith one or the other of the forms developing more rapidly ac

cording to local conditions .

8 . Street railways and later motor vehicles have tended tobring about a wider distribution of urban population and a greaterconcentration of business activity .

9. Increasing congestion in central districts and on routesleading to them is resulting in a tendency toward the decentraliz ation of business activity ; this tendency is especially notable inconnection with retail trade .

CHAPTER XXI

CITYAND REGIONAL PLANNINGAND ! ONING 1

PLANNI NG TRENDS

HE purpose of city planning and its more recent develop

ment into regional planning is to make cities and regions

convenient, healthful, and attractive places in which people may

work, play, learn, and otherwise express themselves in well

rounded living . This is “

an aim shared also by other civic en

deavors ; the special province of city planning is the wide range

of problems relating to the physical aspects of the city or other

unit— its streets , railroads, waterways, public services ; its

public buildings, schools, and other cul tural centers ; parks,recreation grounds, and other open spaces ; and the development

of housing, industry, and other private property . I t studies theseproblems comprehensively with a view to outlining plans for

future growth and development on a city-wide or region-widebasis .

The city-planning movement in the United States is datedfrom 1905 because in that year three plans were made : a plan

for Manila, Philippine Islands, one for San Francisco,California,

and one for Columbia, South Carolina . These are the earliestcity-planning reports in the planning era of which there is any

record . One of the next important plans to be completed, and one

which undoubtedly gave impetus to these early developments,

was the one made for Chicago under the general guidance of

Daniel H . Burnham which appeared in 1909. The most significanttrends from this beginning period are to be found in the legislation relating to city planning, in the setting up of planning commissions, and in the definite projects undertaken by cities , whichresulted in well-considered reports .

1 Section prepared by Shelby M . Harrison, General Director of the Russell

Sage Foundation; and Flavel Shurtlefi , Secretary, National Conference on CityPlanning; and Planning Foundation of America .

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LEG I SLATI VE S ANCTI ONS

In state legislation in this country the first recognition of

city plann ing as a function of a city department is found in thespecial act of Connecticut for Hartford in 1907.

2

The planning commissions in Milwaukee, 1908, in Chicago ,

1909, and in Detroit, 1910, were established under city ordinances ; and Baltimore

’

s commission was appointed by authorityof a special act of the Maryland legislature, passed in 1910 .

Most of the other early planning commissions were established

under local ordinances .

The first planning laws of general application were passed in

1909 for Wisconsin and in 1911 for Pennsylvania (cities of thefirst class) . In 1913 laws of this character were passed for all

N ew York cities and incorporated villages . Massachusetts in thesame year passed an act which made planning boards mandatory

in all cities and towns over population . The states, other

than N ew York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,and Wisconsin, which have since passed laws of general applica

tion authorizing the creation of planning boards are as follows

1915 Nebraska, Ohio, California1918 Connecticut

1919 M innesota, NorthCarolina, Oregon1921 Indiana, I llinois, Kansas, Nevada, Tennessee, Vermont1923 Oklahoma1924 District of Columbia1925 I owa

1926 Louisiana

1927 Maryland1928 Kentucky1929 Arkansas, Colorado, NorthDakota

Thus just two more thanhalf of the states have enacted

legislative sanctions or bases for planning in their cities . All

sections of the country are represented, although the greatest activity appears to have been centered in the states along theAtlantic seaboard and in the MiddleWest. The curve of develop3 A p lann ing commission was set up consisting of the mayor as the p residing

ofi cer, the p resident of the Board of Street Commissioners, the p resident of thePark Commission, the city engineer, one member of the Board of Aldermen, one

member of the Common Council, and two citi z ens. Thi s commission was giventhe p ower to make a map or p lan showing p roposals for all physical imp rovements, and all questions concerning the location of p ublic buildings, streets, andparks

“shall be referred to said commission by the Court of Common Council

for its consideration and rep ort before final action is taken on suchlocation.

”

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Advisory commissions with shadowy functions depend too much

on the uncertain cooperation of other municipal departments .

CI TY PLANNI NG COMM I S S IONS OR BOARDS

During the last two decades numerous official city planning

commissions or boards have been established throughout thecountry . Their functions range from undertaking the preliminarysurvey or research work upon which later plans are based to

drafting the plans and putting them into operation. Before 1914there were 17 such official city planning agencies . During thenext few years the newly instituted agencies may be grouped

as follows

Number of Ofli cialYears Planning Agencies

1914 to 1922 207

1923 to 1926 161

1927 to (June) 1930 Between 350 and 400

The total for the period of roughly twenty years is thus some

thing upward oi 735 official commissions or boards established as

part of the local government machinery . I n addition, numerous

nongovernmental city-planning agencies have been instituted in

the period . Many of these did the preliminary pioneer work in thecommunity and either developed into the later official comm issionor went out of existence when the official bodies began to func

tion. The number of nonofficial agencies in recent years is p ro

portionally less than formerly since the public has become

somewhat better acquainted with the city—planning idea and ithasseemed less necessary to get action started through an exp eri

mental venture . I t is evident that the bulk of the development

herehas taken place during the last 15 years and that by far themost active period was from 1927 to 1930 .

These official planning bodies may be grouped as to size of

locality served . I n the 13 cities having populations of over

in 1930 there were 1 1 governmental planning agencies .

I n the 80 cities of between and people there

were 70 official planning agencies . I n the 283 cities having

populations of between and there were 205 offi

elal agencies . And the approximately 500 remaining agencies

were about equally divided between cities under and cities

between and of which latter there were

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PLANN IN G AN D ZON IN G

The effectiveness of planning agencies varies widely among

the different cities, depending on the composition of the commission, on the law or ordinance under which it operates, on thecooperation from othermunicipal agencies, and on other and more

or less general public support . Some indication of their place inthe municipal scheme of things may be seen in the yearly appro

p riation received by the various commissions .

‘ I n those cities

where separate appropriations to the planning commission havebeen made over a period of at least three years, the followingfacts may be summarized

App rop riations of and upward were made in 14 cities of the18 whichhave pop u lations of overOf .the 75 cities between and p op u lation, 13 made

ap p rop riations of to and 13 made ap p rop riations of

to

Of the cities in the country under and over therewere less than 20 with app rop riations of over a year .

I n other words , of the 93 cities with populations of over40 have specific appropriations for the planning com

mission’

s work ranging from upwards . These appropriations are for the regular administrative work of the planningcommission . They do not include amounts appropriated for

specific planning projects, like the making of a topographicalsurvey, the making of a master plan, or the drafting of a zoningordinance .

The experience of leading city planners leads to the observation that the planning commission ’

s work cannot be effectivelycarried out unless ithas assigned to it a paid secretary-engineer .

This official may have other duties ;he may be the city engineer ,ashe is in “

many cities . For the payment ofhis salary, or a partof it, and for other administrative expenses of the commissionthere will certainly be required not less than a year in thesmallest cities and not less than a year where the executiveofficer of the planning commission giveshis full time to that work.

On this conservative basis it is seen that a very large proportionof the planning commissions are as yet inadequately financed,less than 60 cities among the total of nearly having p opul a

1 To secure exact statistics -is extremely difficult if not imp ossible, for somecities whichare effectively carrying out p lanning p rograms make no separate

ap p rop riations, the p lanning commission being considered a division of thep ublic works department or of the city engineer

’

s office.

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

tions of or over having seen fit thus far to provide at

p er year for this work. I t should be added, however, that funds

secured by a number of private, nongovernmental planning bodieswould add considerably to this group of 60 cities . I n a few cases

the total sums available have ,run into comparatively large

figures, as in Philadelphia where has been raised for its

Regional Plan and in N ew York where the N ew York Regional

Plan Committeehas already spent more than a million dollars on

its enterprise .

CI TY PLANN I NG RE PORTS

Another indication of developments in planning may behad inlooking at the number of cities which through either ofiicial

or through nonoflici-al agencies have carried their planning proiects through the point where city plan reports have been placed

before their citizens. Of the 93 largest cities of the UnitedStates, that is, those of over population in 1930, 77 have

issued fairly comprehensive planning reports . Of the cities rang

ing between and population, reports have been

prepared in 108 ; and of the cities under about 150 have

planning reports . I n a few cases these are for the cities and theirsurrounding regions . Thus of cities of people or more,

only a little over one-sixth have carried their interest in planning

through the stage where a reporthas been published .

Of the 335 cities which have planning reports, 60 were made

before 1916. These early reports would now be considered

hardly more than preliminary or sketch plans . They were not

based on comprehensive studies of population, traffic movement,

or other local conditions and in most cases were hardly more

than suggestions for improvements made by the planner after a

brief visit to the city. More than half the cities whichhad theseearly plans have since either discarded them entirely for more

thorough and comprehensive reports, covering all the items in a

city planning program, or supplemented them by comprehensivereports in one or more fields, such as streets, parks , and zoning .

Even in the 300 plans new or revised which have been producedsince 1916 there is a great difference in the thoroughness of thebasic surveys, and consequently in the completeness of thefinal plan ; but about 125 of them are known to be grounded on

substantial data secured by careful surveys . They would probably

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Year

Before 1916

1916 to 1920

1921 to 1925

1926 to 1927

1928 to 1929

Total

of cities zoned since that date has been something over 100 ,except for 1930 when the number dropped to 77.

Although there are about 200 more zoned cities than cities

with planning commi ss10 ns , the distribution in population groupsis proportionately much the same, as will be seen from thefollowing table.

TABLE 97.— ZONED CITIES ACCORDING To SIZE OF POPULATION, 1930

The division between this and the next smaller group of cities, at this writing, is approximate,due to some uncertainty in the reporting. I t is accurate within a negligible percentage, however .

During the period since zoning began, there has been markedadvance in the scope of zoning legislation and improvement in

the technique applied to the drafting of zoning ordinances , justas therehas been advance in the scientific preparation of master

city plans . I n some of the earlier ordinances, cities were zoned for“u se

”only ; that is, for the control of the uses to which the land

should be put—

commercial , industrial, residential , or other .

Practically all of the ordinances since 1925 have been comp rehensive, covering u se to which land and buildings may be

’

p ut, theheight and bulk of buildings, or the area which may be covered .

A wide difference is to be seen 111 the administration of zoningordinances . I n some cities councils are easily prevailed upon tomake amendments to the zoning ordinance, usually without re

ferring the proposals to the planning commission or zoning board

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PLANN I N G AND ZON IN G

even for a report. I n some cities the boards of adjustment or ap

peal, which are the quasi-judicial boards to hear zoning appeals,are very liberal in their interpretation of the ordinance or in

permitting exceptions to them— too liberal for very effective

community control of land and building developments, in thejudgment of leaders in this field . I n other cities councils make

no amendments without first getting the advice of the planningcommission and in the great majority of cases this advice is

followed . I n the latter cities it is usually found that the zoningboards of appeal are strictly interpreting the ordinance and

granting variances only in cases of decided hardship .

The accumulative experience in this field seems clearly to indi

cate that, for efficiency in the administration of zoning regula

tions, city councils should not change the zoning ordinance

except after a report from the planning commission or zoning

board ; and in all cases before the zoning board of appeals involving variances from the zoning ordinance the planning commissionshould be heard . A number of cities accomplish this by having at

least one member of the planning commission sit as a member of

the zoning appeal board .

CI TY PLANNI NG I NSTRU CTI ON I N COLLE GES

Practically no attention was given to instruction in or trainingfor city planning in any college or technical school in this country

before 1910 . The School of City Planning, at Harvard University,was established in the autumn of 1929. Twenty-five colleges or

technical institutions are now giving one or more city planning

courses in connection with their departments of architecture,engineering, or landscape architecture . At least 50 additional

colleges or technical schools give lectures on city planning in

connection with courses in engineering, art, political economy,municipal government, political science, or sociology.

I n the present state of demand for professional services incity planning and zoning, professional training for these fields isreasonably well provided for . However, the fact that city and

regional planning is in its early stages of development in this

country, and the further fact that problems of congestion, of

movement on streets and highways, of other forms of com

munication, and of adequate provision for the amenities of lifeand the health of the people are increasing, would seem to

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munity, city, and regional growth is inevitable and cannot be long

postponed . This points to further probable deve lopment in train

ing for the profession and emphasizes the growing importance inundergraduate courses of giving more attention to subjects that

will enable future citizens to more intelligent uponquestions in their localities .

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unit of government commensurate with the task— with power toestablish the plan and with the financial and legal ability to

execute it.

Similarly, the problems of water supply and sewerage, which

depend essentially upon topography, need to be dealt with either

for the whole metropolis or for large sections of it without refer

ence to the arbitrary boundaries of the existing units of govern

ment . The protection of public health in an area within which

there is a daily movement of a large portion of the populationcan be secured only by means of a unit of government embracing

the whole area ; one or two units in which health laws are slackly

enforced can menace the safety of all the rest . Police administra

tion can scarcely be made effective in a metropolitan area if

certain of the metropolitan units are cities of refuge for gangsters

and bandits .

Other difliculties arise out of inequality of financial ability on

the part of the various divisions of the metropolis . The central

city, with its high-valued business district, usually occupies a

position of financial advantage midway between the wealthy

residential suburb with few governmental problems and high

property values on the one hand, and the Working-class com

TABLE 98 .

— ASSESSED VALUATIONS AND TAx RATE S, CITY OF ST . LOUI S ANDCERTAIN M UNICIPALITIES IN ST. LOUI S COUNTY

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

The basis of assessment in the city of St. Louis differs from that in St. Lou is County; the ad

justed per capita valuation for the city of St. Lou is wou ld be about

munity with large population and low values on the other (seeTable Under such circumstances education, for example,

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is very unevenly provided throughout the metropolis . The broadwell-kept thoroughfares of one unit debouch into the ill-paved ,unkept streets of another . The very communities which need

them most are quite unable to provide themselves with parks

and playgrounds or even with essential sanitary services . This

does not by any means exhaust the list of metropolitan problems

it simply suggests their extent and importance.

METHODS

Such a situation has naturally led to attempts at solution.

The most obvious method of meeting a metropolitan problem

affecting several units of government is the establishment of a

special or ad hoc district for the purpose of dealing with that

problem . I n the United States such districts may be divided

into three classes : (1) those which are agents of the centralgovernment, the govermng body being appointed by and re

sponsible to the governor or legislature— for example, theMassachusetts MetropolitanDistrict ; (2) those which are agents

of the various local units within the district, the governing bodybeing made up of representatives chosen by the governing bodiesof these units — for example, the Metropolitan Water D istrictof Southern California ; and (3) those which are themselves dis

tinct units of local government, the governing body being electeddirectly by the people of the district— for example, the ChicagoSanitary D istrict and the East Bay Municipal Utility D istrict .

A steady movement in the direction of the creation of such dis

tricts has shown itself in the United States during the last 20years, as will be seen from Table 99. I n recent years they havebeen established at the rate of about one a year . When a metro

politan problem has become acute, it is fairly easy to secure

the creation of a special district to take care of it. This is at leastpartly due to the fact that its creation does not mean the disruption of any existing unit or the displacement of any political

power or influence .

I t is obvious, however, that while individual problems of

the metropolis may be solved in this way, the metropolitan

problem as a whole remains unsolved . I t is possible to create one,

two, three districts covering much the same area, but the es

tablishment of each one of them may serve only to complicatethe governmental situation and help to make the citizen’s task

more difficult than ever .Where several functions are joined in the[ 305 ]

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TABLE 99.— PRINCIPAL SPECIAL DISTRICTS IN EXISTENCE IN THE UNITED STATE S,

1932

Name of district Activity

New York Passaic Valley Sewerage District 1902 Sewerage

Joint Sewerage Districts 1899 Sewerage

NewYork and New Jersey InterstatePalisades Park Commissions 1900 Park developmentNorth Jersey Water Supply District 1916 Water supplyPort of New York Authority 1921 Port development ; interstate

bridges and tunnelsChicago Sanitary District 1889 Sewerage

South Jersey Port Authority 1926 Port developmentMetropolitan Water District of

Southern California 1930 Water supplyBoston Massachusetts Metropolitan Dis

triet° 1919 Water supply ; sewerage ;

parksDivision of Metropolitan Planning 1923 P lanningMetropolitan Transit District 1929 Transit operation

Cleveland Cleveland Metropolitan Park Distriet 1915 Park development

-East Bay Municipal Utility District 1923 Water supplyBaltimore CountyM etropolitanDistriet 1924 Water supply ; sewerage

M ilwaukee M ilwaukee County MetrOp olitan

Sewerage District 1921 Sewerage

Washington Washington Suburban District 1918 Water supply ; sewerage;

plumbing ; inspection; con

trol over plattingPort Of Seattle Commission 191 1 Port developmentI ndianapolis Sanitary Distr ict 1917 Sewage disposal. etc.

Portland Port Commission 1891 Improvement of port Channel

4 Formed by consolidating the Metropolitan Park District (1893) and the Metropolitan Water

and Sewerage District, which latter in turnhad been formed in 1901 by consolidating the Metro

politan Sewerage District ( 1889) and the MetropolitanWater District

same commission, as in the Massachusetts Metropolitan Commission for the Boston area, the result is something closely ap

p roximating a general unit of local government for themetropolis .

The consequence is an increasing tendency to strive for somemore

complete solution than that offered by the special district.

Annexation.— I n the Old days the problems created by the

spread Of urban population over the area surrounding a city weretaken care of by annexationfib ut annexation is no longer p racticable as a means of coordinating with the central city the vastareas into which the automobile and the paved highway have

2 See Chap ter XIV, and Table IX in the Appendix.306

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN IT Y

The second alternative is the creation of units Of metropolitan

scope possessing sufficient powers to deal with those matters

which affect the metropolis as a whole but leaving other matters

to be dealt with either by the existing units or by new units to

be created for the purpose . This is no more than saying that we

need a new unit of government to replace the county, sometimes

larger in area, and always endowed with broader powers and

more effective organization than characterize counties today .

The trend in this direction cannot be proved by any concretechanges in the structure of local government . So far none of theprojects for the creation of this type of metropolitan government

have been p ut into practice in the United States . The only ex

amples to which we can turn are the Administrative County of

London, set up in 1888, and the City of Greater Berlin, estab

lished in 1920 . But there is no doubt of the movement of

many minds in the direction of this solution. There have been

presented to the Massachusetts General Court at its last two

sessions proposals of a committee appointed by Mayor Curley of

Boston for the establishment of a metropolitan government for

that city . The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and other

civic forces in that region are deliberately endeavoring to estab

lish a metropolitan government embracing the whole or a large

part of SanMateo County . I n fact, the newSan Francisco charter,adopted March 26, 1931 , makes direct provision for the futureincorporation of San Mateo County into San Francisco with a

limited autonomy for the municipalities included . A bitter battle

was waged in the Pittsburgh area in 1928 and 1999 over the p roposal to unite Allegheny County and Pittsburgh as the GreaterCity of Pittsburgh , preserving powers of local self-government for

each of the 120 units involved . The charter embodying thismeasure barely failed of ratification because of a provision requ ir

ing a two-thirds majority of the votes cast in a majority of theunits before it went into effect. The Pennsylvania GeneralAssemblyhas already begun the process of constitutional amend

ment to make this absurd system of ratification unnecessary .

I n St . Louis, Cleveland , Portland (Oregon) , Los Angeles, and

Chicago, there are well-defined movements for metropolitan

consolidation, while in Buffalo, Detroit, St . Paul-M nneap olis,

Dallas-Fort Worth, and other centers there is evidence of theserious consideration which men of affairs are giving to theso-called federated plan of metropolitan union.

[ 308 ]

METROPOL I T AN GOV E RNMENT

City-county Relations.— Mention should be made of the

definite termination of the trend toward the separation of cities

from the counties in which they are situated and toward giving

them independent city-county governments . The last such separation was that of Denver from Arapahoe County in 1903 , but 10years ago there was much talk Of the desirability of city-county

separation . Today there is little or none. Althoughmany cities

would benefit financially from such a separation, it is now very

clearly realized that separation means crippling the outlying

area, making it difficult for it to provide the facilities of futuredevelopment and depriving the central city of any control over

the character of that development.

There is , on the other hand , much talk of city-county consolidation that is, the union of the city with the county in which it issituated although no suchunion has occurred for more than a

third of a century . All the difficulties that lie in the way of theextension of a municipality

’

s boundaries by annexation confront

every attempt to consolidate it with its county, plus the determined resistance Of the county politicians to anything which

disturbs their monopoly of county control .

SUMM ARY

I t may safely be assumed that the metrop oltian problemdiscussed here will continue to grow . The spread of city p op ula

tion over larger and larger areas is steadily taking place, even

though the general movement of population from country tocityhas been somewhat checked by the depression. Even unp ros

perons Cities are continuing to spread out ; as time goes on, themaladjustment of areas of government to areas of population will

become more and more serious . All the metropolitan problems

will become more intense until readjustments are essential . Thefact that the weight of local taxation is now so bitterly felt may

open the way to the solution of the metropolitan problem, which

cannot be divorced from the larger problem of themaladjustment

of political units to population. Townships are passing away,dying of financial anemia. The old one-room school district is

apparently about to slip into the limbo of forgotten things .Many counties are proving too small to meet their financial

Obligations, and in some parts of the country pressure for theirconsolidation is becoming vigorous . There is a real reason forreadjusting our notions of the areas of government— town,

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

township, city, county— which exist largely because of tradition,

and setting up units whichconform to the social and economic

facts of our national life.

Among these units will be the metropolitan area. We may call

that area a city of a county or a city and a county. I t may

possess a unified or a federated _type Of government . But it will

correspond to the facts of modern urban existence. We shall

have larger and probably more powerful counties, with independent cities and villages functioning within them, but therewill be within the county no subordinate units of rural local

government— only cities and villages ; and this will be true Of themetropolitan area as of the agricultural county.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

involved in metropolitan growthduring the last decade wereprimarily commercial and institutional , with industry playing

a relatively smaller rOle. The metropolitan community, at least

until the advent of the depression in 1929, offered an increasing

variety of jobs as well as more steady employment . I t also

Oflered a wider variety Of economic and cultural services . I t

took on more and more the aspect of a coherent economic and

cultural state, more realistic“

in many ways than the existing

political states .These sup ercommunities have not only been increasing in

population, but have been taking on definite attributes .Whereverpopulation concentrates in aggregations of several hundred

thousands , it tends to break up into a multiplicity of communal

units . Every large city is the center of a constellation of smaller

centers, some of which are the direct products of the outward

movement from the main city ; others were formerly independent

centers that have now become economically and socially inte

grated with the dominant city . Among these various units of

local settlement, there is arising an ever-increasing refinement of

division of labor and interdependence of relationship . This

has the effect of creating within the city region bonds of common

interest that are muchstronger than any ties that bind one

region to another .

The city region as here defined is largely a product of modernmeans of communication, developed more intensively in localareas than throughout the nation as a whole. Assume that theboundaries of an ancient or medieval city were largely determined by the distance a man could walk in two hours . This

would give a practical radius of 8 miles and a diameter of 16

miles . The introduction of the motor car would at once multiplythese lim its at least six times , extending the practicable radiusto at least 50 miles . The case of the modern supercity is not

quite so simple as this, since transportation by horse-drawnstages , by steam boats where water was adjacent, and by steam

railways extended the urban radius long before the coming of

the automobile. But the illustration is pertinent . Measured intime, rather than linear expansion, the Old boundaries of citieshave been outgrown and vast new areas have been brought withinthe city’s influence.

The sup ercommunity therefore absorbs varying numbers of

separate local communities into its economic and cultural

[ 312 ]

S UMMARY AND CON CL U S ION S

organi zations . In this pattern, a dominant city— that is , dominant

relative to surrounding settlement— functions as the integratingunit . These Central cities are becoming increasingly conscious

of themselves as centers of commercial provinces and are attempt

ing to define and delineate the territory over which they exercise

a dominant econom ic influence . The evidence at hand clearly

indicates that the influence of the central city over surrounding

territory tends to diminish with distance outward . There is

usually a line, or rather zone, where the territory of one

metropolitan center meets and overlaps that of another . We

can in fact draw a map tentatively allotting the entire

territory Of continental United States to a comparatively

small number of the larger Cities . In other words, there is

developing within the United States , and in fact throughout

the modern world, a pattern of settlement which may be

designated as city regionalism . This new city regionalism

differs from the regionalism of former times in that it is a

product of contact and division of labor rather than of mere

geographic isolation .

These sup ercommunities throughout the nation appear to be

becomingmore nearlyuniform in their economic and institutional

structure. The frontier type of city is gradually developing into

a metropolis . This is shown in physical structure— in the growthof tall Office buildings and financial institutions . I t is also shown

in the increasing complexity of the industrial and occupational

pattern of the larger cities throughout the nation and by thetendency toward more uniform distribution of cultural traitsand cultured persons . The increasing diversity within the c ityregion and the uniform ity among the regions result in a higher

degree of local autonomy . The regional city tends to grow more

self-su fficient and therefore to become a competing unit within

the larger interregional economy . But this self-su fficiency is

limited by the concentration of certain industries and certainraw materials . There is a countertendency toward a closer

functional relation among the metropolitan centers of thenation . Just as communities within the metropolitan region

preserve a certain degree of independence and local identity ,

yet are closely bound within the economic and cultural networkof the central city ; so the regional communities themselves are

independent in many things, yet are parts of a national andinternational economy .

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

This situation is brought about, or intensified, by the growthof -national organizations, economic and social , of the chain type .

The general practice of such organizations is to divide the countryinto service areas and to select the largest regional city as districtheadquarters for activities in surrounding territory . This pattern

of organization, initiated by the Federal Reserve BankingSystem in 1913 , is becoming common to large-scale organizations

Of almost every type. Although the number of key . centers

employed by any organization to reach its clientele varies with

the nature of the service, there is a tendency on the part of

different organizations to select the same regional headquarters

for financial and administrative purposes . The process is cumulative. Once a city becomes established as a regional distributing

center, its banking, transportation, and other facil ities compelnew concerns entering the region to select it as their point Of

operation . The result is that a rather well-defined pattern of

regional office centers is taking shape throughout the nation .

But while the rOle of the great city in the nation at large hasbeen growing in importance and changing in nature, even more

radical and important changes have taken place within the cityitself. Every large city has experienced rap id

’

shifts in its localpopulation since the end of the World War . The suburban drifthas not only increased in volume but has altered in character .

The outward movement in recent years has been largely amongthe white-collar classes, who have created a definite new problemby removing themselves from the political city while remaining

within the sphere of influence of the economic and cultural city.

They have drawn after them a number of local institutions ,business outlets and municipal services , creating a real m s in u rbe

in the suburban territories . Industry likewise has tended to

migrate outward , not for the same reasons but because increasing

congestion in the more central districts has hampered its activi

ties and added to its production costs .The general effect of this outward drift, coupled with the

more intensive u se of land brought about by large structuralunits, has been to hasten the obsolescence of much of the older

pattern of the city . Every large c ity is confronted, on the one

hand, with the problem of increasing congestion in certain areasand , on the other, with that of revitalizing its blighted areas .

The deteriorated districts are rarely rehabilitated by private

enterprise, though in some cities , notably N ew York, blighted

[ 314 ]

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TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

expansion of urban life . The multiplicity of separate govern

mental and taxation bodies in every large metropolitan aggrega

tion constitutes one of the serious difficulties confronting themetropolitan commu rfity today . Because city planning is bydefinition lim ited to the obsolescent political City, it is now being

rapidly superseded by regional planning . But regional planning

on a scale commensurate with actual needs is thwarted by thelarge number of politically independent communities with which

planning bodies have to deal .

The development of the new supercity p oints, therefore, to

the need of some sort of supermetropolitan government . ProfessorReed has presented this problem and the steps already taken to

cope with it . I t is quite apparent that the Old procedure of

annexation of surrounding territory by a central city is no longer

a satisfactory solution . The spread of population under theinfluence Of motor transport is far too rapid and too extensive

to be dealt with adequately by annexation , even if annexation

were not vigorously resisted by most of the suburban com

munities . Some plan of coordination of governmental functions

must be developed before the political unity of the real functionalmetropolitan community can be achieved .

From the point of view of individual welfare , most of the graverproblems ofmetropolitan livingmay be grouped under the generalcategory of insecurity or instability . Our metropolitan . com

munities are organized with the individual rather than thefamily as the economic unit . This makes possible a high degree of

specialization and occupational division of labor within the localpopulation group and thereby increases the efficiency of thecorporate whole ; but this very specializationmakes the individualincreasingly dependent upon the smooth operation of the eco

nomic system . As population concentrates in larger aggregation

units , there is a continual increase in the differentiation of occupations and in the interdependence of tasks . The economic mechanism becomes more intricate and the balance between theinterdependent units more

,

delicate . As long as the generaleconomic trend is upward, the ind ividual can shift from task totask and from place to place in response to the conditions of thedynamic process , but once the sensitive system becomes dis

located , as at present, he is left helpless and stranded . His onlyrecourse is to rely upon his scattered kinsfolk for temporary reliefor to cast himself upon the mercy of organized charity .

[ 316 ]

S UMMARY AND CON CL U S ION S

Accommodation to present conditions of dislocationhas largelytaken the form of attempts to revert to a simpler social order .

National governments have attempted to protect their citizens

against outside competition by raising tariff barriers and immigra

tion restrictions . Many states and cities have appealed to their

inhabitants to confine their purchases as far as possible to goods

and products produced within the local area . Individuals have

sought refuge in the kinship group , and famil ies have returned

to the village and deserted farmstead . Even the ancient system

of barter has been revived . These and many similar practices

that might be mentioned reveal the natural human impulse to

return in times‘

of stress to ways that are more familiar and

presumably more secure. But our metropolitan society is too

complex a mechanism to be adjusted by such expedients . Theoutstanding fact to be kept in mind is that our great metropolitan

communities are products of the operation of economic and

cultural forces that are world—’

wide in scope . While each metro

politan aggregate is tending to become a more complete economic

and social unit, the interdependence among these sup ercom

munities is becoming more sensitive and more extended in space .

To attempt to adjust this complex mechanism by reversion to

Old techniques is analogous to trying to repair a motor car with a

crowbar and hammer .

In closing this study , perhaps one might be excused for ventur

ing to speculate about probable future developments . I t would

seem that the general outlines of American settlement pattern

are established for years to come. Our great centers of p op u lation are not only deeply rooted in the general economic fabric,but an increasing proportion of our people have become sociallyand culturally conditioned to urban ways of living . I t is highly

improbable, within the near future at any rate, that any revolu

tionary changes will occur in population patterning . -I n all

probability our great cities will continue to decentralize in thesense that population and economic functions will become more

widely dispersed throughout the metropolitan areas . But it isnot likely that there will be any general exodus to the farm.

Modern agriculture is closely integrated with ou r metropolitan

system of living . I t has developed in response to the growth of

city markets and has been subject to the same technological

influences that have invaded other forms of industry, as evidenced

by the steady decline in the number of workers required to

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

cultivate the land . There will undoubtedly continue to be much

interregional shifting of the urban population as the generalrate of population growth diminishes and as new industries

arise in different parts of the nation .

As ou r regional communities become more conscious of their

common interests , an increasing amount of purposeful planningi s likely to ensue . N or is this planning likely to be restricted to

the mere physical aspects of community structure and municipal

functions . I t will , in all probability, include an increasing range

of economic and social activities . The age of extreme and almost

unregulated individual competition appears to be nearing a close.

If we are going to consider stability and security as essentialaspects of wholesome social living, conscious effort must be

directed toward regulating competition in the interest Of generalwelfare.

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TABLE I .— PERCENTAGE URB AN OF THE TOTAL POPULATION, BY STATES,

1880—1930“

Division and state I1880 1890 1900 1910 I1920 1930

29 5 35 4 40 0 61 4

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

19 5 26 9 34 3

30 6 44 7 54 3

24 8 34 9 39 3

23 9 33 2 38 2

North Dakota c

South Dakota

South Atlantic

District of ColumbiaVirginia .

West Virginia .

North CarolinaSouth Carolina

East South Central

M ississi p iWest Sout Central

4 0 6 5 8 525 5 25 4 26 5

3 7 7 4

15 6 17 1Mountain

Pacific

0 U.S . Census, 1930, Popu lation, Vol. I , Table 9. p. 15. and similar tables for other years.

[ 321 ]

38

26

84

93

78

56

53

41 O

QF‘

P

01

€0

©

©

26

5 1

15

89

94

52

65

60

48 G

‘QQ

QWOI

tO

t-‘OO 83

55

22

91

95

59

72

70

54 QQQ

O

h‘

OI

D-‘O

OI

THE M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

TABLE I I .— METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING To RATE or

I NCREASE , 1920—1930“

District District

DI STRI CTS INCREASING 50 PER CENT OR MORE

M iami (Dade County) . TulsaLos Angeles (Los Angeles County) . FlintOklahoma City DetroitHouston (Harris County) 92 . 5 South BendSan Die 0 (San Diego DallasTampa t. Petersburg (HillsborOu Atlantic Cityand Pinel las counties) Wichita

DI STRICTS INCREASING 25 TO 50 PER CENT

Sacramento .

Charleston .

San AntonioSan Jose (Santa Clara County)Birmingham.

RoanokeAtlantaHuntin

gton-Ashland .

KDOXVI e Jersey ,

Chattanoo a (Hamilton County)Memphis (

gShelby County) .

Jacksonville (Duval County)PeoriaFort WorthM ilwaukeeGrand Rapids

DI STRI CTS I NCREASING 10 TO 25 PER CENT

CantonHartfordPortland (Multnomah County)M innea olis-St. Pau lBuflalo iagaraSyracuseI ndianapolisRochesterSalt Lake CitySt. LouisCincinnatiAkronSeattleRacine-KenoshaEvansvi lleN ew Orleans (Orleans County)WashingtonErie

DI STRI CTS INCREASING LESS THAN 10 PER CENT OR DECREASING

Altoona 9 9 SavannahBridgeport 9 9 JohnstownProvi dence-Fall River-New Bedford. . Duluth

9 . 2 Lowell-LawrenceNorfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News .

WilmingtonDavenport

U.S. Census, 1930, Metmpoli tan Districts, Table 4 , pp. 10—13.

[ 322 ]

NashvilleSan Francisco-OaklandFort Wayne .

ChicagoDaytonBin hamtonRoc ordYoun stownNew ork-Northeastern NewLittle Rock .

ClevelandColumbusKansas CityEl Paso

DenverReadingTrentonLancasterBaltimorePhiladelphiaTacomaPittsburghBostonOmaha-Council BlufisDes Moines .

Allentown-Bethlehem-EastonNew Haven

Albany-SchenectadyWheelingHarrisbur

gSp ringfiel -HolyokeScranton-Wilkes BarreWorcester

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THE METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE IV.— RETAIL SALES DATA FOR CITIES OF POPULATION AND OVERIN THE LOS ANGELES REGION, BY ZONES, 19300

Net sales per capita.

Popula

Los

Zone I (0—20 miles)Beverly HillsSanta Monica

InglewoodBurbank.

Huntington ParkGlendaleSouth GateAlhambraSouth PasadenaComptonPasadena .

Whittier .

Long Beach .

Monrovia .

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Zone I I (20—40 miles)FullertonAnaheimPomonaSanta Ana

Ontario

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Zone I I I (40—80 miles)Riverside .

San Bernardino

Redlands .

Santa Barbara

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 Compiled from U.S . Census of Distribution, Retai l Distribution, State Series, 1930 (preliminaryreports) .

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A P P E ND IX

TABLE V.— I NDICES OF SETTLEMENT MATURATION

PART A. SCHOOL TEACHERS PER POPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS, 1900- 1930

Division

East North CentralWest North Central

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Unweighted mean

4 Compiled from the U.S. Census, Special Report on Occup ations, 1900 , Table 32, pp . 94- 113 .

5 Compiled from the U.S. Census, Occup ation Statistics, StateReports, 1930 , Table 4. All indicesof settlement maturation in Table V were compiled by Clark Tibbitts , University of M ichigan.

PART B . PUBLIC ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY-SCHOOL EXPENDITURES PERCAPI TA OF POPULATION 5 TO 17 YEARS OF AGE, BY DIVI SIONS, 1900

—1930a

Division

Compiled from data given in Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1932, Table 105, p . 108.

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE V.— I NDICES OF SETTLEMENT MATURATION — (Continued)

PART C. COLLEGE UNI VERSITY AND PROFESSIONAL-S CHOOL STUDENTS PERPOPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS, 1900—1930“

Division

1 l 5M iddle AtlanticEast North CentralWest North Central .South AtlanticEast South CentralWest South Central

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean

Compiled from data given in Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1932, Table 1 10, p. 112.

PART D . PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL POPULATION THAT IS ILLI TERATE, BY

DI VI SIONS, 1900- 1930

Division

M iddle AtlanticEast North Central .West North CentralSouth AtlanticEast South CentralWest South Central

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean

0 Compiled from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1907, Table 26, p. 64.

U.S. Censu s, United States Summary, Population Bulletin, 1930, Table 50, p. 5 1 .

[ 326 ]

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TH E M ETROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE V.— I NDI CEs OF SETTLEMENT MATURATION.

— (Continued)PART G. M ILES OF SURFACED RURAL ROADS PER SQUARE M ILES OF LAND

AREA, BY DIVI SIONS, 1914—19300

Division

137

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean

0 Compiled from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1932, Table 374, p. 351.

PART H. MOTOR VEHI CLES PER URBAN POPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS, 1918

Division

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the

0 Compiled from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1932. Table 385, p. 360. Urban pop u lation for 1918 estimated arithmetically.

328

A P P E ND IX

TABLE V.—I NDI CEs on SETTLEMENT MATURATION .

— (Continued)PART I . PHYSI CIANS AND SURGEONS PER POPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS,

1900- 1930

Division

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean.

Compiled from the U.S. Census, Speci al Report on Occupations, 1900, Table 32, pp . 94—1 13 .

5 Compiled from U.S. Census, Occup ation Statistics, State Reports, 1930, Table 4.

PART J. DENTI STS PER POPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS, 1900—1930

Division

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean

C Compiled from the U.S. Census, Sp ecial Report on Occupations, 1900, Table pp . 94—113 .

5 Compiled from U .S . Census, Occu p ation Statistics, State Reports, 1930, Table 4 .

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TH E METROPOL I T AN C OMMUN I TY

TABLE V.

— I N DI CEs OF SETTLEMENT MATURATION .— (Continued)

PART K. PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION WHO ARE CHURCH MEMBERS, BYDIVI SIONS, 1906- 1926

Division

New England . .

M iddle AtlanticEast North Central .West North CentralSouth AtlanticEast Sou thWest South CentralMountain

Pacific

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean

‘1 Compiled from Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1916, Table 2 1 , p . 36.

b U .S . Census , Religi ous Bodies, 1926, Vol . I , Table 7, p . 58 .

NOTE : Popu lation for 1906 estimated arithmetically ; for 1926 from US . Censu s estimates .

PART L. CHURCH EXPENDITURES PER CAPITA OF POPULATION, BY DIVI SIONS ,

1916—1926“

Division

M iddle AtlanticEast North CentralWest North Central

Unweighted meanRatio of deviations to the mean .

0 U .S . Census, Religious Bodies, 1926, Vol . I , Table 28, p . 312 .

330

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE VI .— STATEs RANKED IN ORDER OF REPRE SENTATION IN WHO’S

.WHO IN AMERICA ” IN 1910—1911 EDITION, SHOWING COMPARATIVE RATIOSOF

“WHO’S WHO NOTAB LE S PER\

TOTAL POPULATION,1910—1930“

State

Number Per cent

15 .

1 6. Pennsylvan

22 . M innesota

28. New Mexico 15 9

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o oo o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

a Compiled from Who’s Who in America, Vols. VI , XI , XVI .5 Exclusive of the District of Columbia.

[ 332 ]

A P P E ND IX

TABLE VI I .— STATES RANKED IN ORDER OF REPRESENTATION IN WHO’S WHO

IN AMERICA” IN 1910—1911 EDITION SHOWING COMPARATIVE RATIOS,WHO’S WHO

” NOTABLES PER NATIVE WHITE POPULATION21 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER, 1910—19306

0 Compiled fromWho's Who in America, Vols. VI , XI , XVI .b Exclusive of the District of Columbia.

[ 333 ]

TH E METROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

TAB LE Vl I I .— NEW OFFICE SPACE CONSTRUCTED, 1919- 1929, IN RELATION TO

I NCREASE OF POPULATION, 1920—1930 , AND TO TOTAL POPULATION, 1930 ,FOR INDIVIDUAL CITIE S GROUPED BY FEDERALRE SERVE DISTRICTS“

District and city

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

N ew York district

Popu lation

Bu ffalo .

Newark .

RochesterJersey City .

Syracuse .

Scranton .

Paterson .

Albany .

Utica .

hiladel hia districtPhila elphia 1 ,

WashingtonTrenton.

Camden .

Reading .

WilmingtonCleveland districtClevelandPittsburghColumbus, Ohio .

3 ,1 ,

142 559

Square feet of officespace constructed,

1919—29

0 Compiled from data supplied by the courtesy of the F . W. Dodge Corporation.

5 Data available for 6 years only .

Data available for 5 years only .

4 Data available for 7 years only .

[ 334 ]

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TH E METROPOL I T AN COMMUN I TY

Cities

n n n n n

0 0 0 0 0 0

TABLE IX.— TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE 93 AMERICAN

c c c c c c c c

[ 336 ]

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s)

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oa

t—i07

0

6 . 95i

2 10‘

9 . 14i

4 . o5 i

54 .

35 .

13 .

37 .

66

45 .

17 .

. 00"

39 .

24 .

19 .

. 00

30 .

23 .

. 91‘

36

37

34

15.

93.

o

74

5D“

64

91"

25‘

35

97

43 .

34 .

13 .

. 40

66 .

23

25

37

17 :

1 6 .

37 .

12

23

25

82i

25‘

. 03

36 . 00‘

l l‘

00

345

97

30‘

2 93‘

4 .o0 i

71

36

39

58

52

45

41

23 .

17 .

46

. 67

. 7733 .

93 .

14 .

19 .

29

26

. 75

. 30‘

. 06‘

. 75‘

53 . 1 6

1734 .

. 09‘

50 .

795

22

92“

38"

29‘

40

90

64

64.

55.

38 .

32 .

22 .

58 .

53 .

52 .

26 .

23 .

48 .

24

17 .

17 .

16 .

17 .

12 .

18 .

33 .

79 .

14 .

19 .

A P P END IX

CITIES WITH A POPULATION OF OR MORE IN 1930

Land area, square miles

7 . 96i

3 72‘ 2 93“ 2 93‘

l 09"

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TH E METROPOL I TAN COMMUN I T Y

TABLE IX.— TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE 93 AMERICAN CITIE S

Cities

Des MoinesLong BeachTu lsa .

Salt Lake CityPatersonYonkersNorfolk .

JacksonvilleAlbany . .

Kansas City, KanChattanoogaCamdenErieSpokaneFallFortElizabethCambrid e

N ew Be for

Reading zWichitaM iami

WilmingtonKnoxville .

PeorIa .

Canton .

South Bend

Lynn .

0

Utica . .

Du luthTampa 9 . 195

Gary . 37 . 56i

Lowell . 13 91

Sources of Data : All the statistics for this table, except Where otherwise noted (footnotes a, b,e, d, and e) were obtained through direct correspondence from the city engineers of the variouscities, and , in a few Instances, from oflic1al city planning bodies. Where possible, statistics checkedwith data fromU. S . Bureau of the Census and other sources ; in case of discrepancies, city engineers

’

reports usually taken as final au thority.4 Area taken from Metropolitan Districts, U.S. Census , 1932 , pp . 10—13.

5 Area is for Ju ly 1 , 192 1 ; See Financial Statistics of Cities Having a Pop ulation of Over1921 , U.S . Census, 1922, p. 35- 38.

6 Area for 1910 as given y Financial Statistics of Cities Having a Population of Over 1910,U.S . Census, 1913, pp . 90—91 .

4 Area for 1900 as g‘i

jven by Financi al Statistics of Cities Having a Population of Over

1904, Bu lletin No. 50 , .S . Census, 1906, pp . 41—43.

0 Area for 1890 as given by Report of Social Statistics of Cities in the Uni ted States at the EleventhCensus: 1890, Department of the I nterior, Census Office, 1895. The method of securing these datawere as follows : “

the total area has been obtained either from the city records or by carefu lmeasurements from the latest obtainable maps.” I bid., p . 7.

[ 338 ]

cu:

era91

S

e

at

»

Sat

e

»

O

0!

O

was

26 . 34i 26 . 34i

12 . 49i 9 . 42b

39 34 3 91

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TH E M ETROPOL I T A N COMMUN I TY

TABLE X.

— POPULATION OF VARIOUS AREAS AT EACH DECENNIAL YEARPART A. CLEVELAND, OHIO, 1830—1930a

Popdlation at census years

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Popu lation at census years

ity ofAnnexationCity of .

Annexation ofCity of .

Annexation ofCity of .

Annexations ofCity of .Annexations ofCity of .

Annexation ofCity of .

Annexations ofCity of .Annexatlons ofCity of .

AnnexationsAnnexations ofCity of

0 Compiled from U.S. Census data by H. W. Green.

[ 340 ]

,301770

071

1 10 622

A P P EN D IX

TABLE X.— POPULATION OF VARIOUS AREAS AT EACH DECENNIAL YEAR.

(Continued)PART B . BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, 1840—19300

Population at census years

Boston proper 138 850

South Boston

Popu lation at census years

149 449 163 786 148 040

c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

Compiled from U.S . Census data by H. W. Green.

[ 341 ]

TH E ME TROPOL I TA N COMMUN ITY

TABLE X.— POPULATION OF VARIOUS AREAS AT EACH DECENNIAL YEAR .

(Continued)PART C. ST. LOUI S, M I SSOURI , 1840—1930a

Popu lation at census yearsArea

City ofAnnexation ofCity of .

Annexation of

City ofAnnexation of .

City of .

City of

Popu lation at census years

City of 1840

Annexation of 1850

City of 1850

Annexation of . 1860

City of 1860

Annexation of 1870

City of 1870

Annexation of 1880

City of 1880

Compiled from U.S. Census data by H.W. Green. Numbers placed in parentheses are estimated

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INDEX

A

Accommodation, 5, 33 , 158, 3 17

institutional, 186—190structu ral, 213

Advertising, 99, 160—162

Age-sex composition of popu lation, 35—38

in Chicago, 180- 182Agricu ltural development, 8—4Agricu ltural eXp orts , 4Agricultural products, 52, 79- 80, 91—93Agricu ltural states, 14—16Agricu lture,

'

317

Airplane, 148—149Alderson, '

Wroe, 16111

Annexation, 28, l 74n, 191—198, 306-307,

336—339

Apartments. 88, 217—220 , 222—223, 245Armour and Company, 92Armour's Livestock Bureau , 93n, 14211

Atlanta metropolitan district, 62, 322Atlantic City metropolitan district, 40 , 64, 322Australia“

, 44

Automobiles, 5, 271in Chicago, 272in cities, 271, 273

ownership of, in selected cities , 275- 276

Baltimore, —47

automobiles in, 275

banks in, 1 17

industries in, 115

land values in, 227—229

occupations in, 113

retail marketing in, 250—266

revenue rides p er capita in, 275

Baltimore metropolitan district, 47, 322Banking points, 77withcorrespondents in Chicago, 78in New York City, 168

Banks, 116-117, 224Federal Reserve, 163, 314suspensions of, 61

Bibbins, J. Rowland, 226nBiological comp lei ity, 240—247

Biological selection, 179-182

Birth rates, 86-87in Cleveland , 248

Blumer, -Herbert, 188nBogart, E. 4

Boston, 46—47

annexations,banks in, 1 17

as a head office and news center, 165- 167

occupations in 113

trafi c in, 279 280 , 282, 287

wage earners in, 56—57

Boston metropolitan district, 46—47, 62, 72, 322Bradish , L. M ., 134n

Broadway land values, 234—235Browne, Stewart, 222n

Bu ildings, 214—215increasing size of, 219—221

office, 220—221residential , 216—217significance of large, 223- 225skyscraper, 222—223

Burgess, E . W., 177

Burnham, Daniel H 293

Burton, J . E 199n

Buses, 277, 280—284

(See also Motor transportation)Business, in central cities and satellites, 73—75,

161 , 168—169, 225, 323, 324

in Baltimore, 250—266and newspaper circu lation, 97

retail, 61—62subcenters, 70types of, 73wholesale, 60

California, increase of p o pu lation in, 14, 17

Canada, 44Census tracts, 175, 177, 180 248

Central cities , 39, 313

increase in, 173—175

zones of influence of, 76—83

(See also Cities)

Central Freight Association, 15311

Central land values in selected cities, 234—235Centralization, 51, 811

methods of measuring, 54Centrifugal drift of popu lation, 47, 178, 191 .

213

Chain stores , 62, 88, 90-91

in Baltimore, 252—254, 258—259, 261—264head offices of, 166number and classes of, 163n

TH E METROPOL I TA N CO MMUN ITY

Chicago, 46age

-sex composition in selected tracts in,

180—182

automobiles in, 272, 275

as a banking center, 77—78, 168

banks in, 1 17

centrifugal drift in, 175—176

as a commercial center, 133—139commercial structure of satellites, 73—76, 323as a head office center, 165

—166

industrial area, 56—57industries in, 1 15

juvenile delinquency in. distribution of, 185

land values in, 227- 229, 236, 238

motion picture theaters in, 188- 189

Negroes in, 242—243

as a news center , 166

newspapers, 100—106occupations in, 1 13

ofiice bu ildings in, 220—221

Pu llman passenger traffic to, 133—139

traffic in, 85 , 106, 275, 279, 280 , 282 , 287

as a transportation center, 133- 139

Who’

s Who notables in, 123—124

Chicago Association of Commerce, 149, l 56n

Chicago Merchandise Mart, 224

Chicago metropolitan district, 44, 45—47, 72,322

growth profile of,i

l 78

Chicago Real Estate Board, 221Children, distribution of, 180—182 , 245

Cities, central and suburban, 74—75

competition between, 158—159

declining, 30—33early river, 130gateway, 4—6, 140gradient pattern of influence of, 76—78

growth of popu lation of, 28—29, 65

within and without metropolitan districts,47, 48

growth of territory of, 195—196influence of, 4—5

integration of, 162—167

interrelations of, 129—157

key, 162- 164

maturation of, 1 11—1 12

and motor transportation, 142—143

newly incorporated, 71of and over, 5 , 39

annexations by, 195—197, 336—339area at date of incorporation, 191 , 336—339

declining, 33

foreign-born whites in, 34n

nationalities in, 240

planning in, 298

population within access of, 20 , 46

rates of increase in, 65

service occupations in, 63

sex ratio in, 36

zoning in, 300

transportation in, 269—291

[ 346 ]

City, 8, 69division of labor within, 70

population, sources of, 33—34

p re-motor, 69

regionalism, 5 , 71 , 142, 313

stability of large, 33street pavement in, 2 13

structural metamorphosis of, 212—235

City-coun‘

ty relations , 309City planning and zoning, 293—302, 3 16appropriations for, 297—298(See also Zoning)

Civilization, 5

Clark, W. C. , 22 l n

Cleveland , 46—47annexations , 192—193, 340banks in, 1 17

centrifugal dr ift in, 175—176

economic areas in, 248—249

industrial area, 56—57industries in, 1 15

juvenile delinquency in, 185

land values in, 227—229

lots recorded in, 207Negroes in, 242

- 244

occupations in, 1 13

time distance to Chicago, 146—148

Cleveland metr6p olitan district, 46, 47, 72, 322Clothing industry in New York, 1 69Coley, Clarence T., 221

College students, increased number of, 63Colonies, ethnic and racial, 240—245Comanor, Albert, 188nCommerce, 59, 62

persons engaged in, 1 12—1 13

Commercial function, concentration of, 60—62

Communal influence, zones of, 84—97Communal pattern, 71

Communications , 3—5 , 81—83 , 312

Community, 7advertising, 160—162division of labor , 159mu ltiple-center, 70natural, 84specialization of function in, 72, 76

(See also Metropolitan community )Commutation, 94

distance, 84, 87, 88

tickets by zones, 86traffic , 85

Competition, 84, 245, 317, 318

between cities , 158- 170

between regions, 1 59

Concentration, of business , 164 , 169, 191of commerce, 59—62

factors in, 50—65

of financial function, 60—61

of popu lation, 14—20, 31 1

within metropolitan districts , 89, 42(See also Popu lation)

of retail function, 61—63

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TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

Gradient pattern, of newspaper circulation, 89 Kansas City, occupations in, 1 13

of substantial families in Detroit, 184 time distance from Chicago, 146—148

of toll telephone calls, 83 trafi c time zones in, 288-291

Grand Rapids , platting and utilization of lots transportation in, 282, 287

in, 201, 212 Keller, P. E 176n

Gras, N. S . B ., 78 Key centers , 162- 164

Green, Howard W l 76n, 192n, 248 Kingston, J. L., 22l n

Gries, John M ., 219n

Haig, R. M ., 225

Harrison, Shelby M 293n

Harrison, W. H., 170n

Highways, 6, 70 , 79, 87and settlement structure, 140—142water, 129—131

Hinman, A. G ., l 75n, 220

Hinterland, 70, 71

Immigrants, 241—242

areas of settlement of, 246Immigration, 21 , 22, 34, 241

—242, 317

Imperial County, California, 52Incorporation, 5, 71 , 1 12

areas of cities at date of, 191, 336—338

Indianapolis, 182—183 , 184distribution of felons and felonies in, 186

as a head office center, 165—167

industrial area, 56—57

as a news center, 166

occupations in, 1 13

transportation in, 287

Industrial areas, 55—58Industrial diversification in cities, 1 14—1 15

Industrial satellite communities, 78, 105

I ndustrial specialized centers, 1 15Industry, assembly line basis of, 79location of, 55—59

manufacturing, 53—59types of, in selected cities, 114—115wage earners in, 53—58

I nstitutions, 216

accommodation of, 186—190

obsolescence of, 241

Integration, 5

of cities, 162—167

Interdependence of industry, 79, 316, 317Interstate Commerce Commission, 144

Juvenile delinquency in selected cities, 185

Kansas City, as a head office center, 165—167

industrial area, 56—57as a news center, 166

[ 348 ]

Labor (See Division of labor)Laidlaw, Walter, 176nLand values, 226—239, 315

central, 234- 235changes in total, 227- 231distribution over urban area, 231

League of Nations, 44Leisure, a factor in popu lation concentration,

63—64

Loree, L. F 149

Los Angeles, annexations, 197, 336—337commercial structure of satellites of, 73—76,

324

compared with Detroit, 64, 123—124

as a head office center, 165—167

industrial area, 56—57industries in, 1 15

as a news center, 166

occupations in, 1 13

time distance from Chicago, 146- 148Who’

s Who notables in, 123—124Los Angeles County, 17Los Angeles metropolitan district, 47, 72, 322

Manufacturing, 53—59relative decline in, 59

wage earners in, 53—58

Maturation of settlement, 111—125, 159indices of, 1 1 1—125, 325-831

Mcclintock, M iller, 269n, 284m, 285nMcFarland, E . W., 188n

McG ill, Kenneth, 83a , 88a

McKay, Henry D 185n

Metropolitan area, 84—88

new incorporations within, 71

trend in size of, 84

Metropolitan centers, 5 , 179

M etropolitan community, 312as a constellation of centers, 71—72

as a functional entity, 70—71margins of, 84—97

and newspaper circulation, 98—110

population patterning within, 173—190

rise of, 84—97

Metropolitan districts, 89—49, 72cities within, 44—45, 72

compared with other popu lation aggregates ,

43 44

definition of, 89—40, 173

I ND EX

Metropolitan districts , geographical distribution of, 40—42. 111

growth crests in, 175

growth profile of, 178

incorporated places within, 44—45, 71, 72increase in southern and western, 111

—1 12

political complexity of, 44—45, 72popu lation concentration in, 40, 42

public services in, 305—306rates of increase of, 42—43, 194

cpmpared with that of central cities, 47by size groups, 174

Metropolitan government, 303—310Metropolitan region, agricu ltural supply area

of, 79—81

as an economic and social unit, 69—83as determined by newspaper circu lation,

106—110

structure of, 70

Metropolitan regionalism, as developed byrailways, 140

industrial basis of, 78—79and motor transportation, 140- 143

Metropolitan zones, 19—20M ichigan, motor industry in, 79

popu lation increase in, 16, 17

M id-city shopping district, 254- 260M igration to cities, 33, 35

M ississippi River, 43metropolitan districts east of, 40metropolitan districts west of, 111petroleum west of, 52—53popu lation east of, 3 , 11

—12

system, 130- 131

as a transportation route, 129- 132

Morris, Eugene, 15sn

Motion picture theaters , 88distribution of, 188—190

Motor highways (See Highways)Motor transportation, 69, 274—276and economic regionalism, 153

and its effect on cities, 270- 272

and its future in cities, 273- 274

and settlement structure, 140- 143Motor trucks, effect of, on agricu lture, 79—80

on manufacturing, 79

radius of Operation, 90—94

registrations of, 271

in Chicago, 272Motor vehicle, 5a local agency, 81- 82registrations of, 5, 271

in Chicago, 272in selected cities, 275

M0

ovement Of pop ulatlon, 8’ 4’ Obsolescence of institutions, 241, 314to counties of high density, 19 Obsolete structure 32toward deep Water, 20—21 Occupational structure of American cities , 35,

Murphy, Edmund J 276n 51 , 1 12—114

National Association of Building Owners and

Managers, 220

N ation’

s Business, 149n

Native-born population, 12whites in cities, 34—35

Negroes, 13in central cities, 180northward migration of, 35

segregation of, 242—244

urbanization of, 34—35

Neighborhood stores, 262New York City, 17, 46—47, 55—56, 1 13, 194annexations, 197automobiles in, 275

as a banking center, 116, 168- 169

centrifugal drift in, 175- 176dominance of, 134

as a head office center, 165—167

industries in, 115

land values in, 227—229, 234

—235

Negroes in, 242—243

as a news center, 166

newspapers, 100occupations in, 242- 243as a point of contact with the South, 134—135and Pu llman passenger traffic, 134—139as a style center, 167, 169

time distance to Chicago, 146—148traffic in, 85 , 275 , 279, 280

Who’s Who notables in, 123—124

New York County, wholesale business in, 60New York-Northeastern New Jersey metropolitan district, 40 , 43—4 4, 45-47, 72, 322

New Zealand, 44Newcomb, Charles, 97, 98n, 177, 246n, 247

News, centers, 1 66- 167as a commodity, 98—99Newspaper, 24, 95advertising, 99metropolitan and local 100—103Newspaper circu lation, in Chicago satellites,

103

by divi sions, 1 18limits of, 100—101as a measure of city influence, 83of cu ltural uniformity, 116—119

and metropolitan regions, 102

and the trade area, 96—97, 99-100

North Carolina, nometropolitan districts in, 40

population increase in, 16

Nucleation, 27, 49, 198

of retail function, 250-266

TH E METROPOL I TA N COMMUN I TY

Occupations, 35, 62- 63Oflice buildings, 220construction of new space for, 164, 334—335

Oflices , distribution of head, 164—166Ogburn, W. F., 225n

Otis Elevator Company, 221Outlying shopping district, 260—262

Panama Canal , 154—156Park, R. E 97, 98n, 10311

Pavement in cities, 213

(See also Motor highways)Petroleum, 52

Philadelphia,46—47

banks in, 1 17

as a head oflice center, 165—167

indu strial area , 56—57

industries in, 1 15

juvenile delinquency in, 185

land values in, 227—229

motion picture theaters in, 188—190

Negroes in, 242—243

as a news center, 165—1 67

occupations in, 1 13

trafi c in, 85, 279, 282 , 284

Philadelphia Business Progress Association,

l 54n

Philadelphia metropolitan district, 46- 47, 72,322

Pittsbu rgh, 46—47automobiles _ia , 275

banks in, 1 17

centrifugal drift in, 175—176

as a head cflice center, 165—167

indu strial area, 56—57

Negroes in, 242—243

as a news center, 166

occupations in, 1 13

revenue rides p er capita in, 275

time distance from Chicago, 146—148

Pittsburgh metropolitan district, 46—47, 72, 322Planning (see City planning)Platting of subdivisions, 199—212, 3 15Plimpton, R. E ., 9l n

Pole, John W., 84

Political boundaries, 9, 39, 45 , 49, 214Political complexity of metropolitan districts ,

44—45 , 214

Popu lation, 3, 4

centrifugal drift of, 47college, 63concentrationof, 14—20

in cities, 19

factors making for, 50—65declining, 20 31—33

deconcentration of, 21—22

distribution of, 8—22

equ ilibrium, 8

tending toward, 13—14[ 350 ]

Population, increase, 14, 16industrial, 53—59in metropolitan districts, 42—45patterning, 9—1 1within metropolitan community, 173—1 90

selection, 35

urban, 26

(See also Urbanization)Population movements, 1 1—13

to areas of high density, 19toward deep water , 20—21of native born, 12

to suburbs, 175—177westward, 4Position, New York and Chicago, 168

relation of, to changing distance, 144, 150Power, used in factories, 53 , 79n(See also Factories)Pryor, Thomas M ., 184n

Public markets in Baltimore, 258Public utilities , 2 13—214“Publicity, 160- 1 62Pullman traffic, 134—139

Racial colonies, 240- 245and retail structure of city, 266Railroads, 3- 5

commutation traffic on, 85—86

compared with motor roads , 14 1—142influence of, 133 , 139, 153

mileage, 132and settlement structure, 13 1—140time schedu les, 146—148train stops, 148, 149Rapid transit, 278—280Reed, Thomas H . , 214, 303n

Redfield , Arthur H ., 2 l 3n, 214

Regionalism, city, 5 , 71, 142 , 313created by railroads, 139versu s sectionalism, 139

—140

Regions, economic , 6, 153Reilly, William J 73n, 97n, 163n

Retail services, 88—89in Baltimore, 250

—266

concentration of, 60—61

within metropolitan region, 74—76

specialization of, 73

and transportation, 287

Rice , Stuart A 82 1 67n

Robertson, A. H l 22n

Rolph, I nez K . 250n

Rossiter, W. S 4

Rural farm population, 52

age distribu tion of, 37

Rural nonfarm population, 87

Ru ral popu lation, 3 , 82, 45

age-sex distribu tion of, 35—38

classification of, 24

inside metropolitan districts, 48

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Whelpton, P. K., 28, 29h, é8a , 4 8;

Whitten, Robert , 218

land values "in, 2 28—229as .a news center, —sl t6f7

occupations in; 1 13time distance to Chicago,transportation.in, 2 72, 282, 284 , 286—287

Waiter rim, na’tion facing, 156

popu lation movement toward, 20—21Wa-t

’

er transportation, 3, 129—132

compared with ra-il, 154—155routes, 129

—131 Zoning, 299- 301cities on, 130 (See also City Planning)

Women, 180, 245

Woodbury, Coleman G ., 2 l‘2n