Course Description
A history of the planning, development, and growth of American cities. In addition to studying the built environment, this course will examine American attitudes and perceptions of urban spaces from the colonial period to the present. The impact of transportation, technology, and immigration on American cities will also be considered.
Athena Title
HIST AMER CITIES
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
A history of the planning, development, and growth of American cities. In addition to studying the built environment, students will examine American attitudes and perceptions of urban spaces from the colonial period to the present. The impact of transportation, technology, and immigration on American cities will also be considered.
Topical Outline
Introduction to American Cities The Organic Plan: Boston and New York The Ordered City: New Haven, Philadelphia, and Savannah Townhouses and Urban Slave Quarters Water, Disease, and Sanitation in the Early American City Churchyards and Rural Cemeteries Public Parks in America World’s Fairs and Amusement Parks Urban Transportation and Streetcar Suburbs Immigration, Tenements and Settlement Houses New York, Chicago, and San Francisco at the Turn of the Century The Skyscraper in American Culture The Automobile and the City Modernism and Urban Life Post-war Cities and Urban Blight Post-modernism and After