Washington, D.C. and the Growth of Its Early Suburbs : 1860-1920
Washington, D.C. and the Growth of Its Early Suburbs : 1860-1920
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Date
1980
Authors
Levy, Anneli Moucka
Advisor
Groves, Paul A.
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Abstract
During the nineteenth century, the North American city greatly
changed in size and internal structure. With the introduction of mass
transportation, large scale suburbanization took place as one aspect of
this change. Members of the evolving middle class not only wished to
escape the pollution and congestion of the urban core, but also
believed strongly in a 'rural ideal,' translated into a 'suburban ideal.'
Urban changes and suburban growth were especially pronounced in
industrial cities, and descriptions of conditions in these cities identify
the accepted model of the spatial configuration of the metropolis
existed in 1920.
Examination of the growth of Washington D. C. between the Civil
War and World War I indicates that the city shared few of the
characteristics of the accepted urban model. Nevertheless, it exhibited
distinct suburban movement connected with three major transport modes,
including the steam railroad. The belief in the 'suburban ideal' was
broadly based in Washington and therefore much variation was found
among the city's suburban communities, even among those associated
with the same transportation mode. Furthermore, in contrast to the suburban model, conditions in the suburban areas often did not compare
favorably with those in the city. Even so, the suburbanization process
accelerated from small beginnings, so that by 1920 the city displayed the
local variant of the typical star-shaped pattern.