Lack of Water

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Lack of Water

• What water there is in the western United States
  is quickly being used for both agricultural,
  industrial, residential uses

Colorado River
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Air Quality Issues

• Increased population specifically urban
  populations has led to an increase in pollution

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Increasing Threat of Natural Hazards

• In addition to warmer climates, Americans have
  also become attracted to Scenic areas, which have
  led to two different types of problems
• Densely settled coastlines that are threatened by
  tropical storms, coastal mudslides, and beach
  erosion
• Because these areas are much more densely settled
  than in the past, the amount of monetary damage
  incurred by each natural disaster is tremendous
• Wildfires - Fire has always been a part of the
  natural process but with an increase in
  population, there is more pressure to control
  fires rather than letting them burn (a natural
  process that is beneficial to the environment)

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Modern Demographic Patterns

• North America is dominated by metropolitan
  clusters most of which east of the 100th
  meridian
• There are a number of well-known clusters
• Canadas Main street consisting of Toronto (4.2
  million), Montreal (3.3 million), Ottawa (1
  Million), Hamilton (620,000)
• Megalopolis the largest agglomeration in the
  US, it includes Washington DC ( 4.7 million),
  Baltimore (2.5 million), Philadelphia (6
  million), New York (20.2 million), and Boston
  (3.3 million)
• There are additional agglomerations found south
  of the great lakes (the Rust Belt), Greensboro to
  Atlanta (along I-85), DFW to San Antonio (I-35),
  Los Angeles-San Diego (I-5).

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Historical settlement and Migration Patterns
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3 Phases of Settlement

• Prior to 1750
• Consisted of a number of European coastal
  settlement footholds that developed independently
• 1750-1850
• Dramatic increase in westward movement after the
  American Revolution
• Importance of cash crops (cotton) in attracting
  migrants to the western lands
• 1850-1910
• Post Civil War migration aided by the completion
  of transcontinental railroad in 1869
• Railroads allowed crops to be easily transported
  to market and they aided new migrants

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Populating North America

• Throughout the history of the US there have been
  five distinctive phases of immigration
• Prior to 1820 English African influences
  dominated (Dutch, French Germans were also
  important)
• African slaves played an important role in the
  culture of the south
• Despite their small numbers overall, early
  British settlers had a huge impact upon the
  culture of America
• 1820-1870 Northwestern European migrants
  dominated (especially Irish Germans)
• The pace of immigration also increased during
  this time period.
• 1870-1920 The source area for migrant shifted
  from northwest Europe to southern and eastern
  Europe. Scandinavians accounted for a
  significant portion of those migrants who were
  still coming from northwestern Europe.
• Migration reached its highest point during this
  time period.
• 1920-1970 There was also an increase in the
  number of immigrants who originated from Latin
  America Canada.
• Overall totals plunged during this time period as
  a result of more restrictive Federal immigration
  policies.
• 1970-present Most immigrants in the current wave
  originate from wither Asia or Latin America.
• The number of immigrants increased dramatically
  (largely as a result of international political
  economic instability, the booming American
  economy and loosening of immigration laws).

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Populating North America

• Today almost ¼ of all US immigrants arrive from
  Mexico
• Historically, the majority of Latin American
  immigrants settled in Texas or California. In
  recent years there has been a shift towards a
  more disperse population.
• Asians are the fasted growing immigrant group in
  the country.
• Asian immigrants tent to cluster in large cities,
  many of which are on the west coast.

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Populating North America

• Canadian Immigration Patterns
• Immigration patterns in Canada tend to parallel
  those of the United States with a few exceptions
• French settlers in the St. Lawrence River valley
  were the first to establish a population nucleus.
  They were followed by British and Irish settlers
  after 1765.
• In the latter half of the 19th century, Canada
  was also the destination for a large number of
  eastern Europeans who settled in large eastern
  cities as well as the Prairie Provinces.
• Today Asians represent the largest immigrant
  group in the country many of whom left Hong
  Kong when it reverted back to Chinese control

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Migratory Trends in North America

• Westward Migration
• Until recently, westward migration patterns
  tended to skip over the intermontane region
• In the 2000 census, Arizona Nevada were the two
  fastest growing states
• The movement of people into arid regions has
  further complicated environmental problems

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Migratory Trends in North America

• Westward Migration

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Migratory Trends in North America

• Black Exodus from the US south
• In the early 20th century there was a mass
  migration of blacks from the rural American South
• Two migratory waves
• 1910-1920
• 1940-1960
• Many people migrated to northern industrial
  cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York,
  Philadelphia, Boston
• In addition to northward migration, there, a
  significant proportion of people migrated to west
  coast cities (Los Angeles and Oakland) in the
  second migration.

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Migratory Trends in North America

• Rural to Urban Migration
• 200 years ago only 5 of the North American
  population lived in urban areas (population
  exceeding 2,500 people)
• Today more than 75 of the population lives in
  urban areas
• Much of this migration was precipitated by a
  shift from primary activities (farming and
  extractive industries) to secondary
  (manufacturing), tertiary (service) and
  quaternary (information processing) activities.

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Migratory Trends in North America

• Growth of the Sun Belt South
• After 1970, southern states grew more rapidly
  than the northeast and Midwest
• The change can be attributed to a shift in
  manufacturing, better climate in the south,
  retirees, cheaper standard of living,
  recreational activities, and large-scale adoption
  of air conditioning
• There has been dramatic growth in urban areas of
  the South Atlanta, Research Triangle (Durham,
  Chapel Hill Raleigh) Charlotte, Nashville,
  Jacksonville, and Tampa
• These new urban areas developed around new
  industries that moved south (light manufacturing,
  banking)

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Historical Evolution of the City

• Changes in transportation have influenced the
  development of American Cities
• Stages of growth
• The original city center
• Compact city that serviced a pedestrian
  population
• Usually not more than 3-4 miles in diameter
• Streetcar Suburbs
• Developed after the 1888 development of electric
  streetcars
• Cities extended out streetcar lines to form a
  spider web pattern

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Historical Evolution of the City

• Stages of Growth
• The Automobile City
• Developed in the 1920s with the widespread
  adoption of automobiles
• Expansion was no longer limited to streetcar
  lines
• Development of suburbs led to white flight
• Edge Cities
• Decentralized urban centers have developed in the
  past 30 years
• An edge city fulfills many of the services of a
  downtown area with the hassle of traveling long
  distances
• They are centers of business, shopping, and
  entertainment.

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Historical Evolution of the City
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Natural Resources

• North America contains an abundance of natural
  resources
• There is a large climatic and biotic variety that
  allows for the production of a variety of
  agricultural products
• The region is also home to a wide variety of raw
  materials that aided industrial development.

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Agriculture

• North America is home to one of the most
  productive food-producing systems in the world
• Farmers practice highly commercialized,
  mechanized, specialized agriculture that
  utilizes an efficient transportation system,
  global markets large capital investments in
  farm machinery
• During the 20th century, crop yields steadily
  rose as the demands for labor steadily declined
• Because of this shift, only a very small
  percentage of the US Canadian workforce is
  still engaged in agriculture
• During the same time, there has been a steady
  rise in the average size of farms
• The consolidation of farms has had a negative
  impact on small farming communities throughout
  the region.

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Regional Economic Patterns

• Within North America, there are regional patterns
  in the concentration of industries
• Location factors explain why certain industries
  are located where they are
• Historically the manufacturing core was located
  in the Megalopolis region (Boston to Baltimore),
  southern Ontario (Toronto to Hamilton), and the
  industrial Midwest (Pittsburg to Chicago)
• These manufacturing regions located in these
  places largely because of a number of factors
• Their proximity to natural resources (farmland
  (production of food to feed workers, coal, iron
  ore)
• Increasing connectivity (canals, railroad
  networks, highways, air traffic hubs,
  telecommunication centers)
• A ready supply of productive labor, and a growing
  national then international market demand
• The region traditionally dominated the production
  of steel, automobiles, machine tools,
  agricultural equipment

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Regional Economic Patterns

• In the last fifty years, there has been a shift
  in the center of the US economy to the west and
  the south
• Many older industrial cities experienced a
  drastic loss in jobs in manufacturing and
  therefore lost their dominance over the economy.
• The shift of industries to the Gulf Coast was
  precipitated by a number of factors
• cheaper labor costs
• Environment
• a ready source of energy (fossil fuel).
• The shift of industries to the West Coast ranges
  from Vancouver south into southern California
• These industries are closely tied to the Pacific
  Rim market.
• A number of different industries predominate
• Aerospace other governmental spending
  industries
• computers (Silicon Valley is close to Stanford
  Cal and allowed for easy access to innovation
  research).