Urbanization of North America

Baltimore was warehouses and breweries owned by Pennsylvania Friends whose religion forbade them to drink, but not to manufacture, transport or sell.

Urban? Look at the drug trade. Social workers find more social and family support in rural areas for those who are addicted to pain killers.

Quote: Fleastiff

Urban poor with a strong family structure are better off than rural poor but without that structure its better to be rural poor.

In an urban area you usually have more opportunities to work and hustle. But it costs way more to live urban than rural. I'd say part of it comes down to having a car. Urban it does not matter so much. Rural without a car you are screwed.

In the context of the original post, in 1900 the population of Mexico City was 500K and New York City was 3.437K (almost 7X as large). By the 1970s MC and NYC were roughly the same size. Mexico had only three other cities over 50K, while USA had seventy six.

The entire world was urbanizing. Mexico started in 1900 with very small cities. I am saying it is inevitable that some of the newly urbanized Mexican people would be drawn to USA cities. They would form the kernel around which immigrants would be attracted to in post WWII. The same sort of urbanization in Japan meant that Tokyo and Osaka grew to monstrous size.

The USA made a conscious decision in the Lyndon Johnson administration (when DJT was age 20) to change our immigration laws and permit more immigration from Latin America and Asia and Africa. The current demographic makeup was inevitable.


Cities over 30% Latino in 2006-2008 ranked by percentage with larger cities highlighted
Rank City Percent Hispanic
1 Hialeah, Florida 94.7
2 Laredo, Texas 94.1
3 Brownsville, Texas 92.5
4 McAllen, Texas 81.3
5 El Paso, Texas 80.0 <=============
6 Santa Ana, California 79.0
7 Salinas, California 72.0
8 Pomona, California 71.3
9 Downey, California 70.4
10 Oxnard, California 70.1
11 Miami, Florida 69.4 <=============
12 El Monte, California 68.6
13 Norwalk, California 68.4
14 Ontario, California 64.3
15 Fontana, California 63.1
16 San Antonio, Texas 61.2 <=============
17 Pasadena, Texas 59.2
18 Corpus Christi, Texas 58.1
19 Elizabeth, New Jersey 56.7
20 San Bernardino, California 56.6
21 Chula Vista, California 55.6
22 Paterson, New Jersey 55.1
23 Moreno Valley, California 52.5
24 West Covina, California 52.5
25 Anaheim, California 52.4 <=============
26 Palmdale, California 52.4
27 Inglewood, California 49.2
28 Odessa, Texas 49.2
29 Los Angeles, California 48.4 <=============
30 Riverside, California 47.8
31 Pueblo, Colorado 45.9
32 Victorville, California 45.7
33 Escondido, California 45.1
34 Fresno, California 44.6 <=============
35 Albuquerque, New Mexico 44.0
36 Elgin, Illinois 43.6
37 Dallas, Texas 43.1 <=============
38 Bakersfield, California 42.2
39 Phoenix, Arizona 42.1 <=============
40 Houston, Texas 41.9 <=============
41 Irving, Texas 41.8
42 Hartford, Connecticut 41.4
43 Aurora, Illinois 41.3
44 Corona, California 40.9
45 Visalia, California 40.6
46 Long Beach, California 40.2 <=============
47 Grand Prairie, Texas 40.2
48 Tucson, Arizona 39.5 <=============
49 Garden Grove, California 39.0
50 Providence, Rhode Island 37.6
51 Hayward, California 37.6
52 Orange, California 37.5
53 Garland, Texas 37.3
54 North Las Vegas, Nevada 37.2 <=============
55 Pembroke Pines, Florida 37.2
56 Stockton, California 37.0
57 Miramar, Florida 36.6
58 Lancaster, California 36.5
59 Allentown, Pennsylvania 36.2
60 Glendale, Arizona 36.1
61 Midland, Texas 35.4
62 Austin, Texas 35.0 <=============
63 Richmond, California 34.9
64 Springfield, Massachusetts 34.8
65 Modesto, California 34.4
66 Denver, Colorado 34.1 <=============
67 Costa Mesa, California 34.0
68 Fort Worth, Texas 33.8 <=============
69 Pasadena, California 33.5
70 Oceanside, California 33.5
71 Bridgeport, Connecticut 33.3
72 Fullerton, California 33.0
73 Menifee, California 33.0
74 Rancho Cucamonga, California 32.5
75 Newark, New Jersey 31.9 <=============
76 San Buenaventura, California 31.7
77 San Jose, California 31.5 <=============
78 Lubbock, Texas 30.6
79 Las Vegas, Nevada 30.0 <=============

Quote: Pacomartin

In the context of the original post, in 1900 the population of Mexico City was 500K and New York City was 3.437K (almost 7X as large). By the 1970s MC and NYC were roughly the same size. Mexico had only three other cities over 50K, while USA had seventy six.

The entire world was urbanizing. Mexico started in 1900 with very small cities. I am saying it is inevitable that some of the newly urbanized Mexican people would be drawn to USA cities. They would form the kernel around which immigrants would be attracted to in post WWII. The same sort of urbanization in Japan meant that Tokyo and Osaka grew to monstrous size.

I'm not seeing why Mexicans would be any different than any other group in being attracted to urban areas. Pretty much every group that comes to the USA seeks out urban areas. Settlement to rural areas has usually required some kind of incentive.

Quote: AZDuffman

I'm not seeing why Mexicans would be any different than any other group in being attracted to urban areas. Pretty much every group that comes to the USA seeks out urban areas. Settlement to rural areas has usually required some kind of incentive.

Mexicans are only different by virtue of convenience of access. Prior to 1920 almost all new immigrants arrived by boat. Roughly 12 million came through Ellis Island, and the spread came by population growth once in the USA. Naturally the greatest concentration of immigrants was where the boats landed.

But the rapid worldwide urbanization in the 1920s and 1930s would have largely drawn from people walking or riding a horse or an cheap car a few hundred miles to the nearest urban center. Tokyo was only about 1 million in 1900 and exploded in population. The entire southwest was almost devoid of any large urban center (USA or Mexico), but they were slightly larger on the USA side.

These immigrants formed the kernel that attracted new immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s when the laws were changed.

Population of the Largest Urban Places: 1970 (6 out of 20 cities in the Southwest)
Rank | Place |Population| miles)|sq. mile)
1 New York city, NY *...... 7,894,862 299.7 26,343
2 Chicago city, IL......... 3,366,957 222.6 15,126
3 Los Angeles city, CA..... 2,816,061 463.7 6,073 <================
4 Philadelphia city, PA.... 1,948,609 128.5 15,164
5 Detroit city, MI......... 1,511,482 138.0 10,953
6 Houston city, TX *....... 1,232,802 433.9 2,841 <================
7 Baltimore city, MD....... 905,759 78.3 11,568
8 Dallas city, TX.......... 844,401 265.6 3,179 <================
9 Washington city, DC...... 756,510 61.4 12,321
10 Cleveland city, OH....... 750,903 75.9 9,893
11 Indianapolis city, IN *.. 744,624 379.4 1,963
12 Milwaukee city, WI....... 717,099 95.0 7,548
13 San Francisco city, CA... 715,674 45.4 15,764
14 San Diego city, CA *..... 696,769 316.9 2,199 <================
15 San Antonio city, TX..... 654,153 184.0 3,555 <================
16 Boston city, MA.......... 641,071 46.0 13,936
17 Memphis city, TN *....... 623,530 217.4 2,868
18 St. Louis city, MO....... 622,236 61.2 10,167
19 New Orleans city, LA *... 593,471 197.1 3,011
20 Phoenix city, AZ......... 581,562 247.9 2,346 <================

Quote: Pacomartin

Mexicans are only different by virtue of convenience of access. Prior to 1920 almost all new immigrants arrived by boat. Roughly 12 million came through Ellis Island, and the spread came by population growth once in the USA. Naturally the greatest concentration of immigrants was where the boats landed.

At first they would, but they fanned out to other urban areas for work. Pittsburgh, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, and many others. Agents would go to the docks, needing labor. Or they knew family. This is why so many areas had such a large number of one nationality. Cousin so-and-so can get you a job in the mill in Homestead. He will even give you a room while you find a place. It is natural.