Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Even in the exceptional case of New York, urban sprawl is still marked by the
decline of the inner city and the urbanization of new neighborhoods (greenfield
development) (see Figure 7.2). The case of New York is particularly interesting
because it combines urban sprawl and urban renewal of a scale and magnitude
unparalleled within the United States.
The city of New York was consolidated in 1898 with the annexation of four
counties - beyond that of central New York itself - located on the island of
Manhattan: the Bronx (only county situated on the mainland), Queens and Kings
(Brooklyn) on Long Island, and Richmond County on Staten Island. The city spans
approximately 790 km². In the 2000 census its population was close to 8 million
inhabitants, with a density of a little more than 100 inhabitants/hectare. This is the
densest city in the US. The city had already come close to these numbers in the 1950
census, just before a decline during which the population dropped to its minimum of
nearly 7 million inhabitants in 1980. The population increased in all Boroughs
starting in 1980, even though some neighborhoods in northern Brooklyn, Upper
Manhattan and the South Bronx did lose population between 1970 and 2000.
Unlike central New York City, the older suburbs are still losing population. The
industrial and port cities of New Jersey, located on the right banks of the Hudson,
have lost large numbers of people in some areas, even though urban renewal
operations are underway in some cities like Newark. Similar movements are
observed in counties adjacent to New York, like Nassau County on Long Island.
Unlike densely urbanized city centers, the suburbs of New York are very spread out.
The average density of the greater city is only 16 inhabitants/hectare. In the
periphery of the metropolitan area, the population of medium-sized city centers has
decreased, for example in Trenton, New Jersey, and New Haven, Connecticut,
where urban growth has stayed outside the perimeters of the city centers. In Suffolk
County on Long Island, new development began more than 60 km away from
Manhattan. It only takes 50 km northwest to escape. To the northwest, the peripheral
urban sprawl only extends for 50 km, but the greater city extends continuously for
140 km towards the east on Long Island. Moving southwest, the urban corridor of
New Jersey does not stop at the limits of the metropolitan area of New York, and the
city of Trenton, 85 km away from Manhattan, actually borders the metropolitan area
of Philadelphia. Urban sprawl is even more considerable heading northeast into
Connecticut; the metropolitan area of Hartford is adjacent to New York.
Other major US cities also present interesting cases which merit further study.
Greater Chicago is characterized by its compactness and the abrupt break between
its declining inner city and its compact ring of growing suburbs, but there are also
urban renewal programs underway in some neighborhoods (see Figure 7.3).
