Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
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USA
MSA
Central City
suburbs
Figure 8.16.
Detroit-Ann Arbor-Flint CMS, demographic growth, 1970-2000
A review of the Atlanta and Detroit cases shows that the same major cleavages
affect the urban geographies of American cities, whether growing or in decline. The
two cases studied, however, do not fully reflect the ethnic diversity of American
cities. Indeed, recent immigration has transformed the social geography of many
metropolitan areas of the West and the South (see Chapter 4), where in only a few
years Chinatowns and Latino neighborhoods remind us that American cities were
already marked by the multiplicity of ethnic enclaves, even during the great wave of
European immigration (1865-1915).
Despite a number of similarities, city landscapes show clear regional variations.
While Atlanta clearly illustrates the situation of cities in the Southeast, and Detroit is
clearly representative of the Northeast and the Rustbelt, we will consider two further
examples: one from the Southwest and illustrating the impact of Hispanic migration
on urban spatial geography, and an example from the Northwest where a city with a
more homogeneous population produced a less fragmented social geography. Our
examples are Houston, Texas, and Portland, Oregon.
8.1.3.
Houston
The coastal zone west of the Mississippi is not suitable for urban settlement. In
fact, Houston itself did not develop on the sea, but 75 km inland. Houston was
founded as the capital of the short-lived Republic of Texas (1836-45), but lost its
status as capital when the state entered the Union. Nevertheless, Houston remained
an important center for the export of Texas cotton. In the 19th century, Houston was
overwhelmed by the nearby island city of Galveston which offered a good port site
in view of the navigation conditions of the day. But Galveston was destroyed by a
hurricane in 1900 that killed more than 6,000 people. The city was rebuilt, but is
