"Urban history is a field of history that examines the historical nature of cities and towns, and the process of urbanization. The approach is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, urban sociology, urban geography, business history, and archaeology."
The study of cities and how they have developed and evolved over time.
Industrialization and Urbanization: The growth of industries and manufacturing led to the rapid expansion and development of urban areas.
Immigration: The influx of immigrants from different countries and cultures had a significant impact on the social and economic development of urban areas.
Social Movements: The rise of various social movements, such as labor unions and civil rights organizations, had a profound impact on the shape and structure of urban spaces.
Urban Planning and Design: The development and organization of cities and towns, including the design of public spaces and the creation of transportation networks, has played an important role in shaping urban history.
Gentrification: The process of renovating and improving urban neighborhoods, often resulting in the displacement of lower-income residents, has become a contentious issue in recent urban history.
Redlining: The practice of denying loans, insurance policies, and other financial services to individuals and communities based on their race or ethnicity has had a lasting impact on urban development and inequality.
Urban Renewal: The redevelopment of urban areas through demolition and rebuilding has been a controversial topic, as it often leads to the displacement of long-time residents and a loss of historic structures.
Suburbanization: The movement of people and businesses from urban areas to suburbs and exurbs has had a profound impact on urban development and social dynamics.
Environmental Justice: The intersection of environmental issues and social justice has become increasingly important in urban history, as communities of color and low-income neighborhoods have often been disproportionately affected by pollution and other environmental hazards.
Racial and Ethnic Segregation: The historical and ongoing patterns of racial and ethnic segregation in urban areas have had a significant impact on the social, economic, and political landscape of cities and towns.
Housing and Homelessness: The availability and affordability of housing, as well as the issue of homelessness, have been ongoing challenges in urban areas throughout history.
"Urbanization and industrialization were popular themes for 20th-century historians, often tied to an implicit model of modernization, or the transformation of rural traditional societies."
"The history of urbanization focuses on the processes by which existing populations concentrate in urban localities over time, and on the social, political, cultural, and economic contexts of cities."
"Most urban scholars focus on the 'metropolis,' a large or especially important city. There is much less attention to small cities, towns or (until recently) suburbs."
"Social historians find small cities much easier to handle because they can use census data to cover or sample the entire population."
"In the United States from the 1920s to the 1990s, many of the most influential monographs began as one of the 140 PhD dissertations at Harvard University directed by Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. (1888-1965) or Oscar Handlin (1915-2011)."
"The field grew rapidly after 1970."
"One prominent scholar, Stephan Thernstrom, noted that urban history apparently deals with cities, or with city-dwellers, or with events that transpired in cities, with attitudes toward cities – which makes one wonder what is not urban history."
"The approach [of urban history] is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, urban sociology, urban geography, business history, and archaeology."
"Urban history is a field of history that examines the historical nature of cities and towns, and the process of urbanization."
"Urbanization and industrialization were popular themes for 20th-century historians, often tied to an implicit model of modernization, or the transformation of rural traditional societies."
"The history of urbanization focuses on the social, political, cultural, and economic contexts of cities."
"There is much less attention to small cities, towns or (until recently) suburbs."
"The field grew rapidly after 1970."
"In the United States from the 1920s to the 1990s, many of the most influential monographs began as one of the 140 PhD dissertations at Harvard University directed by Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. (1888-1965) or Oscar Handlin (1915-2011)."
"The approach is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, urban sociology, urban geography, business history, and archaeology."
"Social historians find small cities much easier to handle because they can use census data to cover or sample the entire population."
"The field grew rapidly after 1970."
"One prominent scholar, Stephan Thernstrom, noted that urban history apparently deals with cities, or with city-dwellers, or with events that transpired in cities, with attitudes toward cities – which makes one wonder what is not urban history."
"The approach is often multidisciplinary, crossing boundaries into fields like social history, architectural history, urban sociology, urban geography, business history, and archaeology."