Population Density in Nineteenth-Century American Urbanism

C Arsen, G Baics & L Meisterlin “Population Density in Nineteenth-Century American Urbanism.” Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 2024, 114(9): 2104-2131. DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2024.2369597

Abstract

Population density and size are the most commonly used metrics for defining modern cities and urbanism. Yet unlike size, density has been overlooked in systematic analyses of the historical development of the U.S. urban system. Deploying large-scale geocoded census microdata on forty major cities in 1880, this article contributes to a systematic understanding of density in late-nineteenth-century U.S. urbanism. Methodologically, we make the case for a block-level, population-weighted density measure that reflects the experience of density and is transferable to other urban contexts. Thematically, we use this measure to compare density across cities, outlining regionally distinct patterns in density and identifying the built environment as a contributing factor to high- versus low-density urban development, and to explore density within cities across population subgroups, finding that immigrants, racial minorities, and lower class residents experienced higher densities at a time when high density increased exposure to health risks. Additionally, throughout the article we draw out preliminary findings worthy of future research about density conditions for particular cities, places, and demographic subgroups. Key Words: GIS, inequality, nineteenth-century cities, population density, urban history, U.S. urban system.

Data

The paper is published with original datasets including 1880 city block shapefiles for the forty cities examined in the paper as well as the block-level population density per individual represented in these cities’ 1880 census records.

Related

Nov 2019. “Testing Wirth: Exploring Population Size and Density in the 19th-Century American City” [conference paper] presented at the Annual Meeting of the Social Sciences History Association.