Chapter
18 Section 3
Objectives
• Explain why cities grew in the late 1800s.
• Describe the problems city dwellers faced and
the efforts to improve city life.
• Identify the attractions and leisure activities
cities offered.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Terms and People
• urbanization – the rapid growth of city
populations
• tenement – building divided into many tiny
apartments
• Jane Addams – reformer who worked to help
poor city dwellers
• settlement house – center offering help to the
urban poor
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
What were the causes and effects
of the rapid growth of cities?
During the late 1800s, cities were places of
excitement, new ideas, and entertainment.
For the urban poor, however, they were also
places of misery.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
The new Industrial Revolution was a time of
frenzied growth—for businesses, factories, and
cities.
City populations
soared as many
people left farm
life behind.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Many fast-growing cities were located near
waterways because they provided an easy way to
transport goods.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
New technology supported rapid
urbanization.
Changing technology led to dramatic
improvements in public transportation.
• Elevated trains
Urban
transportation
• Electric streetcars
• Subways
• Steel bridges
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Public transportation encouraged cities to expand
outward and allowed people to commute from the
suburbs.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
New technology, like
elevators, helped
cities expand
upward, as well.
Skyscrapers soon
towered over city
skylines.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Most of the people moving to cities were
looking for jobs.
All types of people, including farmers, immigrants,
and African Americans from the South, came to
work in the cities.
Farmers
Immigrants
City
African
Americans
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Fast growth, however, created many problems.
Life in city
tenements was
dismal. Often,
people crowded
together in a
single room with
no windows,
heat, or
plumbing.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Life in some cities could be dangerous—even
deadly.
Overcrowding
Garbage
Urban
problems
Fire
Disease
A fire broke out in
Chicago in 1871
and left 18,000
homeless.
Babies were
especially at risk and
often died before
they reached their
first birthday.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
In the 1880s, cities began to make changes
to improve urban life.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Religious leaders and reformers like Jane
Addams also worked to help the urban poor.
Reformers
Helped the
homeless
Opened
settlement
houses
Worked to
outlaw child
labor
Cities Grow and Change
Set up
hospitals and
clinics
Chapter
18 Section 3
Despite their problems,
cities offered many
benefits.
One of the biggest
attractions was
shopping. Elegant new
department stores
offered many different
goods under one roof.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Also, professional sports teams began to form in
cities.
Basketball was
invented in
1891 and it
quickly
became a
popular winter
sport.
Baseball was
the most
popular sport,
with games
attracting
thousands of
fans.
Football was
also popular,
although it was
very dangerous.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
As the division between work and play became
stricter, cities began to provide a wide variety of
entertainment and leisure activities.
Museums
Theaters
Zoos
Orchestras
Parks
These places of leisure allowed city dwellers to
enjoy art, performances, green grass, and
cleaner air.
Cities Grow and Change
Chapter
18 Section 3
Section Review
QuickTake Quiz
Cities Grow and Change
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