new york washington chicago philadelphia pittsburgh american cities big vegas all have one important thing in common every one of our cities whatever its size or location is a crossroad of the nation supplements were founded as transfer point where there was a change from one form of transport to another for from the beginning tools were needed as well as medicine clothing weapons goods they could get from europe only by trade and trade as always was dependent on transportation by land and by water sprouted around busy handling goods and passengers first on the east coast then on the gulf much later on the west coast other cities likewise near mineral resources some cities grew midway between sources of raw materials used in the manufacture of a finished product such as steel others grew near inland transfer point where products of the surrounding rural region were brought to be stored or shipped to larger markets certain cities that you aided in mild even climate have grown as centers for relaxation and convalescen from the start certainly young talent expanded faster than the rest as commerce grew and transfer points industry business and communication tended to centralise in those cities proximity of raw materials and labor naturally stimulated further grow the greatest expansion followed the civil war industrial centers grew by leaps and bones as factories doubles and triples after eight hundred ninety waves of immigrants many bringing urban skilled swell the size of our city again types of farm machinery cut down the number of people needed on farms young people headed for the cities to live and work and with the passing decade those cities grew fast this that we're situated as transfer points handling goods and services of the nation's most productive area and the gridiron pattern a popular one hundred centuries city plan but due to the incredibly rapid expansion most cities outdistance their planners when there were any and grew into a maze of complexity and confusion this is the profile of a city any city to the left is the center of business next in this department occupy the third the fourth zone has single family homes  metropolitan area grows the zones of play and to take in more area politically metropole areas often straddle state and county boundaries include areas many small political unit that is villages townships there's overlapping complication and conflict in government functions of these various units as regards highways schools water supply and taxes because of this lack of discipline many of our large cities have paid a terrible price milan value in crowded buildings crowded street traffic jams and costly delays in distributing good general decline in warm neighborly relationships far too little chance for fresh air and sunlight a higher cost per person for essential services it is even become difficult for the average citizen to actively take part in his local government but we've come a long way to an exciting era reasons which determine the original location of cities one so significant no longer applies today factories can be built almost anywhere since power can be made available anywhere instantaneous communication makes it possible for parts of the single company to be hundreds of miles apart many plants once dependent on railroads and water transport are today free to the trend is away from the congested ce a difficult perplexing job faces today's city planners we must work within the limits of a basically rigid structure all sections of buildings must be blasted to make way for new avenues and boulevard school playground housing development more efficient more healthy though plagued by such problems as housing and traffic the very size of a large city has certain definite advantages in the abundance of special services the unemployment up to date facilities and the city with its large interested audiences encourages a rich cultural life concert art gallery lectures the theat if we planned well urban americans will someday enjoy more of the advantages of a large city without many of the penalties they now are forced to pay