Themes in American History

Starting from the mid nineteenth century, the populations of New York and Chicago were growing exponentially. Consistent with such urban development there has been a widespread increase in wealth and the desire to improve living conditions. It had become obvious that the formless growth of the city is neither economical or desirable, and that overcrowding and traffic congestion had paralyzed the every day functions of both cities. Chicago, in common with New York, realized that it was time to bring order out of the chaotic growth that its diversified populations brought. As a result, in 1906 the Commercial Club of Chicago along with Daniel Burnham, a gifted architect and an American planner, came up with the Plan of Chicago. The plan included the building of the park system, lakes, beaches, gardens and public squares as well as expanding transportation and areas available for public recreation.

The video attached shows that Burnham has also designed some of the most famous buildings in New York city. Among them is the flatiron building, located on 23rd street and Broadway, which is only a few blocks away from Baruch college. However, the biggest project in his career was the Chicago’s world fair.

Thus, one of the similarities of urban development in 20th century between New York and Chicago was the city planning and architecture; which sometimes involved the same people working on the projects of each city. Perhaps no other metropolis was more immediately affected by the influence of New York regional planning efforts than Chicago, where civic leaders initiated designs of the best plans for architectural and infrastructural improvement, of which Daniel Burnham was a leading example.

Source: The film is produced by The Archimedia Workshop in consultation with Kartemquin Educational Films, 2007

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