Alexis Wraight

3 April 2016
History of The American City
Raymond Lohne

Midterm Examination
Part I:
1. Using Google Earth Pro & U.S. or NASA resources (EOSDIS, SEDAC), Landsat,
or any GIS archived photos please provide three photographs of an American city
from space in a chronological order. For example, the City of New Orleans. One
photograph would show the city before Hurricane Katrina, one directly after, and
one from this week. Document your sources and briefly describe what is shown.
This first image shows New York City directly before 9/11 occurred:

A few years after the tragedy:

Present Day:

Part II:
In your text there is a discussion of Frederick Jackson Turner and the Frontier Thesis. In
your own words what is this idea and how was it received? Are there any examples in
modern-day America where you see this idea still having impact?
At the 1893 Worlds Columbia Exposition, Frederick Jackson Turner presented an idea
called the Frontier Thesis. Frederick Jackson Turner believed that expansion was the
most important factor in Americas history and he quoted that the existence of free land,
its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward explained
American Development. The frontier released Americans from European mindsets and
the customs that came along with their practices. It was stated in 1890 by the Census
Bureau that all the land in the United States was claimed and there was no longer a
frontier. Frederick Jackson Turner also stated that; Now, four centuries from the
discovery of America, at the end of a hundred years of life under the constitution, the
frontier has gone, and with it s going has closed the first period of American History. In
American Cities today, you can constantly see new buildings and the expansion of the
city limits. We are always pushing the boundaries, creating new laws/ rules, and
expanding and strengthening our frontier.

Part III:
In your text there is a discussion of the idea of a shock city. What do the authors say
this meant?
A shock city is an Urban area/place that is currently experiencing infrastructural
challenges due to rapid and massive urbanization.

Part IIII:
In your text there is a discussion of walking cities. When were these a reality and why?

In the 1964 century a British Architect by the name of Ron Herron had
created a new concept. He proposed to build buildings with robotic
structures that could be easily moved anywhere in the world. Now,
this has obviously never happened, but there are some examples that
can be related to this concept, one being a floating city. Some ships
resemble this idea and have become homes to people serving our
country, etc.