Vol. 22, No. 1/2, Spring 1984 - "Small Town Development"
(pp. 1 – 7)
John Fraser Hart
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Abstract
No one would be foolish enough to argue that the small town is a miniature version of the metropolis, but the small town and the metropolis do have many traits in common, and many of the basic principles of urban geography -- why cities exist, and what makes them tick -- are just as obvious In the small town as they are in the metropolis, and in the small town they are much easier to understand and appreciate.
TAKING THE GEOGRAPHIC PULSE OF SMALL TOWN INDUSTRY: A BERKS CO., PENNSYLVANIA SAMPLE
(pp. 7 - 13)
Allen R. Schutt, Professor Emeritus
Kutztown University
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
Abstract
The field experience resembles a reading of barometric pressure, the high or low is related to the enthusiasm of the leader. In this case a field experience was brought to life through the detailed development of a guide that serves as an interesting journal article as well as a resourceful field notebook.
THE GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES UPON THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF THE UNION CANAL
(pp. 14 – 21)
Richard N. Pawling
Reading Area Community College
Reading, Pennsylvania
Abstract
As a direct result of this "Philadelphia-Baltimore trade rivalry", Philadelphia recognized the necessity of a transportation system that would connect it with the rich agricultural interior of the Susquehanna Valley. Due to the lack of economically profitable roads to the interior, it was hoped that a canal could be built connecting the Schuylkill River with the Susquehanna River -- thus creating a "Golden Link" to the West.
DEMOGRAPHIC MEASURES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF POST-FRONTIER REGIONS
(pp. 21 – 30)
Thomas A. Rumney
Keene State College
Keene, New Hampshire
Abstract
Much of the literature concerning the nineteenth century in the United States has concentrated on initial frontier settlement, the growth and development of the Trans-Appalachian West, and the integration of vast areas into an increasingly urban-industrial core region. The works of Pred, Ward, Vance and others have attempted to create a framework within which the geographic dimensions of expansion and development might be understood. While there is little doubt that such efforts have succeeded to a large extent, it would be far from accurate to conclude that territorial and economic integration with increasing productivity per capita and improving qualities of life were the entire basis for the historical geography of nineteenth century America. Not all regions continued to progress in these terms after their initial frontier phase. Spatial integration was not automatic, nor was it necessarily always a positive change. Some regions merged easily into the national scene, while others did so only with great difficulty and not always advantageously. The differential nature of such integration of peripheries with cores has been examined by Friedmann, Conzen, Walsh and others. Several questions remain, however. How does a region adjust to a post-frontier situation? How does a region that has experienced a booming frontier period, and that later served as a springboard for settlement in other areas, react to adjust to stabilizing or declining population and economic conditions? How does one actually delimit the time period of when a region changes from its frontier phase of settlement to a post-frontier phase which may or may not be a "successful" phase of development for that region?