Blog #3

The map we created in lab last Monday shows population density per acre in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs for the year 1920. Based on this map, it appears that the areas with the highest population density are located within Manhattan. While there are areas that have more than 651 people per acre in Brooklyn and the Bronx, population density in Manhattan appears to be far more concentrated. The areas with the highest population density appear to be the Lower East Side and East Harlem. This map supports the historical argument that the most densely populated areas are the poorest areas. During the late 19th Century, the Lower East Side and East Harlem had large immigrant populations. Thus the high population density in these neighborhoods supports the notion of crowing within immigrant communities and the corresponding association of poverty.

I found it interesting that the areas in Manhattan with the highest population density were also the areas that developed first as the city grew over the course of the 19th century. In a way, the population density map reflects patterns of growth in Manhattan, suggesting that the areas that were settled first have the highest population density decades later. Lower Manhattan has a low population density in 1920, and this makes sense as the area was highly commercialized and business district. The Lower East Side appears heavily populated, as it was during the 19th century. The Upper East Side appears to have a higher population density than the Upper West Side, but this makes sense as the Upper East Side was developed first. East Harlem had a residential settlement fairly early on compared to the rest of Upper Manhattan, and by 1920 East Harlem appears to be one of the most populated parts of Manhattan. Based on this observation, this map suggests that early development in the 19th century predisposed areas to high population density by the early 20th century.