There isn’t just one answer to the question, “How did the elevator impact the growth of cities in the U.S.?” Elevators have shaped modern cities in many different ways.
Elevator systems in the U.S. date back to the Industrial Revolution. Elevator technology, like elevator video monitoring, has come a long way since then. But it continues to affect the country and help cities throughout it grow.
Today, there are about one million elevators in the U.S., including many in major cities like New York City. Here are several key ways they’ve impacted urban growth.
Enables Them To Grow Vertically
Most major cities aren’t small by any stretch of the imagination. For example, the Big Apple covers about 470 square miles, including over 300 square miles of land.
Still, when NYC was first founded in the 1600s, this land was gobbled up quickly. It was considered prime real estate, and this alone could have limited the city’s growth.
However, this didn’t happen since the elevator was eventually invented, helping NYC grow vertically instead of horizontally. Rather than covering NYC with single- and double-story businesses, developers began building skyscrapers, such as the Tower Building, equipped with elevators in the late 1800s.
These skyscrapers are the most obvious answer to the question, “How did the elevator impact the growth of cities?” By building up, they made it possible for developers to cram more residential and commercial properties into NYC.
Increases Their Populations
The elevator did more than just allow cities to build up and experience growth in this way. It also helped dramatically increase their populations. NYC, for example, has a population of over eight million due in part to the invention of elevators.
Without elevators, New Yorkers wouldn’t have the option to buy or rent residences in multi-story buildings. These buildings have helped people find places to live in New York and likely kept the average housing cost more stable than it might be otherwise.
Fills Them With Tourist Attractions
Cities like NYC attract tens of millions of tourists each year. Over 60 million tourists travel to NYC annually to see what it’s all about. This also helps answer the question, “How did the elevator impact the growth of cities?”
If elevators didn’t exist, it’s safe to say that NYC attractions like the Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center wouldn’t, either. As a result, NYC would welcome — and accommodate — fewer tourists.
Elevators have kept tourists coming back to big cities. This is yet another factor contributing to elevators’ positive influence on the growth and urbanization of U.S. cities.
The Question, “How Did the Elevator Impact the Growth of Cities?” Has Many Answers
These are just some answers to the question, “How did the elevator impact the growth of cities?” You could also argue that elevators have kept cities growing by making them more accessible.
ELEVATE Monitoring is here to help those who offer elevators in their office buildings, apartment buildings, and other types of buildings. Reach out to us for assistance with improving elevator safety.
