332 



THE TREND OF THE RACE 



Considering the percentage of people living in towns of 2,500 

 or more inhabitants, the urban population in the United States in 

 1910 was 46.3 per cent and it is not improbably over 50 per cent 

 at the present time. In several states over one-half the popula- 

 tion lived in cities of 8,000 or more in 1910. It is evident that this 

 country, despite its large size and the great extent of its agricul- 

 tural industries, is fast follomng in the wake of the older nations 

 of Europe in the urbanization of its population. In some parts, 

 especially in New England, where the land has become partly 

 exhausted or is relatively arid, the rural population in recent 

 years has shown an actual falling off. 



The growth of cities is due to the following causes: (i) natural 

 increase of their population, (2) migration, and (3) the incor- 

 poration of outlying suburbs. These three factors vary enor- 

 mously in different times and places. Gillette has attempted to 

 estimate the relative share which each of these factors has played 

 in the recent growth of cities in the United States. He separates 

 the migrants into those from rural districts and those from foreign 

 countries and presents the following table indicating the propor- 

 tion derived from these different sources: 



Sources of Urban Growth in the United States 



These figures cannot be more than a rough approximation to 

 the truth owing to the lack of precise and extensive data on the 

 movements of the population. It may be noted that natural 

 increase is responsible for only a relatively small part of the urban 

 growth in this country, and it is equally noteworthy that a 



