A city transformed: manufacturing districts and suburban growth in Montreal, 1850–1929

This paper examines the development of Montreal's industrial geography between 1850 and 1929. It is argued that a decisive feature of the evolution of the city's industrial and social landscape was the emergence of industrial districts on the moving urban frontier. The formation of new sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of historical geography Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 20 - 35
Main Author Lewis, Robert D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2001
San Francisco, CA Academic Press
New York, NY
Subjects
Bgi / Prodig
Cities
Contemporary times
Geography
Growth industries
Historical geography
Historical section
History
Industrial development
Suburban areas
Canada
Montréal
Quebec
Montreal Quebec Canada
Industrialization
Urban structure
Historical geography
Twentieth Century
Suburbs
Nineteenth Century
Centrality
Suburbanization
Capitalism
Industrial district
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Summary:This paper examines the development of Montreal's industrial geography between 1850 and 1929. It is argued that a decisive feature of the evolution of the city's industrial and social landscape was the emergence of industrial districts on the moving urban frontier. The formation of new suburban districts and the reorganization of existing industrial districts were part of a developing urban spatial division of manufacturing. Three critical features underlay the restructuring of Montreal's industrial geography after 1850. Waves of industrial expansion and the development of a range of production trajectories altered the parameters of location within the city. Working-class suburbanization provided the requisite labour force for firms locating on the periphery. Local political and economic alliances created the physical, ideological and legal structures for suburban industrial growth and the rearrangement of the urban fabric.
ISSN:0305-7488
1095-8614
DOI:10.1006/jhge.2000.0267