[ProudFairfielder]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: "Metro North's last stop is New Haven".

Sometimes a cigar is just cigar.

I'm sorry but I can't disagree more, especially in such an auto-centric nation. Are you arguing that New Haven is more tied to NYC than Weston?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: "Metro North's last stop is New Haven".

Sometimes a cigar is just cigar.

New Haven was a major city long before the railroads came. For many years it was the largest city in the state. It served as the part-time state capitol (shared with Hartford) until 1879 when Hartford was made the permanent capitol of our state. The reason the New Haven line ends there is because the New Haven Railroad which built and operated the New Haven Line, was based in New Haven and they reached out to other major cities like Hartford and New York with their railroad lines. Jay

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: "Metro North's last stop is New Haven".

Sometimes a cigar is just cigar.

Doesn't really explain it, as CT's cities were core producers and major employment centres for their entire history, as they were also principal ports-of-entry for immigrants.

Each of the Big Cities absolutely swelled to the breaking point before the limited access highways opened up the surrounding land to cheap development. In 1950 Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport had almost 180k residents each and the initial suburbs absorbed a lot of that population shift.

But I also totally forgot about the geography issue in CT... a few miles from the coast and the land was too hilly to sustain early dense development and that just kind of kept.

[seymourct]

I think part of what you're missing in your thinking is history, history and the lay of the land and riverways , and of people's love of steady habits, and mid-state railroad routes of now defunct rail lines to greater New England that didn't require you going all the way east before turning upward.
Again rivers, rivers, rivers
So here in Seymour founded in the 1640s- because of the river access.. Was eventually literally the first business venture site of the industrial revolutionary age in the colonies, on our waterfalls. The idea brought here after seeing factories driven on water power in England.. Stratford founded late 1630s was a deep sea port, that had inland river access. Way before we worried about polluting the sound, a lot of shipping and manufacturing carried boats right from the coast up the rivers.
Some of the oldest homes up & down the rivers had roof turrets "widows watch" windows.. Looking for the boats.

So, Why would people go farther east away from the ports that also then require longer transport times over difficult hilly woody terrain.

[Hudlander]

Originally Posted by MisterStereoman

Ohh, there's a lot of history there to look into.
The history of industrialization, that machine that brings people together and creates cities.
With industrialization, you have to add communication, power (electricity) and transportation.
Hartford and New Haven (the old co-capital cities of the state) were the biggest hubs of progress in the 19th century. Other cities were also notable, like Bridgeport, Waterbury, New Britain, Danbury, Meriden -- you could be near a lot of this history nowadays taking a ride along State route 15 (Merritt, Wilbur Cross). Yes, the arc turns northward at New Haven. What was to the east of New Haven? Fishing towns, mostly. And whaling (New London, Norwich). The industrial revolution didn't do a lot for that stretch of the state.
And the NY NH & H railroad would bring many commuters to NYC and pump up the populations from Greenwich to NH.
As far a question two, yup, not cut and dry at all. For instance, take Stratford. In 1920 to 1960 I'd guess the typical Stratford man worked in a factory in Bridgeport (hence suburb of Bridgeport). But with the rise of cars, trucks & electricity (no need to stay inside the cities) by the 70s and 80s that Stratford man's (or woman's) job might be in Bridgeport or Stratford or Milford or Trumbull or Shelton or Hamden or wherever his (or her) wheels could take him. And by this century he or she is very unlikely to be working in Bridgeport (no suburb anymore?). And throughout this time some of his and her neighbors may have been hitting the train to Manhattan for their work. (NYC suburb? well, I said "some" of the neighbors, not "most." ).
It's not an easy question!

Originally Posted by JayCT

It has to do with these cities having good protectable navigable harbors. They developed around the waterfront when boats were the major form of transportation. East of New Haven, the few harbors are shallow and not easy to protect from intruders. Without that, a town cannot attract the businesses needed to create a city out of a small town. Jay

So basically, CT urbanization goes from Stamford to NH up to Hartford (as well as Danbury-Waterbury) due to rivers and harbors?

The lack of deep harbors EAST of NH is why the urbanization stops, ergo, IF eastern CT had deep water ports at Old Saybrook and New London, the pattern of urbanization east of NH would be similar to west of NH?

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Hudlander

So basically, CT urbanization goes from Stamford to NH up to Hartford (as well as Danbury-Waterbury) due to rivers and harbors?

The lack of deep harbors EAST of NH is why the urbanization stops, ergo, IF eastern CT had deep water ports at Old Saybrook and New London, the pattern of urbanization east of NH would be similar to west of NH?

It seems it would be more likely. That said, New London did not grow larger and it has a deep water harbor. Then again it seems more open to the open waters of Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean than cities like New Haven or Bridgeport. Jay

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by Hudlander

So basically, CT urbanization goes from Stamford to NH up to Hartford (as well as Danbury-Waterbury) due to rivers and harbors?

Pretty much, it started with using the water of the rivers to power the factories and then later to move produced goods.

Originally Posted by Hudlander

The lack of deep harbors EAST of NH is why the urbanization stops, ergo, IF eastern CT had deep water ports at Old Saybrook and New London, the pattern of urbanization east of NH would be similar to west of NH?

Funnily enough the Connecticut River is one of, if not the largest, major rivers without a major city at it's mouth. The silt from the Connecticut Lakes that feed the river creates a massive sandbar that constantly rebuilds itself. Between the Collegiate School moving to New Haven and lack of a port that could handle the bigger ships Old Saybrook was never going to be a major city.

Actually the silt bar is kind of pretty to see from satellites.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connec...icut_River.jpg

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by ProudFairfielder

I'm sorry but I can't disagree more, especially in such an auto-centric nation. Are you arguing that New Haven is more tied to NYC than Weston?

The OP posed this question.......
"So now that this is established, as a Geographer, what I don't understand, why does this urbanization 'stop' once you get east of New Haven?"

My answer..........
"Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: Metro North's last stop is New Haven..........Sometimes a cigar is just cigar."

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by CTartist

The OP posed this question.......
"So now that this is established, as a Geographer, what I don't understand, why does this urbanization 'stop' once you get east of New Haven?"

My answer..........
"Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: Metro North's last stop is New Haven..........Sometimes a cigar is just cigar."

Which doesn't include Central CT which also makes up the urban spine of CT...

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by CTartist

The OP posed this question.......
"So now that this is established, as a Geographer, what I don't understand, why does this urbanization 'stop' once you get east of New Haven?"

My answer..........
"Everyone is analyzing it too much. It is as simple as this: Metro North's last stop is New Haven..........Sometimes a cigar is just cigar."

Actually New Haven is Metro North’s New Haven line’s first stop. Most of the trains start out from the New Haven Railyard which is located adjacent to Union Station. Jay