Most towns were crucial to the initial colonization and economic development of the Great Plains. Many were, directly or indirectly, creatures of railroad corporate planning, owing their location as well as their physical layout to the townsite companies controlled by railroad officials. This article examines how these facts shaped the fundamental…

Reviews some of the key changes affecting the Chicago region and examines the degree to which they have or have not altered the evolving spatial structure of metropolitan Chicago. Traces the historical legacy, economic matrix, and shifting social patterns, concluding Chicago has more human/urban depth than most western metropolises. (TRS)