1 of 19

Urbanization Game

2 of 19

Urbanization Game

Use PEN 🖊 for your design
Print your names on the line at the top left
Take out your ID card (for measuring purposes)

**Everything you draw should be about ½-1 inch (unless otherwise stated)**

3 of 19

This activity is fast-paced so get ready to listen and react quickly!

You will be drawing, but this activity isn’t about your artistic ability.

Instead, focus on the symbolic meaning of the activity.

4 of 19

TEMPLATE

5 of 19

Town - 1700

Add a 4x4 inch square to be the commons anywhere on your map.

Hint: Your ID is about 4 inches long.
NOTHING GOES INSIDE THIS SQUARE RIGHT NOW

Add another shop
Draw 50 trees.

10

2

1

50

1

We begin our story in the year 1700. The setting is a rural village in England. Life here is, in many ways, similar to village life in other parts of eighteenth-century Europe. There are about 300 people living in this village and life moves at a relatively slow pace. Most people in this community have lived in the same village for generations. Life revolves around people’s work and the church, which happens to be the tallest building in the village. Most people work at home, either as farmers or as local artisans such as carpenters, blacksmiths, and textile makers. Many homes had an additional building that served as a workshop. All members of the family, including children, worked from sunrise to sunset. Life revolved around the family unit and the local community. People often married others within their community and did so at an early age, usually in their teens. Women generally had at least one child, and usually more, before the age of 20. This would have been considered middle-aged, as life expectancy was about 40 years of age. Infant mortality rates were high, with one out of every three babies, on average, dying before they reached their first birthday. Social hierarchies existed in all English villages, but these weren’t as rigidly defined as in other areas of Europe such as those in France. Most English villagers were subsistence farmers who were considered poor. Owning enough land to produce enough food to feed your family was the key to your family’s well-being and survival. A few members of the village were of the middle class, with a bit more money than the average farmer. These members of the middle class owned larger properties either in or near the village. However, most members of the middle to upper classes lived in larger cities such as London.

6 of 19

1745

A large house (your home) anywhere you wish on the map. Label your home with a $.
Draw the canal that provided the profits to build your home. This should be drawn parallel to the river.

NOTE: If you must erase something, you must rebuild it elsewhere. Trees are fair game and DO NOT have to be redrawn.

10

2

1

50

1

The year is 1745 and you’ve decided to invest some money and have your private company build a canal. The reasoning behind your decision has to do with the fact that England has a number of rivers whereby goods and raw materials can travel. One of these rivers runs directly through your hometown. Your business idea paid off and you’ve amassed a lot of profits! Now raw materials such as coal can be directly transported to your town via the river rather than on horse-drawn wagons. The price to transport products, especially heavy products, along waterways rather than by horse is much lower (and faster)! You take some of these profits and build a large home. Add the following items to your drawing. You’ll have about 2 minutes to draw these.• A large house (your home) anywhere you wish on the map. Label your home with a $.• Draw the canal that provided the profits to build your home. This should be drawn parallel to the river.

7 of 19

1760

Shrink your Commons to 2x2 (one-quarter of what it was).

The rest of the Commons is now open for development.

Add 10 houses
Add 1 more nice house labeled with a $

20

2

1

50

1

2

By 1760, England is in the middle of a huge growth in population. Sewage systems, which dispose of waste in the canals and eventually the ocean, were constructed. As a result, diseases, including the plague, aren’t as prevalent. In addition, agricultural innovations such as the use of fertilizers and crop rotation increase the production of food. With these new farming practices, farmers who own large tracts of land petition Parliament to pass the Enclosure Acts. These acts allow landowners to purchase tracts of common land from the government to maximize agriculture production. Shrink your Commons to 2x2 (one-quarter of what it was). This is private property. The rest of the Commons is now open for development. Add the following items to your drawing. You’ll have about 3 minutes to complete this portion. Add the following items to your drawing. Add 10 new houses for a total of 20 houses in your village.• Add another large house and mark it with a $

8 of 19

1775

1 water-powered factory near the river (NO smoke)
Add 20 houses
Add 1 church
Add 1 pub
Add 1 store
Add roads to connect buildings
Add 1 more bridge crossing the river

40

3

2

50

1

2

1

2

In 1771, Richard Arkwright obtains a patent for a machine that revolutionizes the speed at which cloth can be spun and woven. This invention is known as the “water frame” since it was—you guessed it—powered by water. However, the machine is so large and bulky that Arkwright has to construct a building just to house the machine and the workers who run it. The machine (and the building that houses it) must be located near a river, which powers it. Arkwright is thus credited with building one of the first textile factories in England (although he would later lose a court case and his patent because it was alleged that he stole the idea from one of his workers). The machine spins and weaves cotton so quickly that by 1775, additional workers are needed to run the machines in the factory. And since there are an increasing number of poor families in your region due to the loss of small farms as a result of the Enclosure Acts, people begin moving to your village to work in the factory. With the influx of new people in your village, another church and more shops are needed. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 5 minutes to do so.• Draw a water-powered factory positioned near the river.• Add 20 new houses for a total of 40.• Add an additional church, another pub, and another store.• Add more roads and another bridge crossing the river.

9 of 19

1780

Add 5 factories near the river
Add 5 new houses near the river
5 tenement buildings (apartments) near the river
Add 1 store near the river
Add 1 pub near the river
Add 1 church near the river
1 school for the wealthy children, removed from the river area, labeled with a $
Add some new roads connecting factories, houses, churches, schools, and canals

45

4

3

50

1

3

1

2

6

5

1

Arkwright makes a huge profit from his factory and soon his success is the talk of your village and all the surrounding villages. By 1775, construction has started on five more factories. This completely changes the landscape around the river, as all of these factories need water to power the machines. The new owners of the factories are being called capitalists because they’ve had to put down a considerable amount of money (capital) to build the factories, install the water frames, import the raw materials, pay the factory workers an hourly wage, and turn a profit on top of all of this. By 1780, large numbers of unemployed farmers from your county and other counties have moved to your village to work in the newly built factories. Individual houses can’t be built fast enough to house all of the new workers, nor do these factory workers have enough money to purchase or rent an entire home. Some capitalists devise a new way to make money: They begin converting public buildings or old farmhouses into apartment buildings (tenements). These buildings would house multiple families. With this large influx of people, more shops and services are needed. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 5 minutes to do this.• Add 5 factories near the river.• Add 5 new houses and 5 tenement (apartment) buildings.• Add another store, an additional pub, and one more church. Make sure these new buildings are near the river to accommodate the growing number of factory workers.• Add a school for the children of wealthy families, slightly removed from the river and factories.• Add new roads connecting factories, houses, churches, schools, and canals.

10 of 19

1782

Add 5 pubs
Destroy (draw over) 5 houses
Add 4 tenements
Add 2 large homes labeled with a $
Add factory near the river
Add 15 more houses for the factory managers

55

4

8

50

1

3

1

4

7

9

1

*Note: from this point on trees may be removed (drawn over) if you need space.**

The average workday in a factory begins at six in the morning and ends at nine at night. Many of these workers only have one break for lunch and if they’re lucky (and have a nice factory owner), they might have another short break for dinner. Most factory workers are overworked and have very little money with which to support their families. Many retreat to the pub to drink away their problems. By contrast, the factory owners and managers have a lot more money because their businesses are booming. These families live in large houses and can afford to send their children to school. Some factory owners even build additional factories along the river with the profits made from their original factory. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 3 minutes to do so. Note: if you begin running out of room then you may remove some trees.• Add 5 pubs, destroy 5 houses for a total of 40, and then add 4 tenements.• Add 2 large homes labeled with a $. • Add another factory and an additional 15 houses for factory managers.

11 of 19

1785

Add 10 steam/coal-powered factories, with smoke, away from the river
Add smoke to all the existing factories previously built along the river
Add another nice house labeled with a $
Add 5 more houses for factory managers
Add 1 tenement for workers

60

4

8

50ish

1

3

1

5

17

10

1

In 1785, James Watt creates a new machine known as the steam engine. This new engine replaces Arkwright’s water frame and leads to some revolutionary changes. Watt’s steam engine is faster, and it runs on coal-powered steam rather than water. Now factories can be constructed away from rivers. Capitalists use their profits from their water-frame factories to upgrade their machines to steam engines. New capitalists also begin to build steam-powered factories away from the river. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 3 minutes to do so.• Add 10 steam- or coal-powered factories (with smoke and away from the river).• Add smoke to all factories previously built along the river.• Add another nice house labeled with a $.• Add 5 more houses for factory managers and 1 more tenement.

12 of 19

1815

Add 2 coal mines
Add 5 houses
Add cemetery
Add some roads connecting these places

65

4

8

3

2

5

17

10

1

50ish

By 1800, England is flooded with a number of new inventions. Henry Cort creates the puddling process, which allows coal to become the main fuel for the iron industry. Even larger factories are constructed in your town and your canal is now used to transport iron around the country. With the demand for coal increasing for a variety of uses such as for powering steam engines, iron production, and heating homes and tenements, more coal mines are built. Mining is dangerous and extremely hazardous to one’s health but many people work in the mines, including children as young as 8. Most of these coal miners are malnourished and in poor health. As a result, death rates in your town increase. Add the following items to your drawing. Add the following to your drawing. You have 3 minutes to do so.• Add 2 new coal mines.• Replace the wooden bridge crossing the river with an iron one.• Add 5 new houses.• Add another cemetery.• Add new roads connecting these new places

13 of 19

1827

Add a rail line connecting ALL of the factories and coal mines in your town
Add 5 houses
Add 2 pubs
Add 2 tenements
Add 1 jail

70

4

10

3

2

5

17

12

1

50ish

By 1820, the roads and canals cannot keep up with the transport of textiles and iron in your town. Luckily for your town, advances in transportation are being attempted including using a steam engine to power a locomotive. Soon, a railway line is constructed through your town that connects the factories and coal mines. As a result of the new rail lines, more and more people move to your community. Then, in order to make sure that profits continue to grow, the capitalists in your town begin to shift their workforce from mainly men and children to women and children. The economics are simple: Factory owners can pay women and children about half as much as men. One result of this change in the workforce is a redefining of men and women’s roles in the family. Women and children are out of the home for most of the day, and increasingly men deal with their loss of income and the perceived lowering of their social status by turning to alcohol and crime. The family unit that had existed for centuries begins to erode. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 3 minutes to do so.• Add a rail line connecting all of the factories and coal mines in your town.• Add 5 more houses.• Add 2 more pubs, 2 tenements, and 1 jail.

14 of 19

1838

Add 20 street lamps along the streets of your town
Add 2 hospitals
Add 1 cemetery

70

4

10

3

5

17

12

1

50ish

20

2

More innovations come to your town, including gas lamps, invented as a by-product of heating coal at extreme temperatures in the iron-making process. London is one of the first cities to use gas to power streetlamps. Soon, most towns in England use gas lamps to light streets and then homes. But with many of these positive innovations also come negative effects of industrialization. Working conditions in the factories are dangerous. Long working hours and heavy machinery leads to numerous accidents and death. And since there aren’t insurance programs for health or unemployment, those unable to work are left without any income. Add the following items to your drawing. You have 2 minutes to do so.• Add 20 streetlamps along the streets of your town.• Add 2 hospitals and an additional cemetery.

15 of 19

1842

Add another rail line running east-west
Add 5 houses
Add 1 tenement
Add 2 theater/museums
Add 2 schools
Add large home labeled with a $

75

4

10

3

6

17

13

1

50ish

20

2

16 of 19

1850

Add 1 cemetery
Add 1 jail
Add 1 hospital
Add 20 houses
Add 5 tenements
Add 2 stores
Add 1 church
Add 5 more factories
Add 1 pub
Add 2 more large houses with a $
Special building = City Hall

80

6

11

3

4

8

22

18

1

50ish

20

3

2

By 1845, health conditions in your town have become dismal. Everything seems to be covered in soot from the factories. The river is polluted. A new kind of disease seems to be increasing in your town: cancer. The town now looks like a city and it’s overcrowded. The poor conditions in your city have also increased the incidence of depression and alcoholism. As a result, suicide rates increase rapidly. But nothing seems to be stopping capitalists from building more factories and from your city growing more and more crowded. Add the following to your drawing. You have 2 minutes to do so.• Add another cemetery and jail along with an additional hospital.• Add 20 houses, 5 tenements, 2 stores, another church, 5 more factories, another pub, 2 more large houses with a $, and another special building that is labeled “city hall”.

17 of 19

EXIT TICKET

On your slip of paper…

Write your name
Define the term urbanization based on what you now know about industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries. [1-2 GOOD sentences]

TURN IN YOUR EXIT TICKET BEFORE YOU EXIT THE CLASSROOM!

18 of 19

“Were we required to characterise this age of ours by any single phrase, we should be tempted to call it, not an Heroical, Philosophical, or Moral Age, but, above all others, the Mechanical Age. It is the Age of Machinery, in every outward and inward sense of that word; the age which, with its whole undivided might, teaches and practises the great art of adapting means to ends. Nothing is now done directly, or by hand; all is by rule and calculated contrivance... Our old modes of exertion are all discredited and thrown aside. The living artisan is driven from his workshop to make room for a speedier, inanimate one.”

Excerpt from “Signs of the Times,” an essay by the Scottish philosopher, historian, mathematician, and educator Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), published in the Edinburgh Review, 1829.

What was Thomas Carlyle’s point of view regarding life in Europe in the early part of the 19th century?
Using the excerpt by Carlyle, how do you think life in Europe changed over time by the mid-19th century?

19 of 19

Questions for Discussion

Define the term urbanization based on what you now know about industrialization in the 18th and 19th centuries.
What can you now add to your list from before the activity about how life in Europe changed over time (politically, socially, and/or economically) by the mid-nineteenth century?
Why do you think the Industrial Revolution will be considered a major turning point in world history? Explain your reasoning.