The Urban Game

1. The Urban Game In the following simulation you will be creating an urban area in England during the Industrial Revolution. You will understand some of the social, economic and logistic problems created by the Industrial Revolution. Keep in mind that the Industrial Revolution will occur in a time of laissez faire economic policy by governments.

2. Are you understanding? • At times during this simulation you will be asked questions that relate to the descriptions read by the teacher as well as some of the “construction” you are doing. Answer these questions on a separate sheet of notebook paper which will be stapled to your map. • Define laissez faire economic policy in your own words.

3. The beginning • draw a twisting, turning river across your paper connecting east to west; the river should be about 1 inch wide; • draw a simple wooden bridge crossing the river; • draw 2 roads one running north to south and crossing the river at the bridge and one running from east to west.  Neither road need be a straight line. • Draw 10 houses; 1 church; 1 cemetery; 1 store; 1 pub; 1 coalmine; & at least 50 trees!!

4. Round 1 • Build yourself 1 nice home anywhere on the map you would like it to be.  Don’t forget to construct the canal.  It must run parallel to the river.

5. Round 2 • Add 5 houses (total 15).

6. Are you understanding? 2. List one reason that the population of England increased in the first half of the 18th century (1700-1750)? 3. In the next description you will hear about “common areas” these were fields in towns that were shared by all of the townspeople for grazing animals. What happened to the common areas after the Enclosure Acts?

7. Round 3 • Fence off an area 3x3 inches to be reserved as a commons. Add 5 houses (total 20) and 1 more nice house.

8. Round 4 • Add 1 factory (no smoke—it is powered by water).  Remember, the cotton factory must be placed on the river bank.  Canal water is not swift enough to generate the power to the working parts of the water frame.  Don’t add any smoke to this factory!!  Add 5 houses for workers (total 25)

9. Are you understanding? 4. Explain two reasons why people are moving into cities. Consider the invention of the water frame and the Enclosure Acts while you construct an answer

10. Round 5 • Add  15  houses (total 40); 1  church , 1  pub, &  1  store.  You may draw additional roads and 1 additional bridge. 

11. Round 6 • Add 5 new factories (must be on the river bank as they need water power).  • Add 5 houses (total 45)

12. Round 7 • Add 5 Tenements – these should be larger than the houses you added

13. Are you understanding? • What is a tenement? What would we call this building today? • People are flooding into your city. Make two predictions about what effect this might have on the city.

14. Round 8 • Add 1 store, 1 pub, 1 church, & 1 school for those families wealthy enough to send their children (boys) to school.  Since workers in the factories work 6 days a week, the only day of rest is Sunday.  People flock to your churches so make them convenient for their tired feet.

15. Round 9 • Add 5 more pubs.  Destroy 5 houses (total 40), add 4 tenements.

16. Round 10 • Add 2 special homes.  • Add 1 factory, add 15 houses for management personages (total 55) (Note: from this point on trees may be removed if you need space).

17. Round 11 • Add 10 factories with smoke.  Add smoke to all other pre-existing factories.  • Also, add one nicer house since people continue to get rich.  • Add 5 houses (total 60) • Add 1 tenement.

18. Round 12 • Add 1 new coal mine and a new iron bridge to replace the old wooden one.   Add 5 houses (total 65).  

19. Round 13 • Draw 1 cemetery.

20. Are you understanding? • Coal mining included a lot of children in the work force. List two reasons children would have been the preferred labor source in the mines?

21. Round 14 • Add 1 major railroad line connecting all your factories to your coal mines.  This is one continuous track which must connect all factories and mines (you may build additional railroad bridges only as needed).  • Add 5 houses (total 70) for railroad builders.

22. Round 15 • Add 1 jail & 2 pubs and 2 tenements.

23. Are you understanding? 8. Describe the impact the industrial revolution had on working class families.

24. Round 16 • Add 20 street lamps.  (these are streetlamps and must be located along streets)

25. Round 17 • Add 2 hospitals and 1 more cemetery.

26. Round 18 • Add 1 more railroad line passing east to west through your town.   Add 5 houses (total 75) and 1 tenement for the new railroad workers.

27. Round 19 • Add 1 theater • 1 museum.  • Add 2 private schools for upper class students (mark these schools with the letter “P”.   • Add 1 nice house.

28. Are you understanding? 9. List two forms of entertainment now available to the middle class in the cities. 10. In a factory setting, what jobs do you think the middle class held?

29. Round 20 • Add 1 cemetery, 1 jail, 1 hospital to accommodate the victims of urban life.  

30. Are you understanding?

31. Round 21 • Add 20 houses (total 95), • 5 tenements, • 2 stores, • 1 church, • 5 factories • 1 pub • 3 more nice houses.

32. Industrial Revo - summary • What was the central problem created by the industrial revolution? • Why did crime/alcohol rates increase during time period? – think of economic and psychological reasons • How could cities attempt to deal with the problems created by the IR? • How is the Inner Harbor an attempt to deal with this problem? • Do you think it is a good or bad thing that the US does not produce as much industrially as it once did? • How does Columbia, MD differ from cities emerging during this time?