The Promised City: Openness and Immigration in the Making of a WorldMetropolis

[...]The focus of my remarks is something else entirely. Mypurpose is threefold: first, to make the case that the study ofhistory is essential to understanding the present and future ofany urban area; second, to suggest that in terms of age, size,density, and demographic patterns, New York has beendifferent from, rather than typical of, American cities; and third,to argue that Gotham has been unusually successful for almostfour centuries because of its heterogeneity, not in spite of it;because of its openness, not in spite of it; and because of itsimmigrants, not in spite of them. Certainly, the Hudson Rivermetropolis has not won many accolades for being gracious orcharming. As John Steinbeck noted decades ago: “It [NewYork] is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal. Itspolitics are used to frighten children. Its traffic is madness. Itscompetition is murderous. But there is one thing about it.Once you have lived in New York and it has become yourhome, no other place is good enough.”[...]