CAMEO | Ask A Librarian |  Site Search | Home

History:

Urban History

Archives, Libraries, and Museums Associations, Organizations, and Institutes Background Biographical Resources Databases and Indexes Discussion Lists Internet Guides

Journals Maps Pictorial Resources Primary Sources Statistics Ask the History Librarian

Working from home? Use Off Campus/Wireless Access options for databases and resources marked Carnegie Mellon users only.

Archives, Libraries, and Museums

Below are archives, libraries, and museums for urban history. For additional resources, see History: Archives, Libraries, and Museums. To search for archival materials, use the resources at History: Archival Resources.

• Atwater Kent Museum
  Philadelphia's history museum.

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
  • The Pennsylvania Department

• Museum of the City of New York

• Museum of the City of San Francisco

• Urban Archives (Temple University Libraries)

Back to top

Associations, Organizations, and Institutes

For additional listings, see History: Associations, Organizations, and Institutes.

• American Planning Association

• Association for State and Local History

• Centre for Metropolitan History (University of London)

• Centre for Urban History (University of Leicester)

• Chicago Historical Society

• European Association of Urban Historians

• Institute of Urban History (Stockholm University)

• National Trust for Historic Preservation

• Organization of World Heritage Cities

• Urban History Association

Back to top

Background

Sometimes you may need some information to get more familiar with your topic. Below are some materials that can provide background on topics in urban history. Additional resources are listed at History: Background.

• Abrams, Charles. The Language of Cities; A Glossary of Terms. New York: Viking Press [1971].
  HUNT REF-1 HT108.5 .A24

• Benevolo, Leonardo. The History of the City. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1980.
  HUNT FA-REF-4 HT111 .B4513 1980
  HUNT STACKS-4 HT111 .B4513 1980

• Caves, Roger W. Encyclopedia of the City. New York: Routledge, 2005.
  HUNT REF-1 HT108.5 .E63 2005

• Clapp, James A. The City, A Dictionary of Quotable Thought on Cities and Urban life. New Brunswick, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, c1984.
  HUNT FA-REF-4 HT111 .C576 1984
  HUNT STACKS-4 HT111 .C576 1984

• Cozen, Michael P. "Cities and Towns." In Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, edited by David J. Wishart, pp. 151-157. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 F591 .E4856 2004

• Cybriwsky, Roman A. Historical Dictionary of Tokyo. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1997.
  HUNT REF-1 DS896.1 .C93 1997

• Digital Encyclopedia of Los Angeles (The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and The University of Southern California (USC))

• Dumper, Michael. Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: a Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2007.
  HUNT REF-1 HT147.5 .C574 2007

• Eisenstadt, Peter R., ed. Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2005.
  HUNT REF-1 F119 .E53 2005
  Encyclopedia of New York State (Selected entries only)

• Encyclopedia of San Francisco (San Francisco Museum & Historical Society)

• Fierro, Alfred. Historical Dictionary of Paris. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1998.
  HUNT STACKS-2 DC704 .F5313 1998

• Goldfield, David R., ed. Encyclopedia of American Urban History. 2 vols. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, c2007.
  HUNT REF-1 HT123 .E49 2007.
  Full text: Encyclopedia of American Urban History (Carnegie Mellon users only)

• Goreham, Gary. Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, c1997.
  HUNT REF-1 E169.12 .E5 1997

• Grossman, James R., Ann Durkin Keating and Janice L. Reiff, eds. The Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 F548.3 .E53 2004

• Handbook of Texas Online (The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association)

• Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. The Encyclopedia of New York City. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1995.
  HUNT REF-1 F128.3 .E75 1995

• Kammen, Carol and Norma Prendergast. Encyclopedia of Local History. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, c2000.
  HUNT REF-1 E180 .K25 2000

• Laptop Encyclopedia of Connecticut History (Connecticut Humanities Council)

• Long Island: Our Story (LIHistory.com, Newsday)
  History of Long Island, with histories, pictures of Long Island communities.

• Lurie, Maxine N. and Marc Mappen, eds. Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 F132 .E52 2004

• Marley, David. Historic Cities of the Americas: an Illustrated Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c2005.
  HUNT REF-1 HT121 .M37 2005

• Medieval English Towns (ORB: The Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies)

• Ness, Immanuel. Encyclopedia of World Cities. 2 vols. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, c1999.
  HUNT REF-1 HT108.5 .N47 1999

• New Georgia Encyclopedia (Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press)

• Ohio History Central (Ohio Historical Society)

• Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History (HistoryLink)

• Pathways in American Planning History: A Thematic Chronology (American Planning Association)

• Pitt, Leonard and Dale Pitt. Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County. Berkeley: University of California Press, c1997.
  HUNT REF-1 F869 .L84 .P58 1997

• Ring, Trudy, ed. International Dictionary of Historic Places. 5 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1994-1996.
  HUNT REF-1 CC135 .I585 1994

• Röpke, Ian Martin. Historical Dictionary of Osaka and Kyoto. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 1999.
  HUNT REF-1 DS897 .O814 R67 1999

• Shumsky, Neil L. Encyclopedia of Urban America: The Cities and Suburbs. 2 vols. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, c1998.
  HUNT REF-1 HT123 .E5 1998

• Smith, John W. and John S. Klemanski. The Urban Politics Dictionary. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 1990.
  HUNT REF-1 JS48 .S65 1990

• Van Tassel, David D., ed. The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press in Association with Case Western Reserve University and the Western Reserve Historical Society, 1996.
  HUNT REF-1 F499 .C657 E53 1996
  Full text: The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
  Web version includes: all of the articles from print versions of both The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and The Dictionary of Cleveland Biography; new articles; revisions, corrections, and updates, as well as high resolution images.

• Van Vliet, Willem, ed. The Encyclopedia of Housing. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, c1998.
  HUNT REF-1 HD7287 .E53 1998

• Waring, George E., Jr. Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. 2 vols. New York: Arno Press, 1970.
  HUNT REF-1 HT123 .W226
  Histories of U.S. cities, statistics, maps.

• Whittick, Arnold, ed. Encyclopedia of Urban Planning. New York: McGraw-Hill, [1974].
  HUNT REF-1 HT166 .E5s

• Wishart, David J., ed. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press, c2004.
  HUNT REF-1 F591 .E4856 2004

Back to top

Databases and Indexes

Below are some databases and print indexes that you can use to find books and articles on urban history topics. For a more complete listing of those relevant to History, see History: Databases and Indexes. If you need help in selecting or using a database or index for your research, please contact the Hunt Library reference desk.

If full text links for journal articles are not provided, click on to see retrieval options. This may not be available in all databases. Otherwise, use Cameo to see if materials are in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries or the Find Online Journals list to see if they are full text in other databases. If they aren't, you can use Interlibrary Loan to obtain the material.

• America: History and Life (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1964-present (updated monthly).
  Citations and some abstracts to journal articles, dissertations, and book and media reviews on United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present. Covers all historical topics, including foreign policy, and a variety of disciplines including popular culture, gender studies, anthropology, literature and folklore, etc. Also has a non-US history counterpart Historical Abstracts. You can also search America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts simultaneously.

• Cameo
  Library catalog of the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. Includes books, titles of journals, music and audio materials, maps, some government documents, etc.

• Historical Abstracts (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1967-present (Updated monthly).
  Citations and some abstracts of journal articles, books, and dissertations on world history from 1450 to the present (excluding the United States and Canada). It covers all historical topics, including foreign policy, and a variety of disciplines including religion, gender studies, anthropology, political science, etc. Also has a U. S. and and Canadian history counterpart, America: History and Life. You can also search America: History and Life and Historical Abstracts simultaneously.

• Index to Current Urban Documents (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Online: 1995-present.
  Print: v. 4, 1975-1999.
  HUNT REF-1/INDEX
  Citations to reports and research generated by local government agencies, civic organizations, academic and research organizations, public libraries, and metropolitan and regional planning agencies in approximately 500 selected cities in the United States and Canada. Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh has microfiche copies of reports and research dealing with Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, ca. 1972-1990. Use ILLiad to request materials not locally available.

• LexisNexis Academic (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Varies by database section
  Search for general news articles, government and political news articles, legal articles and reviews, federal case law, state legal research, etc.

• 19th Century Masterfile (NCM) (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  ca. 1800-1900s.
  Search a variety of indices to find citations for nineteenth and early twentieth century publications:
  Series I: Poole's and other Multi-Title Periodical Indices
  Series II: Book Indices
  Series III:Newspaper Indices
  Series IV:Individual Periodical Title Indices with links to full text
  Series V: Patent and Government Document Indices

• New York Times
  1995-present.
  Available via Proquest's National Newspapers. (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Historical New York Times (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: 1851-ca. 2003.
  Search and display the full text of the New York Times.

• Proquest Direct (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  ca. 1980s-present (updated daily).
  Search for newspaper and journal articles, many of which are full-text.

• Readers' Guide Retrospective (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1890-1982.
  Online versions of the print index Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. These databases contain citations to popular magazine and journal articles in all subject areas, including current events, fine arts, fashion, education, business, sports, health, nutrition and consumer affairs.

• The Times Digital Archive (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1785-1985
  Search and display full text articles from the Times of London.

• TRIS Online
  ca. 1880s-present.
  Public-domain, web-based version of the Transportation Research Information Services (TRIS) bibliographic database from the National Transportation Library. It covers transportation research published in books, journal articles, technical reports, and other media, including Federal, state, local and association publications.

• Wall Street Journal
  1984-present.
  Available via Proquest's National Newspapers. (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Historical Wall Street Journal (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1890-1986
  Search and display the full text

• Worldcat (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  1200-present (updated daily).
  Citations to books, titles of journals, manuscripts, and other materials in libraries throughout the United States, as well as some international libraries. Each record will let you know which institutions have that item. You can limit your search to books by by selecting Book in the Type option. Each record will let you know which libraries have that item. Clicking on will let you search Cameo, our library catalog, to get call numbers for items we own, or identify local libraries that have the material. While it also provides a link to the interlibrary loan service ILLiad, you can also use E-ZBorrow for materials not in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries. Materials requested via E-ZBorrow usually come in 3-5 days, while interlibrary loan may take longer.

Back to top

Discussion Lists

For additional resources, see History: Discussion Lists.

• H-Urban

Back to top

Internet Guides

• H-Urban Web Links

• WWW-VL: History: Urban History

Back to top

Journals

Below are major journals in urban history. Use Cameo and the Find Online Journals list to search for other journal titles in the Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, or use the databases listed above to find journal articles on particular topics. For additional titles, see History: Journals.

• Journal of the American Planning Association (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 54, 1988-present.
  Journal of the American Planning Association
  Print: v. 45, 1979-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  Continues:
  Journal of the American Institute of Planners
  Print: v. 10, 1944-v. 44, 1978.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  Continues:
  The Planners' Journal.
  Print: v. 1, 1935-v. 9, 1943.
  HUNT JOUR-3

• Journal of Urban History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 25, 1999-present.
  Journal of Urban History
  Print: v. 1, 1974-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3

• Urban Affairs Review (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 34,1999-present.
  Urban Affairs Review
  Print: v.30, no.3; 1995-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  Continues:
  Urban Affairs Quarterly
  Print: v.1, no.2, 1965-v. 30, 1994
  HUNT JOUR-3
  

• Urban History (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 26, 1999-present.
  Urban History
  Print: vol. 19, 1992-present.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  Continues:
  Urban History Yearbook
  Print: 1974-1991.
  HUNT JOUR-3
  

• Urban History Review (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Full text: v. 25, 1997-present.
  Urban History Review
  Print: v.14, 1985-present.
  HUNT-JOUR-3
  Absorbed:
  Urbanism Past and Present
  Print: v.1, 1975-v. 9, 1984.
  HUNT JOUR-3

Back to top

Maps

See also the resources at History: Maps.

• Chicago Imagebase (University of Illinois at Chicago)
  Images, maps, etc.

• Cohen, Paul E. and Robert T. Augustyn. Manhattan in Maps, 1527-1995. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 1997.
  HUNT OVRSZQ-2 912.747 C67M [G1254.N42S1 .C6 1997]

• Dupeux, Georges. Atlas Historique de L'Urbanisation de la France (1811-1975). Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1981.
  HUNT REF-1 G1844 .21.E2 D8 1981

• Early Washington Maps: a Digital Collection (Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University)

• Earnest Hexamer and and William Locher, Maps of the City of Philadelphia, 7 vols., Philadelphia, 1858-62 (courtesy of Free Library of Philadelphia). (Bryn Mawr College)

• Historic Cities (Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Jewish National and University Library)

• Historical City Maps (Yale University Map Collection)

• Historical Maps of Texas Cities (General Libraries, University of Texas, Austin)

• Historic Pittsburgh: Maps Collection (Digital Research Library, University of Pittsburgh)
  Plat books of Pittsburgh, which show property owners, churches, cemeteries, mills, schools, roads, railroads, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. When completed, the project will show the changing urban landscape of Pittsburgh from early 1870s to the late 1930s.

• Lobel, Mary Doreen, ed. Historic Towns: Maps and Plans of Towns and Cities in the British Isles, with Historical Commentaries, from Earliest Times to 1800. 2 vols. Oxford: Lovell Johns Ltd., 1969.
  HUNT REF-1 G1814 .A1 H5 1969

• Manufacturers Mutal Fire Insurance Company Industrial Site Maps: 1894-1954. Alexandria, Va.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1991.
  HUNT MFICHE-3 338.0973 M294 and Guide

• Map Collections: Cities and Towns (American Memory, Library of Congress)

• New York City Subway Historical Maps (New York City Subway Resources)
  Subway maps from 1888 to the present.

• Otness, Harold M. Index to Nineteenth Century City Plans Appearing in Guidebooks: Baedeker, Murray, Joanne, Black, Appleton, Meyer, Plus Selected Other Works to Provide Coverage of over 1,800 Plans to Nearly 600 Communities, Found in 164 Guidebooks. Santa Cruz, CA: Western Association of Map Libraries, 1980.
  REQUEST FROM OFFSITE 016.7114 O88I

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: California. Teaneck, N. J.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1984.
  HUNT MFILM-3 912.73 S19C153 No. 1-72, ca. 1890-1955.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Charlottesville, Virginia (University of Virginia Library)
  1907, 1920.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Illinois. Teaneck, N. J.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1983.
  HUNT MFILM-3 912.73 S19I29 No. 1-66, ca. 1890-1976.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Maps of Florida (University of Florida)
  1860-1923.
  Digitized maps illustrate the development of more than 130 Florida cities.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Massachusetts. Teaneck, N. J.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1983.
  HUNT MFILM-3 912.73 S19M414 No. 1-48, ca. 1880-1950.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Pennsylvania. Teaneck, N. J.: Chadwyck-Healey, 1984.
  HUNT MFILM-3 912.73 S19P415 No. 1-73, ca. 1880-1950.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps: Utah (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)
  ca. 1880-1959.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina (University Libraries, University of South Carolina)

• U.S. Historical City Maps: The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection (The University of Texas at Austin)

• Waring, George E., Jr. Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. 2 vols. New York: Arno Press, 1970.
  HUNT REF-1 HT123 .W226
  Histories of U.S. cities, statistics, maps.

Back to top

Pictorial Resources

See also the resources at History: Pictorial Resources.

• Berenice Abbott: Changing New York, 1935-1938 (The Miriam & Ira Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, New York Public Library)

• Bridging the Urban Landscape: Homepage (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)
  About 600 historical photographs and images of Pittsburgh, accompanied by text, including bridges and neighborhoods.

• Chicago Imagebase (University of Illinois at Chicago)
  Images, maps, etc.

• Lewis Wickes Hine: The Construction of the Empire State Building, 1930-1931 (The Miriam & Ira Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, New York Public Library)

• Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906 (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Search or browse forty-five films of New York from 1898 to 1906.

• Northern Great Plains: Photographs from the Fred Hultstrand and the F. A. Pazandak Photograph Collections (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  900 photographs of rural and small town life at the turn of the century. Included are sod homes, farms and farm machinery, one-room schools, etc.

• Panoramic Photographs of San Francisco 1851-1915 (Bill Roddy, America Hurrah!)

• Philadelphia Historical Digital Image Library (Thomas Jefferson University and The Historical Society of Pennsylvania)

• Places in Time: Historical Documentation of Place in Greater Philadelphia (Bryn Mawr College)
  Images of the idea of place in the five-county Philadelphia area: Bucks, Chester, Delaware. Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

• Small Town America: Stereoscopic Views from the Robert Dennis Collection (New York Public Library)
  12,000 stereoscopic views of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut from the 1850s to the 1910s, which can be browsed or searched.

• Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991 (American Memory, Library of Congress)
  Includes cityscapes, landscapes, etc.

• The Urban Landscape: Digital Image Access Project (Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University)
  Over 1,000 images from fourteen different collections, which can be browsed or searched.

Back to top

Primary Sources

See also the resources at History: Primary Sources. For primary sources for Pittsburgh, see Pittsburgh History: Government Documents and Pittsburgh History: Records of Businesses, Individuals, and Organizations.

• Annual Reports of the Mayor of Savannah, 1855-1917 (Bulk 1881-1917) (Digital Library of Georgia)

• Index to Current Urban Documents (Carnegie Mellon users only)
  Online: 1995-present.
  Print: v. 1, 1972-v. 28, 1999/2000.
  HUNT REF-1/INDEX
  Use this to find citations to publications of selected cities, counties, regional organizations, special districts, quasi-public organizations and state publications that treat a specific city or county. You can limit your search to a particular city by using the Search by Municipality: menu. Hillman Library, University of Pittsburgh, has microfiche copies of the Allegheny County and Pittsburgh documents cited in this database from 1972 to 1990. If you need others, use Interlibrary Loan.

• Municipal Reports on the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of April 1906 (Bill Roddy, America Hurrah!)
  Includes reports on police, fire, electricity, relief and restoration, etc.

Back to top

Statistical Resources

See also the resources at History: Statistical Resources.

• County and City Extra: Annual Metro, City, and County Data Book. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press, c1992-present.
  HUNT REF-1 HA203 .C68 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000-2005.

• Kasarda, John D. Urban Underclass Database Computer File. 6 computer disks. New York: Social Science Research Council, [1993?].
  HUNT REF-1 305.569 K19U
  For access, ask at the Hunt reference desk.

• The Municipal Year Book. Washington [etc.] International City Management Association. 1934-present.
  HUNT STACKS-2 JS344 .C5 A24 1947-present, latest in HUNT REF-1

• United States. Bureau of the Census. Cities Supplement: Statistical Abstract of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1944.
  HUNR REF-1 GOVDOCS C3.134/2: C49/944

• United States. Bureau of the Census. County and City Data Book. Washington, U. S. Government Printing Office, 1949-present.
  HUNT REF-1 317.3 U25C 1949, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1983, 1988, 1994, 2000.

• United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Statistical Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1970-1975.
  HUNT REF-1 HD7293 .A49 H67 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973
  Continues Statistical Yearbook (see below); continued by Statistical Yearbook of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (see below).

• United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Statistical Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, [1968-1969].
  HUNT REF-1 HD7293 .A49 H67
  1966, 1967
  Continued by HUD Statistical Yearbook (see above).

• United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Statistical Yearbook of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1973- .
  HUNT REF-1 HD7293 .A49 H67 1974, 1977
  HUNT Ref-1/Mfiche: 1977 (ASI 1979 5004-1); 1978 (ASI 1980 5004-1); 1979 (ASI 1981 5004-1); 1980 (ASI 1982 5004-1)(discontinued).

• Waring, George E., Jr. Report on the Social Statistics of Cities. 2 vols. New York: Arno Press, 1970.
  HUNT REF-1 HT123 .W226
  Histories of U.S. cities, statistics, maps.

Back to top

History

See Also:
     Labor & Economic History
     Pittsburgh History
     Social History