Why did William Penn dislike cities?

How did he hope to prevent crowded conditions like London?

What did Penn do to encourage low population density?

Why did Penn choose the site he did for Philadelphia?

Why was Penn's location for Philadelphia contested?

What was life like in early Philadelphia?

Why did Philadelphia become important in early America?

William Penn did not like cities at all. His colony, Pennsylvania, wanted to keep disadvantages of cities away to the shores of his New World experiment. Penn was determined to design and administer Pennsylvania himself to prevent city life. Penn disliked London's crowded conditions and he designed a city plan with streets wider than any thoroughfare in London. Five major squares dotted the cityscape, and Penn believed that each resident will have a family garden. He distributed land in big plots to encourage a low population density. Penn assumed that his city design would have a perfect combination of city and country which he completed in 1861.

William Penn dislike the cities because he felt depressed by the mood of the crowded and dirty city and his ailing father and that made him return to Ireland.

He staved off crowded conditions like London by promoting low population density by the allocation of people in large plots of land where they were able to have a garden. He designed a city plan with streets wider than any major thoroughfare in London. Moreover, five major squares dotted the cityscape, and Penn wished each dweller had a family garden.

To encourage low population density, William Penn distributed land in big parcels

Penn selected a site much carefully. Philadelphia is placed at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers. He expected the Delaware river to supply the needed outlet to the Atlantic and tthe Schuylkill to be the needed artery into the interior of Pennsylvania.

Penn location for Philadelphia was contested as The leaders of Maryland claimed the land Philadelphia located in Maryland.

Philadelphia was a place of religious tolerance, its spirit fueled the independence. The first European settlers on the site were Swedes. They stablished a community at the mouth of the Schuykill. Later on, England established its control over the whole region, and in 1681, King Charles II made William Penn a grant of land that became Pennsylvania. Philadephia's guiding principle was tolerance towards all faiths. The city developed a thriving trade with the West Indies and became the largest and most important city in the colonies

Philadelphia became an important colonial city and during the American Revolution represented the site of the First and Second Continental Congresses. After the Revolution it was chosen to be the temporary capital of the United States. At early 19th century, the federal and state governments left Philadelphia. However, the city remained the financial and cultural center of the nation. Philadelphia also turnt into one of the first U. S. industrial centers and contained different industries, the largest one were textiles.