The Growth of New York City: Every Year

The growth of New York City from its origins as the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, to the sprawling metropolis of today.

*Notes regarding the urban area and population*

1) The definition of what counts as ‘New York City’ (both its population and area) is highly subjective. This is mainly due to sprawling, low-density suburbs typical of North American cities, as well as the varying official definitions (e.g. the Five Boroughs, the Metropolitan Statistical Area, etc.) I’ve tried to portray the city’s size in a reasonable way, but it’s by no means the only way. Other maps and statistics may vary significantly from what this video shows for this reason.

2) In the post-war era, NYC’s urban area has extended along New Jersey and Long Island beyond what is shown in the map. These are outside the map because showing them would force it to zoom to an impractically large area. These areas are still included in the population statistics where applicable, as explained in note 4.

3) The “rural area” in this video mostly consists of low-density suburbs after about 1970. They do not constitute contiguous built up areas, but rather areas of sporadic building. For this reason, they cannot be shown as urban. These areas are still included in the population statistics where applicable, as explained in note 4.

4) Post-war population figures are based on the New York–Newark–Jersey City Statistical Area. About 20% of this population lives in urban areas outside of the map, mentioned in note 2. A very approximate 5% also live in the low-density suburbs mentioned in note 3. Therefore the urban area shown in this video only contains about 75% of the population included in the 2021 population figure of 18.9m.

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Original Map:

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Music:
Marten Moses - Disappearances
Marten Moses - Access Denied

[OllieBye]

Hi everyone, thanks for the patience once again. Something I should mention - deciding what counts as NYC's urban area was quite a difficult task, and it's inevitably subjective for various reasons. I've explained it in more detail in the description. I'd suggest reading that if you want to use this video as a resource.

[jordanhe]

Growth of Rome would be interesting considering it's illustrious history

[shoshann]

Could we get "growth of major cities" as a full series?

[outerspace]

Props to you, one American, living in the oldest part of NYC, the part built by the Dutch.

[kinkisharyocoasters]

2:11 Commissioners Plan
2:45 Elevated trains begin operation
2:54 Brooklyn Bridge
3:07 Subway opens

[tiberiusG]

Very, very detailed. You even included the 40-acre wooded area behind my house by not shading it. All your videos are so dense with information and endlessly intriguing. You're a virtuoso of animated cartography.

[lesscringeymapperdude]

This seems like a good video for me as I live in Bronx, NYC

Its amazing how a small dutch port became the biggest city in the US

[tijussukysgamingplayz]

At The end Of WWI, Nyc has The largest ranking in the world.

[sean]

What I love most about New York (and what's difficult to capture in a map) is how its cultural and demographic character changes nearly every decade. It's layers and layers of different periods rapidly built on top of eachother, each leaving little legacies that still remain today

[avantelvsitania]

Hey, I'm sure this I going to be a work of the best quality, as you have always done. May I ask if you are thinking in ever finishing your 30 Years War series? Those were epic.

[antoninuslarpus]

As a New Yorker.I can certainly tell you put alot of effort into this.Good job





Why did you inculde New Jersey? We all know that's fake news

[hoangkimviet]

There are three periods in the history of New York City:
- When it was Dutch.
- When it was British.
- When it is American.

[_roberto_tripodi_]

I would also the history of:
Athens, Naples, Byzantium (Constantinople and Istanbul), Rome, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Beijing, Delhi, Tenochtitlan (Mexico city), Canton, Tokyo (Edo) and Samarkand

[thepoiklez]

I was looking for a video like this for ages! Thank you :D

[frogsalbatou]

These city growth vids are really amazing. I look forward to more of these in the future.

[goodstuff]

It’s interesting how the greater New York area naturally expands. North Eastern New Jersey is basically New York in every way. And it’s basically a bunch of independent cities that are similar to the boroughs of New York than actual cities.

[takshashila]

This is amazing!I really like the bright light colours although would have loved some more labelling on the map!

[des_]

This is utterly great, I can't stop looking at the detail.

[alejandrobendana]

Just think for a second. At the beginning of the 19th century, New York had only 61, 000 residents. By the end of the 19th century (only 100 years), the city had 2.2 million. That’s insane.

[Bjionin]

I’m very interested in seeing some American cities in their midwest region. I know that might be a brief video, but I think it will be cool how much these cities grew in the last 1 or 2 centuries.