New York City has come a long way from its beginnings, specifically Manhattan and Brooklyn. From lands, to hills, to forests and farms, New York began to have a big leap in urban development starting in the 1660s. The difference here is that Manhattan grew and developed quicker than Brooklyn.

Manhattan started to be developed in the lower side, which is Battery Park today, by the Dutch in 1664. Although the Natives, who were there first, did not like the idea of sharing the land, they were finally convinced and handed over a part of the land to the Dutch. During their time of development, they were able to establish their first inhabitable buildings and ship landings by the waterfronts. Settling by the waterfront was gold for them and it’s the reason why they settled there in the first place. This allowed easier trade and transportation. The Dutch’s settlement was very money-oriented and creating commerce was their primary goal. As this continued, farms were being created during the 1660s in early Brooklyn, slowly but surely, Brooklyn was starting to develop.

The Dutch were kicked out by the British and since then, Manhattan grew and expanded. Eventually there was peace between them, and a significant growth began. There were many flat lands that really helped establish streets for their homes and farms, as well as open spaces. With the help of John Randall creating plans and grid layouts, they were able to have a solid layout of Manhattan which is still alive today. On the other hand, Brooklyn struggled because of several hills and slopped terrains. The Natives did create roads and paths; however, they were not rectilinear like in Manhattan because of the many hills and highlands they had to carve around. Without having any plans of their land, it was difficult for them to have an organized grid layout, thus, Brooklyn’s plan today is very skewed.

Manhattan grew and Brooklyn finally developed. With the construction of the bridges, they both became very responsive to each other. Allowing better and easier transportation from one place to another. Despite the hardships, these two cities went through, especially Brooklyn, it is easy to say they are beautiful cities that carry valuable history.