Coastal resort morphology as a response to transportation technology

Abstract

The primary goal of the thesis has been a comparison of heyday at three coastal resorts of the eastern United States. Cape May, New Jersey, represents steamboat and stagecoach travel in 1860; Atlantic City, New Jersey, represents railroad travel in 1886; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the automobile in 1975. Land use maps generated for the resorts were later synthesized as diagrams representing each transportation case study.

Generalisations illustrated in the diagrams and thesis framework components guided the comparison of heyday. Framework components included selected features of transportation, the resort, tourists, capital investment and government involvement. Questions raised from the review of contextual research contributed to the thesis conclusions:

1. What kind of events influence progress in the evolution of resorts from one stage to another? 2. What kinds of data should be used to determine the evolution of resorts? 3. How does transportation technology influences resort morphology?

This thesis has shown that the resorts exhibit distinctive land-use patterns reflecting the contemporary social and technological contexts, of which transportation is a major component.