ABSTRACT
Missouri has four large cities that have always been the state's leading centers of culture and industry. All are standard metropolitan statistical areas. St. Louis, the largest by far, and Kansas City are major metropolises that rank among the great cities of the United States. Springfield and St. Joseph are cities of regional importance, significantly larger than the remaining cities in the state. Although manufacturing is distributed in many parts of metropolitan St. Louis, it is for the most part concentrated in clearly defined manufacturing districts. The growth of Kansas City geographically has been strongly influenced by physical site and situation. Several factors have influenced the growth of Kansas City as an industrial city. Because of its size, location, and importance as a regional center in Missouri, Springfield's historical geography merits examination. Springfield is sufficiently large to exhibit distinct land-use areas, but small enough to be easily described.
