previous || next

The most densely populated areas in the District fan out from its major cities. Population is especially concentrated in the region that runs northwest from Pittsburgh to Cleveland--an area that also includes the cities of Youngstown, Canton, and Akron--between the beginning of the Ohio River and Lake Erie. These waterways were important transportation routes as the American manufacturing sector developed, and they spawned several cities. The Ohio River was also important in the development of another cluster of cities that includes Dayton, Cincinnati, and Lexington.