Building Virtual Cities, 1895-1945

This article traces the development and diffusion of self-governing "miniature municipalities" and "juvenile cities" between the late nineteenth century and World War II. Hundreds of thousands of children enjoyed junior citizenship in these environments in connection with the period's city improvement schemes. The stories of the men and women who set out to construct virtual cities as a means of addressing the problems of life in real cities introduce a new cast of characters and a new movement to the historiography of urban reform in the United States.