complex looking sentence?
By opening vast areas of unoccupied land for residential expansion, the omnibuses, horse railways, commuter
trains, and electric trolleys pulled settled regions outward two to four times more distant from city centers than they were in the premodern era.
what does this simply means ?
what is "the omnibuses, horse railways, commuter trains"
Update:what is "pulled settled regions outward"
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Public transports made cities grow a lot because people didn't have to live close to the center.
I can see why you're confused. The person who wrote that sentence has made a real mess. What he's trying to say is the following:
Because people could use buses, horse-drawn railways, trains and trolleys to travel longer distances, town planners could designate large areas of empty land away from the old city centres where people could now build their houses.
I hope that's clearer. If not, ask again.