In october of 1957, the soviet union shocked the united states by

I was in high school when this happened. Sure tells you how old I am. 
The USSR launched Sputnik -- the first vessel to make an orbit around the earth. You should google it. It caused an uproar even here in Canada. All of a sudden science became important -- even more important than poodle skirts but of course not more important than who wore them. 

having more,larger cities vs having fewer, smaller cities

Explanation: