The Urban World, 9th Ed.

J. John Palen

Chapter 2: The Emergence of Cities• Outline:

– Introduction– The Ecological Complex– Political Economy Models– First Settlements– Interactions of Population, Organization, Environment, and Technology– City Populations– Evolution in Social Organization– Technological and Social Evolution– Urban Revolution – Survival of the City– The Hellenic City– Rome– European Urbanization until the Industrial City– Industrial Cities– Summary

Introduction

• The need to develop some understanding of the process of urban development—that is, how and why cities developed

The Ecological Complex

• use of an ecosystem framework to explain broad urban change. A model, not a theory.

• Ecosystem: a natural unit in which there is an interaction of an environment and a biotic system—that is, a community together with its habitat

• The ecological complex identifies the relationship between four causally interdependent concepts or classes of variables: population, organization, environment, and technology

• Population: refers not only to the number of people but also to growth or contraction through either migration or natural increase

• Organization (social structure): the way urban populations are organized according to social stratification, the political system, and the economic system

• Environment: the natural environment and the built environment of streets, parks, and buildings

• Technology: tools, inventions, ideas, and techniques that directly impact urban growth and form

Political Economy Models

• Conflict-based paradigms or models• Many models, but all stress that urban growth

is largely a consequence of capitalist economic systems of capital accumulation, conflict between classes, and economic exploitation of the powerless by the rich and powerful.

First Settlements

• Agricultural Revolution– Hunting-and-Gathering Societies: ranging from 25

to 50 persons– Settled Agriculture: shift from a specialized food-

collecting culture to a culture where grains were cultivated occurred in the Middle East around 8000 B.C.E.

– First true cities are generally thought to have begun in the “Fertile Crescent” of Mesopotamia around 4000 B.C.E.

• Population Expansion– Initially supported by slash-and-burn agriculture

• Mesoamerica– Physically isolated from the Middle East and Asia– The Mayans has a major civilization and large cities

dating from roughly 500 B.C.E.– Between 800 and 900, most of the great cities of

Central America were abandoned, for reasons that are still debated and unclear

– By the time the Spanish invaders arrived in 1521, both Mayan society and its cities had collapsed

Interactions of Population, Organization, Environment, and

Technology• Clearer in their consequences than in their

timing• Increased population = increased pressure for

developments• Permanent settlements changed the structure

of the family• Location defined the technology needed

City Populations

• Little more than small towns at the beginning• Probably represented no more than 3 or 4

percent of all the people within the various localities

• The size of the cities was limited by how much surplus could be produced and what technology was available to transport it

Evolution in Social Organization

• Early cities encouraged innovations in social organization

• Division of Labor– Hierarchy and stratification– Specialized priests probably the first to be released

from direct subsistence functions• Kingship and Social Class– Warrior-leaders, primarily used for external threat,

began to stay in power during times of peace– Shift of central focus from temple to palace

Figure 2.1Location of Early Urban Settlements

Technological and Social Evolution

• Technology spurred by necessity– i.e. water collection and distribution, weapons,

chariots, and other luxuries

• The first city was a clear break form the past, a whole new social system.

Urban Revolution

• V. Gordon Childe’s list of 10 features that define the “urban revolution”– Permanent settlement in dense aggregations– Non-agriculturalists engaging in specialized

functions– Taxation and capital accumulation– Monumental public buildings– A ruling class

– The technique of writing– The acquisition of predictive sciences—arithmetic,

geometry, and astronomy– Artistic expression– Trade for vital materials– The replacement of kinship by residence as the basis

for membership in the community

• Most useful in indicating what we have come to accept as the general characteristics of cities

Survival of the City

• Stable location must be able to resist siege• Also threat of fire and disease

The Hellenic City• Social Invention

– The Greek development of social organization– Polis: city-state– Phratries: groups of clans

• Physical Design and Planning– Greek cities all had a similar design– Acropolis: a fortified hill– Agora: an open space

• Population– Athens had 250,000 people at its peak– Ancient Greeks preferred smaller cities because of the correlating

smaller government• Diffusion of People and Ideas

– Creation of colonies kept population under control

Rome• Size and Number of Cities

– The Romans had several cities of more than 200,000 inhabitants– Rome controlled over a third of the world’s population

• Housing and Planning– Municipal planning was limited in scope– Extensive system of aqueducts

• Transportation– Road and sea trade for import and export

• Life and Leisure– Those who did work rarely worked over 6 hours– The ratio of workdays to holidays was one to one– Creation of entertainment to deter uprisings

European Urbanization until the Industrial City

• The Medieval Feudal System– Serfdom: the virtual slavery of the peasants– A rural economic system– The few cities that survived were ruled by Catholic bishops

• Town Revival– Cities began to revive in the 11th century– Trade repopulated cities– Two external factors contributed to the growth of towns in

Europe• The Crusaders• The overall population growth

• Characteristics of Towns– Typically had small populations of 10,000-30,000– Bourgeoisie: a new social class of artisans,

weavers, innkeepers, money changers, and metal smiths. In many ways the antithesis of feudal nobility.

• Plague– From 1348-1350, the plague wiped out at least

one-fourth of the population of Europe– Overall, 35 million Europeans died– The feudal social structure never really recovered

• Renaissance Cities– Influences of Technology

• Gunpowder and cannons changed the nature of the walled city

• Cities began to expand vertically– Demographic Transition

• Demographic Transition (demographic revolution): refers to the transition from a time of high birthrates matched by almost equally high death rates, through a period of declining death rates, to a period where birthrates also begin to decline, and eventually to a period where population stability is reestablished—this time through low birthrates matched by equally low death rates

– Changes in Agriculture• Jethro Tull’s published research on agriculture increased

usability of acreage• Selective breeding became popular

Industrial Cities

• Technological Improvements and the Industrial Revolution– The First Urban Revolution• The emergence of cities

– The Second Urban Revolution• The 18th-century changes that for the first time made it

possible for more than 10 percent of the population to live in urban spaces

Figure 2.2World Population Growth