Unit VII: Urbanization Cities and Urban Land Use

Agricultural Hearths The fact that agriculture appears in isolated geographic regions across the earth at roughly the same point in history implies that fact that farming did not diffuse from one place to another. An idea independently developing across time and space is known as independent innovation. (It’s a history term, but it totally works for this class)

Hearths of Urbanization

The First Urban Revolution Two components enable the formation of cities: 1. an agricultural surplus 2. social stratification (a leadership class) Cities developed in/from: Areas of early agriculture Permanent village settlement The development of new social forms Urban life Early people were nomadic hunters and gatherers who constantly moved

The First Cities In agricultural villages, all inhabitants were involved in some way in food procurement Cities were more removed, physically and psychologically, from everyday agricultural activities Food was supplied to the city Not all city dwellers were involved in actual farming Another class of city dwellers supplied services — such as technical skills, and religious interpretation

Five Hearths of Urbanization Mesopotamia, 3500 BCE Nile River Valley, 3200 BCE Indus River Valley, 2200 BCE Huang He and Wei River Valleys, 1500 BCE Mesoamerica, 200 BCE

Models for the Rise of Cities Technical The hydraulic civilization model Large-scale irrigation systems as prime mover behind urbanization Higher crop yields resulted Food surplus supported development of a large non-farming population Strong, centralized government, backed by an urban-based military Farmers who resisted new authority were denied water

Religious Knowledge of meteorological and climatic conditions was considered to be within the domain of religion Religious leaders decided when and how to plant crops Successful harvests led to more support for this priestly class Priestly class exercised political and social control that held the city together In this scenario, cities are religious spaces functioning as ceremonial centers First urban clusters and fortification seen as defenses against spiritual demons or souls of the dead

Generally agreed first cities arose in Mesopotamia River valley of the Tigris and Euphrates in what is now Iraq Cities, small by current standards, covered one-half to two square miles Populations rarely exceeded 30,000 Densities could reach 10,000 per square mile —comparable to today’s cities Oldest city in the World: Ur (Southern Iraq)

Urban Hearths Early cities of the Nile were not walled, suggesting a regional power structure kept cities from warring with each other In the Indus Valley, Mohenjo-Daro was laid out in a grid that consisted of 16 large blocks The most important variations in living conditions occurred in Mesoamerica Cities were less dense and covered large areas Cities arose without benefit of the wheel, plow, metallurgy, and draft animals Domestication of maize compensated for technological shortcomings Maize yields several crops a year without irrigation in tropical climates

As cities grew Cities would create specific places for religions (Burial Mounds) Cities would add walls for protection (Jerico) Cities would start to divide Religion and Business (Ancient Greece: Acropolis (Religion) & Agora (Market) Cities would turn into empires, & empires would start to expand. (Rome)

There’s no place like Rome Rome took many traits and ideas from other cultures that they conquered (Notably the Greeks and Etruscans) As their empire expanded, the idea of urbanization spread with them Most cities were established as military and trading outposts They acted as supply centers for the expanding empire Also served as communication/service centers for trade or the military The Empire and its cities were connected by about 53,000 miles of roads, which were built & maintained by Rome There’s no place like Rome

The Roman Empire used A Gridiron street pattern The Forum (A combination of the Greek Acropolis and Agora) The city elite were clustered around the forum While things like fresh water and plumbing were available for the elite, it often did not extend to the poor. The normal citizens lived in shoddy apartments, 4/5 stories high The garbage of Rome was thrown into open pits, that often left the city vulnerable to disease and plague As the empire fell the roads and cities of the empire fell into disrepair. Some Roman cities survived, and still exist today