1. When and Why did People Start Living in Cities
Chapter 9 section 1 Text pages
When and Why did People Start Living in Cities

2. What is a City? City Urban Morphology
Mix of buildings and people; forming a center of cultural, political, and economic activity
Urban Morphology
Layout of a city (form and structure)

3. Urbanization What’s urban? What’s rural?
Build up of central city and suburbs
What’s rural?
Worldwide movement to cities (urbanization)
All places not urbanizing at same rate: China just starting to become more urban
Global population mostly urban
Reflects globalization
Most of Human history has been rural

4. Agriculture
Cities require switch from hunting and gathering  agriculture
Why?
Agricultural villages
Near subsistence living and egalitarian (share everything)
Fertile Crescent = 1st agricultural hearth, about 8,000 years ago
Indus River Valley and Mesoamerica followed

5. Formation of Cities
Required Agricultural Surplus and Social Stratification
Leadership Class
No agricultural work
focus on politics, writing, law, etc.
Religion supports rulers
Collects taxes for defense and profit
Development of Cities 3500 BCE = 1st Urban Revolution
World still mostly rural, urban centers are exceptions
Economic activities besides agriculture
Specialty crafts, military, trade, and government
Arable land, water, and defensibility were key to formation
Disease kept populations down
Small populations compared to today (10-15,000)

6. FIVE Hearths Independent Invention Hearths
Mesopotamia (area of Fertile Crescent) 3500 BCE major structures where ziggurats (temples)
Nile River Valley (Egypt) 3200 BCE lacked walls due to singular control of the area
Indus River Valley (India) 2200 BCE believed to have leader class but lacks evidence of social stratification
Huang He River Valley (China) 1500 BCE Massive structures and monuments
Mesoamerica (Mexico and the Yucatan) 200 BCE Maya and Olmec

7. Roles of Ancient Cities
Centers of:
Religion
Power
Economy
Education
Invention (metallurgy, technology, infrastructure, etc.)

8. What are the roles of cities today?

9. Site Absolute location of a city
What’s absolute location?
EXAMPLE: The site where New York City is located can be found at ° N, ° W
Important because features of a site can impact:
Trade
Defense
Relevance

10. Situation
Relative location of a city as well as its place in the region and world around it
What’s relative location?
EXAMPLE: New York is situated in the north eastern United States as a global economic, cultural, and political center

11. The Mediterranean
Where is it?
Etruscan and Minoan civilizations

12. Greece Cities developed from 800-500 BCE
Network of hundreds of cities connected by trade
Hilly terrain allowed them to not have to build mounds for temples
Acropolis (high point in the city) place for temples (the Parthenon)
Largest cities: Sparta and Athens (250,000 people)

13. Greece Public Spaces – wider and more open Problems Impact
Agora (central point and center of athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city)
Theatres
Problems
Poor housing
Slave labor
unsanitary
Impact
Influenced Rome  Spread to Europe and influenced western society  colonialism and capitalism spread ideas about cities to the world

14. Rome Largest urban system yet Empire incorporated a greater area
Rome = capital
Hierarchy of settlements (villages to major cities)
Extensive transportation systems
Thousands of miles of roads helped connect and hold together the empire
Established sea routes
Trading ports and posts
Public Spaces
Forum – combined acropolis and agora
Coliseums – largest in Rome with greater towns having greater coliseums
Problems
1/3 – ½ of the population are slaves
Overcrowded tenements
Poor sanitation

15. European Exploration
Before exploration sites for cities had been inland
Land based trade made the situations of these cities favorable
Routes like the Silk Road sustained cities through trade
Exploration and Oceanic Trade
Refocused the situation of power from inland to coastal cities
Exploration  colonialism
Brought vast wealth to Europe

16. Second Urban Revolution
World still primarily rural in late 18th century
Industrial Revolution
Great Britain
Draws people to cities URBANIZATION!
Second Agricultural Revolution
More food
Less agricultural workers
New inventions: seed drill, hybrid seeds, and improved breeding practices

17. Workers Rights Still not Recognized Worldwide

22. Site and Situation change in the Industrial Revolution
Not every mercantilist city saw growth
Resources at the site of a city determined importance
Situations changed based on proximity to resources
Fresh moving water
Coal
Iron ore
Steam Engines: allow for more machinery in factories and greater ease of transportation so cities not situated near resources could take part in industrialization as well
Negatives
Pollution
Unsanitary conditions
Lack of affordable housing for many
Poor working conditions
Child labor

23. Latter 20th Century Communist ideas of Fredrick Engles and Karl Marx
Workers’ rights recognized
But
Rapid growth, poor planning, immigration  slums and ghettos
Cities and companies moved factories out of urban areas creating Rust Belts