1. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Urbanization Trends
Global Indicators
Uneven global distribution of urbanization
Shenzhen, China; Calcutta and Mumbai, India
“…the urban system and its spokes form the structural skeleton of society.”

2. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities and Civilizations
Egalitarian societies
Southwest Asia (6,000 BC); increasing complexity
Cities and States … the next logical step.
Specialization political systems and gov.
Ancient cities:
three administrative levels
dominant urban center
The city…a recent invention (only 8,000 years)
Formative era 7,000-5,000 BC (Mesopotamia)

3. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities and Civilizations (cont.)
Location:
proximity to farmland
surface and ground water
defense
proximity to trade routes
Functions:
political centers
religious centers
economic centers
cultural centers

4. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities and Civilizations (cont.)
Size of early centers:
10,000-15,000
determined by capacity of social and economic system

6. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities: Diffusion to Greece
Mesopotamian Greece
3,000 BC Greece is highly urbanized
500 cities and towns
250,000 inhabitants
Global impact of Greek cities
Characteristics: Acropolis and Agora
Underbelly: poor sanitation and slave labor

7. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities: Roman Cities
Extensive settlement system
Good transport and infrastructure
Rectangular grid layout
Military towns
Characteristics: forum, stadium, high culture and architecture
Underbelly: slave labor

9. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Ancient Cities: Other Rising Cities
Xian, China
Saharan trading cities
Mayan urbanization
Aztec capital of Teotihuacan > 100,000

10. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Sjoberg’s Preindustrial City
folk-preliterate
feudal - modest houses and unpaved streets
preindustrial - religion/governmental core
urban-industrial - economic core
cities reflective of societal development

11. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Primate Cities
dominant city in a settlement system
“a country’s leading city is always disproportionately large and exceptionally expressive of national capacity and feeling.” - Mark Jefferson (1939)
agricultural dominance
colonial rule
poor countries with distant colonial past

12. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Primate Cities
dominant city in a settlement system
“a country’s leading city is always disproportionately large and exceptionally expressive of national capacity and feeling.” - Mark Jefferson (1939)
agricultural dominance
colonial rule
poor countries with distant colonial past

13. Urban Geography: Civilization and Urbanization
Modern Western Cities
Evolution
Medieval cities
mercantile city: commercial nodes; trading companies and merchants.
Manufacturing City
Origin in the British Midlands ‘black towns’
unregulated jumbles of activity
slums, poor sanitation, inadequate water, child labor
Modern city: transportation, legislation, planning
Postmodern city: The annihilation of space? Role of technology