GGRA03 Lecture 2 Today - why is history important? - Why did cities ...
GGRA03 Lecture 2 Today -
why is history important? Why did cities emerge? What defines cityness? Major characteristics of urban form Changing relationships of city and nature
Why is history important? - understanding long-term patterns o urban systems are built incrementally on prior systems - cities are code-generated - - historical analysis of urban form growth, development and change is key to understanding social rules - cities are an expression of values - - analysis of how cities change over time allows understanding of the civilizations that give rise to them when, where and why did cities emerge? Which of the competing theories of urban origins is most convincing? a. hydraulic theory b. economic theory c. military theory d. religious theory hydraulic theory - control over water is essential - irrigation systems require a governance system that can mobilize large investments - early cities were almost always established at key locations on rivers - rural patters of land use irrigation systems, canals, etc. then have long term impacts on urban pattern economic theories - economic factors most important- ports, raw materials, rich hinterland, energy sources - e.g Cronon (1991) nature’s metropolis - rapid growth of Chicago on the 19th century as a process f economic development of a rich hinterland military theories - settlements established at military-strategic locations from the core of long term settlements - military pattern remains influential long after strategic value of settlement is gone
religious theories - centers that are important for religious reasons are the starting point for many cities globally of which one of the most famous is Mecca - also Rome, Jerusalem, Lhasa, Varanasi, and many others political capitals - long lasting cities are often the result of decisions by kings and emperor whose choices may or may not be strongly influenced by the other factors - in the modern period there have been several new cities planned and built primarily as new political capitals, including Ottawa, Brasilia, Candberra and Washington Fundamental Characteristics of Citites - what defines cityness? - Large population size and density - Full time specialization of labour - Concentration of surplus product - Class- structured society - State organization Fundamental Characteristics of cities- Kostoff 1. energised crowding- density, numbers 2. cities come in clusters 3. boundaries- physical circumscription – in and outside 4. specialized differentiation of work 5. a source of income 6. written records- particularly of accounts and property 7. a productive hinterland 8. monumental public buildings- identity and authority 9. buildings and people- city forms, their actual function Urban form- walls - walls surrounded almost all cities - walls were for defense but also: o allowed control of urban populations o controlling the flow of goods into and out of the city allowed taxation of goods entering the city o clear separation between urban and rural city and wilderness, civilization and barbarian, us and them o within the wall city services were provided and regulations enforced Urban form- streets - a fundamental aspect of urban form is streets - streets permit movement - streets are the majority of public space in any city - streets today are mostly used by cars but in the past were used by markets, performers, and artisans and as prisons sewers as stables - regulating streets activities was the first job of police when invented in the 19th century
Urban form- Public and Private - basic feature of cities is the divide between public and private space Urban from- Infrastructure - major infrastructure investments can also provide long lasting structure to urban growth - apart from walls, these can include water-supply systems canals railways arenas highways churches markets - such infrastructure can be either public or private City and nature - the relationship between city and nature is important because it has had a profound influence on policies, patterns of urbanization and housing choices Rome China Japan - pre modern empires developed a different relationship to nature because of the huge sized of the capital cities, Rome, Beijing and Edo ( Tokyo) - a whole empire was mobilized to supply imperial capitals over 1 million Medieval Europe - why is medieval Europe important? - Fragmentation of em
why is history important? Why did cities emerge? What defines cityness? Major characteristics of urban form Changing relationships of city and nature
Why is history important? - understanding long-term patterns o urban systems are built incrementally on prior systems - cities are code-generated - - historical analysis of urban form growth, development and change is key to understanding social rules - cities are an expression of values - - analysis of how cities change over time allows understanding of the civilizations that give rise to them when, where and why did cities emerge? Which of the competing theories of urban origins is most convincing? a. hydraulic theory b. economic theory c. military theory d. religious theory hydraulic theory - control over water is essential - irrigation systems require a governance system that can mobilize large investments - early cities were almost always established at key locations on rivers - rural patters of land use irrigation systems, canals, etc. then have long term impacts on urban pattern economic theories - economic factors most important- ports, raw materials, rich hinterland, energy sources - e.g Cronon (1991) nature’s metropolis - rapid growth of Chicago on the 19th century as a process f economic development of a rich hinterland military theories - settlements established at military-strategic locations from the core of long term settlements - military pattern remains influential long after strategic value of settlement is gone
religious theories - centers that are important for religious reasons are the starting point for many cities globally of which one of the most famous is Mecca - also Rome, Jerusalem, Lhasa, Varanasi, and many others political capitals - long lasting cities are often the result of decisions by kings and emperor whose choices may or may not be strongly influenced by the other factors - in the modern period there have been several new cities planned and built primarily as new political capitals, including Ottawa, Brasilia, Candberra and Washington Fundamental Characteristics of Citites - what defines cityness? - Large population size and density - Full time specialization of labour - Concentration of surplus product - Class- structured society - State organization Fundamental Characteristics of cities- Kostoff 1. energised crowding- density, numbers 2. cities come in clusters 3. boundaries- physical circumscription – in and outside 4. specialized differentiation of work 5. a source of income 6. written records- particularly of accounts and property 7. a productive hinterland 8. monumental public buildings- identity and authority 9. buildings and people- city forms, their actual function Urban form- walls - walls surrounded almost all cities - walls were for defense but also: o allowed control of urban populations o controlling the flow of goods into and out of the city allowed taxation of goods entering the city o clear separation between urban and rural city and wilderness, civilization and barbarian, us and them o within the wall city services were provided and regulations enforced Urban form- streets - a fundamental aspect of urban form is streets - streets permit movement - streets are the majority of public space in any city - streets today are mostly used by cars but in the past were used by markets, performers, and artisans and as prisons sewers as stables - regulating streets activities was the first job of police when invented in the 19th century
Urban form- Public and Private - basic feature of cities is the divide between public and private space Urban from- Infrastructure - major infrastructure investments can also provide long lasting structure to urban growth - apart from walls, these can include water-supply systems canals railways arenas highways churches markets - such infrastructure can be either public or private City and nature - the relationship between city and nature is important because it has had a profound influence on policies, patterns of urbanization and housing choices Rome China Japan - pre modern empires developed a different relationship to nature because of the huge sized of the capital cities, Rome, Beijing and Edo ( Tokyo) - a whole empire was mobilized to supply imperial capitals over 1 million Medieval Europe - why is medieval Europe important? - Fragmentation of em
