When and Why Did People Start Living in Cities? City: A conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics Urban: The buildup of the city and surrounding environs connected to the city (central city and suburbs) Urbanization: Movement of people from rural to urban areas—can happen very quickly in the modern world

Urban Population

Origins of Urbanization Agricultural villages Began about 10,000 years ago Relatively small, egalitarian villages, where most of the population was involved in agriculture The first urban revolution: Enabling components An agricultural surplus Social stratification (leadership class)

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

Indus River Valley Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro Intricately planned Houses equal in size No palaces No monuments

Huang He and Wei River Valleys Purposefully planned cities Centered on a north-south axis Inner wall built around center Temples and palaces for the leadership class Terracotta warriors guarding the tomb of the Chinese Emperor Qin Xi Huang

Mesoamerica Mayan and Aztec cities: Theocratic centers where rulers were deemed to have divine authority and were god-kings

Diffusion of Urbanization Greek cities (by 500 BCE) Greeks highly urbanized Network of more than 500 cities and towns on the mainland and on islands Acropolis (buildings on a height of land) and an agora (open public space) in each city Roman cities A system of cities and small towns, linked together by hundreds of miles of roads and sea routes Sites of Roman cities typically for trade Forum a combination of the acropolis and agora into one space Extreme wealth and extreme poverty

Urban Growth after Greece and Rome Europe Middle Ages (500–1300) Little urban growth, even decline Asia Centers along the Silk Road Urban growth in Korea, Japan West Africa The Americas

Cities in the Age of Exploration Early Eurasian centers Crescent-shaped zone from England to Japan Most cities sited in continental interiors Maritime exploration Change in situation to favor coastal locations Continued importance under colonialism Wealth for mercantile cities of Europe European model for cities in colonies

The Second Urban Revolution A large-scale movement of people to cities to work in manufacturing, made possible by 1. Second agricultural revolution that improved food production and created a larger surplus 2. Industrialization, which encouraged growth of cities near industrial resources Favored places Had undergone the second agricultural revolution Possessed industrial resources Possessed capital from mercantilism and colonialism