V. Gordon Childe attempted to define a city using several specific characteristics. Some of these characteristics included size, class structure, public capital (creating funds that allowed monuments and artists to be commissioned by the city), education meaning written language and mathematics, and trade routes being maintained and expanded upon.
These all seem accurate in defining a city. A city is substantially larger in size than a
town, village, or hamlet; and this is usually the defining characteristic of whether a settlement can be deemed a "city". While this definition of what a city was seems very clear, there were many different and often conflicting theories about how these civilizations came about. Some of the theories that are offered include the agricultural surplus theory, which I think sounds entirely too simplistic. I don't really see the correlation between excess food and how that could lead to societal stratification and then urbanization. It seems more likely that the farmers would enjoy their success and stay on their farms, rather than move into urban centers.
It seems unlikely that any of these would create a fully functioning society, as population pressures, trade, defense needs and the other examples would all be too one-dimensional. However, taking all of these factors in conjunction with one another would be a much more rational explanation. Basically this shows that as all of these things were occurring, there was a gradual transformation from isolated settlements into a larger civilized and urbanized society.
Early Cities
The most important thing in learning about the early cities is how they established their class structure- class often dictated where in the city people were located. For example, the elite (the wealthy, political or religious figures) usually lived in the center of the city, and then as you move further from the center of the city, there was a marked decrease in income, to the outer limits of the city where the poorest members of society lived. This also reflects the fact that in case of military attack, the outer limits of the city (and thus the poor) would be most susceptible to attack, while the upper echelon of society would be best protected.
This pattern of division within the cities is replicated in most of the early cities, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and Northern China to name a few.
Urban Expansion
Expansion owed a great deal to the trade routes that developed, because as the trade routes such as the Silk Road developed, not only did the exchange of goods occur, but also the exchange of culture and ideas- such as writing, new technology, art, religion. Furthermore, the Silk Road allowed certain cities to establish themselves and connected distant places from Europe, Southwest Asia, India, and China.
Time Periods in City Development
- Dark Ages - Western European cities experienced a decline after the fall of the Roman Empire, allowing other cities (i.e., Constantinople) to move into the power vacuum that the fall of Rome Created. However, it also created a politically unstable and uncertain situation, making trade routes more dangerous and consequently forcing cities to become more isolated.
- Medieval Times - Feudal system in Europe collapsed, and the nobility consequently began to levy higher taxes on the peasants. As a result, the peasants were forced to sell crops for cash, creating an increased dependency on the money market.
- Renaissance and Baroque Periods - The major change during this time was the establishment of gateway cities and control centers. This allowed certain cities to become more dominant than others due to their prominence in the trade routes. Some of the most important cities became Buenos Aires, Calcutta, and Ghana. During this time, there was a great deal of urban beautification, as more public capital was spent on sculptures and public buildings.
- Industrialization Revolution - With the Industrial Revolution came a
complete restructuring of the urban landscape, as cities grew seemingly overnight. The factories created a completely different type of landscape, as they moved from agriculturally based to industrially based. Train tracks and stations were necessary to transport things quickly from one place to another, and rivers were necessary to power the factories. There was a population influx to cities as they needed more and more people to man the factories, and the central business district was created to allow companies to more easily control their assets.
Key Concepts
- Defining a city must take into account several different aspects, including: size, class structure and public capital
- Early cities all had similar layouts, as the elite often had the most protection because they were located in a central position, leaving the poor on the outskirts of the city in the most vulnerable position
- Trade routes became established, spreading goods and ideas throughout the empire
- Cities evolved throughout history, changing in time with society and cultural changes, culminating in the current world-system stage that we are in currently.
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