Architecture and Cities in History

Architecture and
Cities in History

Architecture and Cities in History

Introduction

Defining a City

(1)A city is an urban area

with a large population
and a particular
administrative, legal, or
historical status.

Architecture and Cities in History

Introduction

Defining a City
Large industrialized cities generally
have advanced systems for
sanitation, utilities, land usage,
housing, and transportation and
more. This close proximity greatly
facilitates interaction between
people and firms, benefiting both
parties in the process.

Architecture and Cities in History

Theories/Explanations why Cities

originated

(1)1. Agricultural Surplus

(2)2. Hydrological factors
(3)3. Population pressures
(4)4. trading requirements
(5)5. Defense needs
(6)6. Religious causes
(7)None of all 6 offers sufficient explanation, but a
combination of these factors

Architecture and Cities in History

1. Agricultural Surplus
(1)Production of more food than was
needed, created necessity for
centralized structures to administer
New social institutions needed to
assign rights over resources
Created greater degree of
occupational specialization in nonagricultural activities
Organization needed an urban
setting

Architecture and Cities in History

1. Agricultural Surplus
However:
(1)Too simplistic agr. Surplus
not enough to trigger off all
these societal changes
(2)Cause-and-effect not
straight forward which
preceded the other surplus
or social org.

Architecture and Cities in History

2. Hydrological factors
(1)Elaborate irrigation practices required
new divisions of labor, large scale
cooperation, and more cultivation
(2)Led to occupational specialization, then
centralized social organization

However:
Critique: A complex social organization
structure not necessary for irrigation
Not all early cities depended on massive
irrigation

Architecture and Cities in History

3. Population Pressures
(1)transition to agricultural production, and urban life

However:
(2)Relationship unclear: Did food production and urban
life cause or were a result of increased population
densities?

Architecture and Cities in History

4. Trading Requirements
(1)Need for a system to administer large-scale
exchange of goods promoted development
of centralized structures
(2)Increasing occupational specialization would
encourage urban development
(3)Theory supported by the many urban centers
around marketplaces

However:

Again, cause-and-effect issue: between trade and

urban development!

Architecture and Cities in History

5. Defense needs
(1)Cities a function of need for people to
gather together for protection
(2)Cities located on strategic places (hills)
where could spot enemy at distance
(3)valuable irrigation systems need
protection from attack
(4)Evidence: Most cities had walls (fortified)

However:
(5)Not all early cities had defenses

Architecture and Cities in History

6. Religious Causes
(1) Control of Alter offerings by the religious elite gave them economic and
political power
(2) Power was used to influence social organization initiated urban
development.

Architecture and Cities in History

Can the origin of cities be attributed solely to any

one of the above 6 factors?

NO!
(1)No single autonomous causative factor has been (or
will be) identified.
(2)None of all 6 offers sufficient explanation, but a
combination of these factors
(3)Has seen a gradual transformation involving
caused incremental change over time rather than
an abrupt urban evolution

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

Cities emerged 5,500 years ago through the
Industrial revolution
5 Regions credited with the earliest
development of cities:
1.Mesopotamia,
2.Egypt,
3.The Indus Valley,
4.Northern China,
5.Mesoamerica

Architecture and Cities in History

Origins and Growth of Cities

(1)From here spread to other
areas
(2)Early cities developed
independently in regions
where the transition to
agricultural food production
had taken place

Architecture and Cities in History

REGIONS OF URBAN ORIGIN

Architecture and Cities in History

REGIONS OF URBAN ORIGIN

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

1. Mesopotamia
(1) Land between the Rivers Tigris and
Euphrates area of modern day Iraq!
(2) Earliest evidence for urbanization
approx. 3500BC
(3) The Fertile Crescent
(4) City States

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

2. Egypt
(1) Along Nile valley
(2) Around 3100 BC
(3) Agriculture - Irrigation
(4) Short lifespan for cities
(5) Cities usually
abandoned after the
death of a Pharaoh
leader
(6) 2000-1400BC founding
of Capital Cities
Thebes, Tanis, etc

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

3. Indus Valley
(1) 2500BC
(2) Modern day
Pakistan
(3) Agriculture and
trade

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

4. Northern China
(1) Along the fertile
plains of R. Huang
He 1800BC
(2) Supported by
irrigated
agriculture

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS

5. Mesoamerica
(1) 500BC
(2) Based on
agriculture
(3) Mayan civilization
(4) Modern day Mexico

Architecture and Cities in History

Internal Structure of Early Cities

(1) Internal Structure=Lay out within the city land
use, streets, transportation, etc
(2) Two ways to examine internal lay out:

1. Organic growth cities that evolved in an

unplanned process, Eg. Mesopotamia
2. Planned cities that were laid out in a
predetermined way based on some
planned approach, eg gridiron street
pattern, eg London
(3) Planned lay out of streets could signify the
presence of central control
(4) Internal structure never static evolves some
cities changed from organic to planned and vice

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN EXPANSION FROM THE REGIONS OF

ORIGIN
(1)Spread of urbanization from areas of origin-involved
uneven development
(2)Some urbanized civilizations became rural in the
process, were later revived, and recolonized
(3)Spread associated with long-distance trade, Ex. the
silk road an ancient trade network that extended
across central Asia. Produced an extensive system of
cities

Architecture and Cities in History

URBAN EXPANSION FROM THE REGIONS OF ORIGIN

Architecture and Cities in History

THE SILK ROAD: LONG DISTANCE TRADE AND

URBAN EXPANSION

Architecture and Cities in History

REGIONS OF URBAN ORIGIN

Architecture and Cities in History

Urban Site Issues

Architecture and Cities in History

City Plan
FACTORS
Affecting City
Plan

City
Characters

1. Geographical and natural

2. Religion, Social and Political life
3. Economic conditions
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