lecture 01a cities
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the world's first cityTRANSCRIPT
Architecture and Cities in History
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Architecture and Cities in History
Architecture and Cities in History
Defining a City
(1)A city is an urban area with a large population and a particular administrative, legal, or historical status.
Introduction
Architecture and Cities in History
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.
Defining a CityIntroduction
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 non-agricultural 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
(1)From here – spread to other areas(2)Early cities developed
independently in regions where the transition to agricultural food production had taken place
Origins and Growth of Cities
Architecture and Cities in History
REGIONS OF URBAN ORIGIN
Architecture and Cities in History
REGIONS OF URBAN ORIGIN
Architecture and Cities in History
(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
URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS
1. Mesopotamia
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: REGIONS3. Indus Valley
(1) 2500BC(2) Modern day Pakistan(3) Agriculture and trade
Architecture and Cities in History
URBAN ORIGINS: REGIONS
(1) Along the fertile plains of R. Huang He – 1800BC
(2) Supported by irrigated agriculture
4. Northern China
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 versa eg. London - planned to organic
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
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City Plan
FACTORS Affecting City Plan1. Geographical and natural2. Religion, Social and Political life3. Economic conditions
City Characters