6.03 Urbanization

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Introduction

The dynamics of population growth (and sometimes shrinkage) over human history have been accompanied by the development of larger cities in which more people are now living. Cities, however, are not a modern development. They have been in existence for thousands of years. We find evidence of ancient cities in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South America.

By comparison to today's standards, early cities would be considered quite small. They generally had just several thousand residents and were typically agricultural centers along major trade routes. Some much larger cities, however, had hundreds of thousands of residents, such as the Mediterranean cities of Athens and Rome.

One reason cities were able to thrive was the advances in agriculture that allowed surpluses of food to be readily available. People were thus freed to engage in other activities as necessary for the functioning of the city and its residents.