| Index of papers | Phil Gyford: web | email |
|
|
| Spring 2000 | |||||
|
|||||
| World Futures | |||||
|
|||||
|
Urbanism Framework Document |
2000-04-24 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Definition History Humans first began coming together in cities about 10,000 years ago around the eastern Mediterranean and the Nile. Settlements often represented social structures in space, for example, with the more desirable housing towards the centre where most business was conducted. The center also usually contained any social construction (such as temples and government buildings) that appeared as cities grew larger and more complex. New developments, such as the wheel, writing and better irrigation allowed society to advance and settlements to expand, with writing in particular allowing more consistent and long-lasting ideas to be passed through the generations. This period of urban history culminated with a few cities such as Rome and Teotihuacan reaching populations of perhaps 1 millions inhabitants, a total that wouldnąt again be reached until 19th century London. The Industrial Revolution in many parts of the world created a sudden shift of its populations towards towns and cities, with the centralisation of labour that it brought.
Source: Peter Hall, The World Cities, World University Library, 1966. The shift towards industrialisation usually brings about a marked move towards urban living (Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have shown, however, that industrialisation can be markedly rural). Patrick Geddes, a pioneer of town-planning theory of the early twentieth century, pointed out that the industrial revolution began with inventions of the eighteenth century that created heavy industries dependent on coal and benefiting from being situated close together. After 1900 inventions from the previous 50 years (such as the telephone, power station, internal combustion engine, radio) became more common in general use. Geddes, along with others such as Lewis Mumford and Jean-François Gravier, thought that the industries created by these new inventions could be more free; they no longer relied on centralisation of activity, and in fact allowed greater freedom which could lead to complete decentralisation. However, the structure of the economy was changing and while enterprises had once been financed by single people or families, the process of financing them gradually became a separate industry of its own. These new financial organisations, along with new industries that developing consumerism generated (advertising, marketing, media), saw benefits in being physically close to each other and a large pool of potential employees. Electric trams and rail allowed workers to live further away from the centre, with trains and underground rail networks later increasing the commuting range. Workers who could afford to often began living further away from the crowded city centres. Cars and buses again furthered this trend of suburbanisation, allowing gaps to be filled in between the main fixed commuter lines. Governments later began constructing motorway networks to cope with this increased personal traffic which, along with better cars, again increased the distances people were willing to travel to work. While city centres are still the main draw, recent decades have seen the development of commercial centres further out, relying entirely on cars. Fastest growing US cities, 1940-1990
[ next page ] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Index of papers | Phil Gyford: web | email |
|
|