History of Cities and Urban Development

The first cities began around 3000 BC at the end of the Neolithic period and the beginning of the Copper Age, in areas of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. The main reason for cities to appear...

Greek Cities

• The importance of the city for the Greeks.
• Chora (surrounding area that provides food to the city)
• Astý (where people live) and the Acropolis
• Agorá (an open area where the market is located. We also find the Ekklesía, which is an assembly)

Roman Cities (The City of the 17)

• The cities were divided by two main streets: the Cardo and the Decumanus.
• The Forum (where we find the market, religious buildings, and most important buildings)
• Gates (across the gates, we can see the beautiful Roman causeways leading to the Forum)

Medieval Cities

• In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire falls (Dark Ages).
• No more emperors, less security, trade stops.
• The Visigoths were responsible for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
• This decay lasted for about 500 years.
• Medieval cities began building around cathedrals; these cities were often chaotic with narrow streets (Example: Puerta de Cambrón).

Muslim Cities

• Cities were organized near the mosque, and the most important mosque is called the congregational mosque (Jāmiʿ al-Masjid), where...
• Structure: it looks like a disaster, but it's organized. Around the mosque, trade is located in the souk (Examples: Istanbul, Cairo).
• The inner part is the Medina.

Modern Age Cities

By the end of the Middle Ages, a new social class of traders, called the bourgeoisie, appeared, especially in Italy. These people were very rich and lived in palaces, so cities stopped being centralized only on churches and now also on these palaces.

These places were very good to live in because the standard of living was high.

Baroque Cities

• Absolute monarchy.
• The best example is Louis XIV.
• The king changed the city for himself, and the most important place in the city was his palace, while the citizens lived in very bad conditions.
• Example: In Rome, the Pope acted as a ruler, influencing urban planning, such as the three streets radiating from Piazza del Popolo, sometimes linked symbolically to the Holy Trinity.

Industrial Cities

• The Industrial Revolution starts, which means factories.
• The factories were located inside cities.
• Citizens lived around factories, while rich people lived far away from them.
• When factories increased their production, city walls were eliminated for transportation.