Urban Development

Urban Development

• City: a settlement that performs some kind of central function (economic, administrative, cultural).
• Stages of urban development:
1. ancient city,
2. medieval city,
3. modern city that developed after the Industrial Revolution.
• Continuity: topographical and ethnic continuity. In Southern Europe continuity is complete; in Western Europe it exists only in some cities; in the Danube provinces there was only topographical continuity; cities could also emerge without any ancient antecedents; beyond the limes the concept of continuity has no meaning.
• Ancient city: an essential element was that the ancient aristocracy played a significant role in directing the life of the city.
• Medieval city: the peak of urban development in Europe occurred in the 13th century.
• City sizes:

• Only two cities had more than 100,000 inhabitants – Paris and Constantinople.
• About 10–11 cities had more than 50,000 inhabitants – Venice, Florence, Bruges, Granada, Seville, etc.
• Around 100 cities had more than 10,000 inhabitants.
• Formation of cities:
• favorable geographical position (trade routes, meeting points of different economic regions),
• development from Roman urban cores,
• around episcopal centers,
• near monasteries,
• near castles (feudal centers).
• Large landowners moved out of the city; the city gradually lost its power function over the countryside and became a center in other respects: handicraft production and trade.
• The city also became legally separated from the countryside.
• A unified city emerged when both the suburbs and the city center were enclosed within the same wall.
• Urban development was connected with economic development (agricultural revolution).
• The urban bourgeoisie was linked to merchants; about 80% of the citizens came from the surrounding countryside (they migrated from the estates of the city's lord).
• From the 11th century the commune movement developed; it did not spread throughout all of Europe, but achieved its greatest successes in Italy and in German cities; its aim was to gain personal freedoms (freedom of movement, marriage, making wills).
• In the 12th–13th centuries financial businesses emerged that would later become characteristic.

Modern Industrial City

• Dominance of factory industry: large plants, factory districts, and the separation of industrial zones.
• Rapid population growth: influx of workers from villages, urbanization.
• Social stratification: workers' districts, middle-class residential areas, and the spatial separation of elites.
• Housing problems: crowded tenement houses and poor hygienic conditions (especially at the beginning).
• Development of transportation networks: railways, trams, later subways, industrial transport.
• Expansion of infrastructure: water supply, sewage systems, public lighting.
• Environmental pressure: air and water pollution, noise, smoke.
• Concentration of labor: formation of an industrial working class and the appearance of trade unions.
• Role as an economic center: development of banks, trade, and services.
• Cultural and social institutions: schools, hospitals, workers' homes.