ABSTRACT

Cities are transformers of historical change. They have been the scene and setting throughout human history of major social, economic and political change. This chapter looks at the major points of rupture in the urban story. The tale will be selective. There are a number of books which look at the broad sweep of the city in history. The chapter concentrates on those key periods in which the city condensed and reflected changes in the organisation of society. The very first cities marked a change in human settlement. But before cities could arise, a number of preconditions had to be met. Since urbanisation involved the creation of non-agricultural occupations, there had to be a surplus of food in order to feed the population not directly involved in food production. The urban historian Gideon Sjoberg makes a distinction between the form and characteristics of cities before and after the industrial revolution.