The Evolution of Cities
Over time across the globe, small independent semi-permanent towns have evolved into large permanent human settlements. A city is a system of housing, business, transportation, and basic needs to manage urban population growth. Over 100 years ago, only 2 out of 10 people situated themselves and lived in cities, but as these cities have enhanced approximately more than half of the global population currently lives in cities.
In the earliest stages of human settlement, most people were 'hunter-gatherers' where they would move from place to place in search for a sustainable amount of food. This nomadic existence allowed a wide range of different sources of food to be discovered for later generations to form a new way of living.
Cities later continued to evolve from these unsustainable methods to a more permanent settlement due to a systematic civilisation of plants and the domestication of animals. Early agricultural techniques allowed people to find these sources of food which led to the development of semi-permanent villages. After agriculture became more popular, soil in areas became depleted which meant people had to move again and find fresh soil for their crops.
Irrigation and soil tilling allowed people to rely on a steady and long term supply of food. Now that humans had multiple ways of sourcing food, permanent settlements were possible. The large production of food meant less people would have to grow food and people began to buy and trade goods for their food. This meant the trade market was built, meaning a sustainable economy was also produced.
Later on, the urban city was created after the production of storable food, a system of writing (communication), a more complex social organisation and technological advances such as transport systems, sustainable living and agriculture. Now commerce and communication had the ability to be taken to distant cities. Tools, technologies and crafts began to develop which helped the advance if sustainable living.
Cities began to expand due to many people being drawn from the country side as more people were needed for labour to produce further technologies to enhance cities. Cities at this time were condensed and crowded due to the limited transport systems and very few water sources. Walls were also built around these cities as protection from other civilisations.
The industrial revolution shaped and built the foundation of our modernised urban cities today. When new technology boomed, cities expanded into bigger and better things and integrated further which caused industries to expand and more jobs were created. The history of cities has helped to shape the cities we strive for today as we have now realised the issues and problems in the past, which we can move past and solve to create a better and more sustainable world.
In the earliest stages of human settlement, most people were 'hunter-gatherers' where they would move from place to place in search for a sustainable amount of food. This nomadic existence allowed a wide range of different sources of food to be discovered for later generations to form a new way of living.
Cities later continued to evolve from these unsustainable methods to a more permanent settlement due to a systematic civilisation of plants and the domestication of animals. Early agricultural techniques allowed people to find these sources of food which led to the development of semi-permanent villages. After agriculture became more popular, soil in areas became depleted which meant people had to move again and find fresh soil for their crops.
Irrigation and soil tilling allowed people to rely on a steady and long term supply of food. Now that humans had multiple ways of sourcing food, permanent settlements were possible. The large production of food meant less people would have to grow food and people began to buy and trade goods for their food. This meant the trade market was built, meaning a sustainable economy was also produced.
Later on, the urban city was created after the production of storable food, a system of writing (communication), a more complex social organisation and technological advances such as transport systems, sustainable living and agriculture. Now commerce and communication had the ability to be taken to distant cities. Tools, technologies and crafts began to develop which helped the advance if sustainable living.
Cities began to expand due to many people being drawn from the country side as more people were needed for labour to produce further technologies to enhance cities. Cities at this time were condensed and crowded due to the limited transport systems and very few water sources. Walls were also built around these cities as protection from other civilisations.
The industrial revolution shaped and built the foundation of our modernised urban cities today. When new technology boomed, cities expanded into bigger and better things and integrated further which caused industries to expand and more jobs were created. The history of cities has helped to shape the cities we strive for today as we have now realised the issues and problems in the past, which we can move past and solve to create a better and more sustainable world.