Urban Organization through the Ages: Neighborhoods, Open Spaces and Urban Life

A rendering of ancient Babylon (Ishtar Gate at center).

Description:
From the earliest cities to the present, two universals of urban form are the organization of residential areas into neighborhoods and the presence of open spaces within cities. Neighborhoods can differ greatly in their ethnic, political, religious and economic dynamics; open spaces include a broad range of uses, from gardens to civic plazas to empty lots. These two features are important influences on urban life and social activities in any city. For this project, we use neighborhoods and open spaces as points of entry into the complexities of urban organization in the broad spectrum of world cities from the earliest states to the present.

Urbanism is too big a phenomenon to be understood from the perspectives of any single discipline, so we have designed a project that is transdisciplinary, cross-cultural and historical in design. We are drawing from the data and methods of archaeology, history, sociology, geography and political science to analyze key urban issues. This research will lead to enhanced understanding of both modern and ancient cities, and of an urbanization process that unfolded over several millennia of human history.

Our project is organized around five major research themes, each with a series of research questions.

1. The Size and Scale of Urban Systems. What effects do urban population, area and density have on spatial dynamics? Are there limits to growth and organizational capacity (for both neighborhoods and cities)? How common is sprawl across time and space?
2. Stratification and Segregation in Urban Neighborhoods. How does inequality affect urban life? Do aspects of neighborhoods and other urban spaces influence social diversity and tolerance? Does diversity relate to innovation and urban change?
3. Migration and Ethnic Enclaves. How does migration relate to neighborhood dynamics and how does it contribute to ethnic solidarity and conflict within cities?
4. Security and Surveillance. To what extent are neighborhoods formed by top-down processes (administrative imposition) vs. bottom-up forces (non-administrative actions of residents)? How do these dynamics relate to security and surveillance? Can modern gated communities be usefully compared to ancient walled urban neighborhoods?
5. Open Spaces. What is the extent of struggle over open space in ancient and modern cities? What are the antecedents and ramifications of the modern privatization of urban open spaces? Who provides urban open space, and who benefits from it?

Late Lessons from Early History