GEOG101 Chapter 13: Chapter 13 – Urbanization and Urban Networks

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Geography and Environmental Management
• Course: GEOG101
• Professor: Brent Doberstein

Document Summary

Up until a few thousand years ago, cites simply did not exist, part of this was because cities were not economically practical. The prehistoric economy was based mainly on hunting and gathering, relied on small groups of people sometimes described as clans, who banded together to kill game and to gather useful plants. First of all, agriculture required a settling down: settlements. Second, the overall density of population in agriculture areas increased substantially: the density increased the number of people who came in close contact with each other. Fourth, the food supply was on a more regular schedule: this brought intensified attempts to explain what was going on and to try to make the environment more favourable. Fifth, agricultural development set into motion an even greater division of labor: people were given specific chores to do, with some prestige or value placed on certain task as oppose to others.