Cities
Language: English
Publisher: Grove Press
Published: Jan 1, 2004
Collection:
Nonfiction
Reading Ease:
63.73
Genre:
Nonfiction (General)
Page Count:
384
Word Count:
144457
Book Details
...
Description:
A “vastly entertaining” history of urban centers—from the ancient world to today (Time).
From the earliest example in the Ancient Near East to today’s teeming centers of compressed existence, such as Mumbai and Tokyo, cities are home to half the planet’s population and consume nearly three-quarters of its natural resources. They can be seen as natural cultural artifacts—evidence of our civic spirit and collective ingenuity.
This book gives us the ecological and functional context of how cities evolved throughout human history—the connection between pottery making and childbirth in ancient Anatolia, plumbing and politics in ancient Rome, and revolution and street planning in nineteenth-century Paris. This illuminating study helps us to understand how urban centers thrive, decline, and rise again—and prepares us for the role cities will play in the future.