Building Cities After Revolution In Economic And Social Structure

One hypothesis that aims to explain how and why human beings first started building cities comes from Childe's essay "The Urban Revolution. " This was published in 1950 in the journal the Town Planning Review. In the article, Childe argues that human beings started building cities because of a revolution in the "economic structure and social organization of communities". Specifically, cities came about as a result of the progression of a society's evolutionary stage, first from so-called "savagery", then to "barbarism", and finally to "civilization". The first stage of savagery is characterized by a hunter-gatherer mode of existence. The second stage of barbarism is reached when a society begins to supplement this gathering of food by cultivation: farming crops, and in some societies, raising animals for food. Food cultivation made it possible for societies to begin forming villages, though nearly all inhabitants had to be actively involved in agriculture for the village to produce enough food.

Technology advances ultimately urbanization possible: irrigation techniques markedly increased the crop yield of farmed lands, and transportation technologies (water transport, pack animals, and wheeled carts) improved the efficiency of food gathering and transport. These advances made it possible for low-density villages to grow into higher density cities. Childe's hypothesis about the development of the first cities also helps to explain occupational specialization. Not only did the increased crop yield permitted by technological advancements make it possible for population density to increase, but it also made it possible for a community to produce a surplus of food. Food surplus is a prerequisite for the emergence of specialized occupations; a community must produce enough extra food to support a blacksmith, for instance, if that individual is to primarily practice blacksmithing rather than joining in agricultural production.

During the “barbarism” stage of society, each member of a community (or most members, at least) is capable of producing a variety of necessary tools and implements used in the home and for agricultural functions. Some individuals, though, will inevitably become better at a craft than others, either through inclination and natural talent or through more extensive practice. After the urban evolution of a society, it became possible — and desirable — for individuals to begin taken on specialized occupations. Through trade, these specialists would still acquire the resources needed for survival, and other individuals would be able to acquire the goods they needed (and a higher quality of these goods) without having to manufacture the items themselves.