The Establishment of Commercial Cities. Urbanization and Industrialization

The world economy, in which political and economic control were separated, began to emerge in southern and western Europe during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Population growth throughout Europe and the introduction of new commercial products into Europe by returning Crusaders spurred the growth of trade. As trade expanded, cities that were independent of political control by empires began to prosper. The prosperity of these cities depended on their success in facilitating trade, rather than their location within empires. In Italy, Venice and Genoa prospered during the Renaissance because they controlled trade between Europe, the Mediterranean region, and Asia.

Trade-oriented cities resisted political control by empires because emperors often opposed the development of commerce and forced urban merchants to pay taxes and tribute to their rulers. New occupations associated with developing cities soon emerged. Artisans, craftsmen, bankers, innkeepers, and merchants formed a new, urban-based social class known as the bourgeoisie. The French term bourgeoisie is, in fact, related to the German word burg, meaning "city." The bourgeoisie prospered through the production and sale of specialized goods and services.

During and after the Age of Exploration, the process of colonialism resulted in the worldwide spread of the European-centered economy. Urban development was important to the process of colonialism. As they established colonies, the European powers founded new cities in which to carry out their commercial ventures. Many of these colonial cities were ports, located along the coast in order to expedite the flow of raw materials from the colonies to Europe, Singapore, Calcutta, Bombay, Buenos Aires, New York, Cape Town, and Lagos, were established in this way.

Urbanization and Industrialization. The world's population remained predominantly rural until the outset of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution spurred the growth of cities throughout the world. Jobs in expanding urban industries attracted migrants from overcrowded rural areas, where parallel technological improvements increased agricultural productivity, reducing the number of farmers needed to feed the population.

In 1800 London was the only city in the world with over a million people. Under 3 percent of the world’s population lived in places with over 5,000 inhabitants. By 1900 nine additional cities—Paris, Vienna. Moscow. St. Petersburg. Tokyo, Calcutta, New York. Philadelphia, and Chicago—had reached the million mark. Today, several hundred metropolitan areas throughout the world boast one or more million people. The metropolitan areas of New York. Buenos Aires. Tokyo, London. Sao Paulo, and Mexico City, among other cities, are approaching 20 million people each.

Those parts of the world that experienced industrialization earliest are those with the largest urban populations today. In Europe and North America. 80 percent of the population resides in urban centers. By contrast, a majority of the population in Asia and Africa remains outside urban centers. Yet, the less developed countries are urbanizing rapidly. Major cities of Africa and Asia are growing at very rapid rates, and this growth is projected to continue (Figure 10-4).

Figure 10-4 Projections of Africa's Urban Population, 1990-2025. Demographers project continued rapid growth of Africa's urban population. Over half of the continent's population will be residing in metropolitan areas within a few decades, (a) Urban population percentage for 1991. (b) Urban population projections for the year 2025.