(This is adapted from a previously removed question post. Reading recommendations for any combinations of one or more of the following inquiries, or others in the same vein, would be greatly appreciated.)
I've been recently reading up a lot about the histories of various cultures and areas. In doing so, I come across various descriptions of urbanisation events, where the emergence and spread of "cities" are described, but in very broad terms.
What I'm specifically looking for is a breakdown of this process, and what it would mean for any given individual/group on a human scale. Questions I find myself asking are along the lines of:
What instigates the establishment of a new city at all, where there wasn't one before (whether entirely anew, or branching off existing urban cultures)? Who are the human drivers of such development, and how do they go about it? (And, if possible, why?)
What structures were built, by whom, and under what (kinds of) motivations? What were the factors that went into the construction of any given structure?
Ditto, but for demolision; also, how did the two processes interact? What explicit, or implicit, cultural attitudes surrounded them?
How did social organization impact the way the urbanization unfolded? (i.e. what types of structures were built, what purposes they [were perceived to] serve, who was affected by the construction/demolision of any given structure)
Ditto, but for "economic" organization; how did these two axes of organization interact, with respect to urban development?
What were the ancillary non-urban groups requisite for any given urban development (I'm thinking farming villages, locally roaming pastoral groups, etc)? What was the nature of their social and economic relationship with the urban settlement(s) they were affiliated with? What were the human relationships like among and between such groups?
And so many more. But I hope this gives an idea of the scale at which I am curious for answers. While I will appreciate works on generalizable trends in urbanization, addressing such questions, what I am really interested in is specific accounts of specific urbanisation events in history.
Hopefully that was somewhat clear.
Particular interests of mine include the Indian subcontinent (northern Aryan urbanization, as well as southern "indigenous" urbanization), pre-colombian Americas (including non-agricultural urbanization, as seen in the North), and the Mediterranean (mostly Italic/Hellenic expansions, but North African as well). However, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Books, articles, papers; anything you believe is a valuable resource for such questions, in your expert opinions.
Thanks!
You asked for specificity, so the first book on my list would absolutely be Mark Healey's The Ruins of the New Argentina: Peronism and the Remaking of San Juan after the 1944 Earthquake. It explores the sociopolitical aspects of the reconstruction of the city of San Juan, Argentina, after it was destroyed by an earthquake. It might seem a bit removed from your interests, but I'd argue it's a fascinating take on re-urbanization of a city that was virtually erased from the map.
Now, on to earlier things, I'd recommend Urbanization and Religion in Ancient Central Mexico by David Carballo for a look into the early formation of urbanization in modern day México, and The Death of Aztec Tenochtitlan, the Life of Mexico City by Barbara Mundy, for a look into the transformations suffered by the city of México-Tenochtitlán after it was conquered by the Spanish, and how México City came to be.
Oh boy my time to shine.
I studied a module during my MA studies that covered “The City in History” which covered most of your questions although from a UK based viewpoint, although sometimes general. Some of my suggestions would be:
Amin, A. and Thrift, N., Cities: Reimagining the Urban (Oxford, 2002), stimulating introduction to current ways of thinking about cities from two leading geographers
Clark, P., European Cities and Towns 400-2000 (Oxford, 2009)
Clark, P. (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Cities in World History (Oxford, 2013) introduction and any other chapters that capture your interest
Mumford, Lewis, The City in History.
Hope it helps!
Since you mentioned the Mediterranean, I recommend The Life and Death of Ancient Cities: A Natural History, by Greg Woolf. It is a broader book about the development of the Ancient Mediterranean world but telling the history in the context of urbanization. Woolf focuses on shifting the narrative from the inevitable development of tribes to villages to cities and instead argues that the specific geographic and historical context of a place was what drove urban expansion and often later lead to urban decline. His particular emphasis is on Greek and Roman cities.