How industrialization and urbanization at the

Watch this video from PBS Newshour about urbanization today in less developed countries. What role, if any, do you think the government should take to improve conditions in the new industrial cities? Choose the answer that best represents your point of view:

Neolithic-era domestication of plants and animals eventually led to improved methods of cultivation and stock breeding, which eventually produced a surplus and made it possible to sustain a higher population density while also freeing up some… The definition of what constitutes a city changes from time to time and place to place, but it is most usual to explain the term as a matter of demographics.

The United Nations has recommended that countries regard all places with more than 20, inhabitants living close together as urban; but, in fact, nations compile their statistics on the basis of many different standards.

Whatever the numerical definition, it is clear that the course of human history has been marked by a process of accelerated urbanization.

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It was not until the Neolithic period, roughly 10, years ago, that humans were able to form permanent settlements. Even 5, years ago the only such settlements on the globe were small, semipermanent villages of peasant farmers, towns whose size was limited by the fact that they had to move whenever the soil nearby was exhausted.

It was not until the time of classical antiquity that cities of more thanexisted, and even these did not become common until the sustained population explosion of the last three centuries. The little towns of ancient civilizations, both in the Old World and the New, were only possible because of improvements in agriculture and transportation.

As farming became more productive, it produced a surplus of food. The development of means of transportation, dating from the invention of the wheel in about bc, made it possible for the surplus from the countryside to feed urban populations, a system that continues to the present day.

Despite the small size of these villages, the people in early towns lived quite close together. Distances could be no greater than an easy walk, and nobody could live out of the range of the water supply.

In addition, because cities were constantly subject to attack, they were quite often walled, and it was difficult to extend barricades over a large area.

Archaeological excavations have suggested that the population density in the cities of bc may have been as much asper square mile 49, per square km ; by contrast, the present cities of Calcutta and Shanghaiwith densities of more than 70, per square mile, are regarded as extremes of overcrowding.

With few exceptions, the elite—the aristocrats, government officials, clergy, and the wealthy—lived in the centre of ancient cities, which was usually located near the most important temple. Farther out were the poor, who were sometimes displaced beyond the city walls altogether.

The greatest city of antiquity was Romewhich at its height in the 3rd century ad covered almost 4 square miles 10 square km and had at leastinhabitants. To provide for this enormous population, the empire constructed a system of aqueducts that channeled drinking water from hills as far away as 44 miles 70 km.

Inside the city itself, the water was pumped to individual homes through a remarkable network of conduits and lead pipes, the equal of which was not seen until the 20th century. As in most early cities, Roman housing was initially built from dried clay molded about wooden frameworks.

As the city grew, it began to include structures made from mud, brick, concrete, and, eventually, finely carved marble.

This general model of city structure continued until the advent of the Industrial Revolutionalthough medieval towns were rarely as large as Rome.

SparkNotes: SAT Subject Test: U.S. History: Industrialization, Urbanization, and Immigration

In the course of time, commerce became an increasingly important part of city life and one of the magnets that drew people from the countryside. With the invention of the mechanical clock, the windmill and water mill, and the printing pressthe interconnection of city inhabitants continued apace.

Cities became places where all classes and types of humanity mingled, creating a heterogeneity that became one of the most celebrated features of urban life. The technological explosion that was the Industrial Revolution led to a momentous increase in the process of urbanization.

Larger populations in small areas meant that the new factories could draw on a big pool of workers and that the larger labour force could be ever more specialized.America on the Move explores the role of transportation in American history.

Visit communities wrestling with the changes that new transportation networks brought. See cities change, suburbs expand, and farms and factories become part of regional, national, and international economies.

Meet people as they travel for work and pleasure, and as they move to new homes. The size of the human population and its pattern of growth are influenced by the physical setting and by many aspects of culture: economics, politics, technology, history, and religion. In this activity you'll investigate the causes and consequences of population growth and the environmental factors.

The Whaley House has now opened since our late fire. Restoration work is nearly complete, but we still need community support! Learn about the fire on our blog by clicking below! INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.

SEE ALSO, Europe Transformed Author: Lewis Hackett Date: Industrialization: The First Phase. Most products people in the industrialized nations use today are turned out swiftly by the process of mass production, by people (and sometimes, robots) working on assembly lines using power-driven machines.

Annexation (Latin ad, to, and nexus, joining) is the administrative action and concept in international law relating to the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state.

It is generally held to be an illegal act. It is distinct from conquest, which refers to the acquisition of control over a territory involving a change of sovereignty, and differs from cession, in which.

People Urbanization of America The early United States was predominately rural. According to the census, 95 percent of the population lived in the countryside.