The Economy of Cities by Jane Jacobs
It is an easy claim commonly found in school books that cities evolved from agrarian communities that themselves were formed when pastoralists pursuing herds narrowed their ranges, domesticated animals and plants, and settled down. In truth, cities evolved from the camps of successful hunter/gatherers who met to exchange their supluses. Jane Jacobs suggested this in The Economy of Cities. Her theory was validated by the excavations at Çatal Höyük in Turkey.
First, Jacobs was an urbanist. An immigrant from Scanton, Pennsylvania, to New York City and an activist in Brooklyn, she fought against the so-called "urban renewal" of the 1960s; and she was largely successfully at least in forestalling what was really urban removal. She advocated for old mixed-use buildings in diversified neighborhoods, which was the opposite of intentions from planners such as Robert Moses who intended large new single-use structures for uniform neighborhoods.
She suggested that the first commonly accepted trade commodity was not wheat - and certainly not useless silver or gold - but obsidian. Obsidian for points (arrowheads; spear tips) was broadly desirable by hunters. However,
more subtly, this was not originally the attraction of the city. The deposits were some miles away. Rather, having found the deposits, the city dwellers then knew what use it would be to those who already came there. Similarly, agriculture began in the city when excess seeds were thrown out and eventually took. To benefit from this accident, farming was moved beyond the city walls. Throughout history, farms have depended on cities, not the other way around. Support for this view is suggested by the fact that in the industrial age, plows, harvesters, and tractors were made in cities and sold to farmers.
I found independent support when I researched the Great Fairs of Champagne. Even in the Dark Ages, nominally "self sufficient" manors exchanged their surpluses, first at common crossroads, then eventually at the Great Fairs such as at Troyez - from which came "troy" ounces for measuring precious metals.
Throughout the Middle Ages, new cities were founded. Moreover, even when the disasterous flooding of the 12th century created Holland's Zuiderzee, refugees swelled the population of Amsterdam, perhaps tripling it; but rather than starvation, want, and poverty, the city enjoyed prosperity and vibrant trade and commerce.
And there is "gentrification." In The Economy of Cities, Jacobs argued against Schumpeter's idea of "creative destruction." Instead, she showed examples of old forms of production and wealth creation acquiring new purposes and meanings. Jacobs traces the uses and re-uses of brass fittings for horse tack which became the small parts manufacturing that supports large industries. The most vibrant cultures were those that let that happen.
First, Jacobs was an urbanist. An immigrant from Scanton, Pennsylvania, to New York City and an activist in Brooklyn, she fought against the so-called "urban renewal" of the 1960s; and she was largely successfully at least in forestalling what was really urban removal. She advocated for old mixed-use buildings in diversified neighborhoods, which was the opposite of intentions from planners such as Robert Moses who intended large new single-use structures for uniform neighborhoods.
She suggested that the first commonly accepted trade commodity was not wheat - and certainly not useless silver or gold - but obsidian. Obsidian for points (arrowheads; spear tips) was broadly desirable by hunters. However,
more subtly, this was not originally the attraction of the city. The deposits were some miles away. Rather, having found the deposits, the city dwellers then knew what use it would be to those who already came there. Similarly, agriculture began in the city when excess seeds were thrown out and eventually took. To benefit from this accident, farming was moved beyond the city walls. Throughout history, farms have depended on cities, not the other way around. Support for this view is suggested by the fact that in the industrial age, plows, harvesters, and tractors were made in cities and sold to farmers.
I found independent support when I researched the Great Fairs of Champagne. Even in the Dark Ages, nominally "self sufficient" manors exchanged their surpluses, first at common crossroads, then eventually at the Great Fairs such as at Troyez - from which came "troy" ounces for measuring precious metals.
Throughout the Middle Ages, new cities were founded. Moreover, even when the disasterous flooding of the 12th century created Holland's Zuiderzee, refugees swelled the population of Amsterdam, perhaps tripling it; but rather than starvation, want, and poverty, the city enjoyed prosperity and vibrant trade and commerce.
And there is "gentrification." In The Economy of Cities, Jacobs argued against Schumpeter's idea of "creative destruction." Instead, she showed examples of old forms of production and wealth creation acquiring new purposes and meanings. Jacobs traces the uses and re-uses of brass fittings for horse tack which became the small parts manufacturing that supports large industries. The most vibrant cultures were those that let that happen.
