The City and Citizenship1. Taking a Historical Approach The most noticeable aspects of cities are “modern,” e.g. Physical elements: skyscrapers, mass

The City and Citizenship 1

Taking a Historical Approach The most noticeable aspects of cities are “modern,” e.g.

Physical elements: skyscrapers, mass transit Social relations: ethnic/racial conflict, anomie

What distinguishes the modern city from Older city forms? “post-modern” (or late-modern) cities?

How has the relationship between cities and citizenship changed? Key development of modernity is creation of nation-state

and shift of citizenship identification to national level Consider earlier links, e.g. in Greek polis Consider possible emergence of citizenship on a global

scale, or its revival on the local scale Need to understand why cities emerged, what forms

they’ve taken and how they are now changing

April 19, 2023 The City and Citizenship 2

The Emergence of Cities Earliest “true” cities in Mesopotamia (4000-3000 BCE), then Egypt and

Indus Valley Uruk (Akkad) Babylon (later)

Why did cities emerge? Agricultural developments

Increasing agricultural productivity Need to centralize control over irrigation Development of surplus and centralized storage Market centers

Political developments Monarchies, empires - palaces Walls and military defenses

Religion Temples and priests Civic religion and god-kings

Culture and Civilization Center for arts, theater, etc. Role of writing (also involved in commerce, politics, religion)



Irigal templeSteingebaude

Uruk (Akkad): c. 3100 BCE

Reconstruction of Anu Ziggurat


Reconstruction, c. 6th century

BCE

Hanging Gardens

Restored Temple of Nabû sha harê

Babylon

The Greek Polis Distinctive political form

“city-state” (not imperial center) Political community (not monarchy) “Houses make a town, but citizens make a city.” (Rousseau echoing

this ideal writing about Geneva) Public space and public participation central

Family life subordinate to public participation (for free males) Point of politics and polis was to live well (not, cf. Aristotle, mutual

defense or commercial prosperity) Kitto: “In the winning of his livelihood he [the Greek citizen] was

essentially individualist, in the filling of his life he was essentially ‘communist’” (p. 40)

Athenian democracy Large polis, center of culture and learning Citizenship relatively open; very participatory

Eventually displaced by empires (Macedonia, Persia, Rome) Cities persisted as administrative, economic and cultural centers The political community and participation of the polis didn’t last


Ancient Athens


Theatre of Dionysus Parthenon (temple of Athena)

The Agora

Other Pre-Modern CitiesDescriptions by travelers, e.g. Marco Polo, at

time when European cities not as large or developedMarveled at scale, prosperity, technological

achievements, etc.Described key elements such as markets, temples,

palaces, transportation, fortificationsBernal Diaz and Tenochtitlan

Contrast to Dürer’s account of AntwerpFocus on “social” organization of city and its

cultural expression in a religious processionAlso expresses key “economic” sectors

What would you focus on if you were to describe a visit to a major city (other than Chicago) today?


Tenochtitlan


Reconstruction of the Main TempleCity in a Lake

Conquistadors marching along the causeway

Cities in EuropeComplex, stratified social structures interrelated

with economic and politicalCommerce: guilds, merchants, markets, etc.Culture: cathedrals, houses, festivalsCivilization seen as urban, not rural

High point of cities as centers of civilization and citizenship Italian city-states c. 1150-1350; Flanders late 1300sCreated a kind of “civic freedom” with emphasis on

neighborhoods and shift in power from nobles to the people (merchants, artisans, etc.)

Increasingly replaced by nation-states


The Modern Industrial City Model: London, Manchester in early 19th century

Engels’ descriptions of London and Manchester emphasize chaos, filth, poverty

Dramatic growth leads to changed character of city, especially unhealthy mix of industry and residence

Contrasted to “healthy” country living (irony of rural migration to city) Politics also changes, as does demographics with external migration

“Ecological” analyses Urban environment is cause of poverty, crime, urban pathologies Density and diversity weaken social (and political) controls

Engels’ explanation is economic Modern cities have been shaped by the emergence of industrial

capitalism Basic focus is on urban poverty - slums exist because of economic

exploitation (“wage slavery”) Industrial capitalism evolved out of (and displaced) small-scale

agriculture and craft production Factory owners need large, pliant workforce near factories Factory workers’ low pay compels them to survive in dense, dirty

dwellingsApril 19, 2023 The City and Citizenship 11

Planning and Modern CitiesReformers urged planning as a response to the

problems of industrial citiesSegregate land uses, especially industry from

residential areasrationalize organization and municipal services, e.g.

transportation and sewageProvide “healthy” environments and recreation (e.g.

parks and playgrounds)Goal was to impose order on chaos

Not only spatial order, but also social, political and aesthetic

Von Hausman’s plans for Paris Grand boulevards aesthetically pleasing and allow promenades Allowed easy mobilization of troops to deal with civil unrest demolished or hid working-class housing and neigborhoods


Documents

The City and Citizenship1. Taking a Historical Approach The most noticeable aspects of cities are “modern,” e.g. Physical elements: skyscrapers, mass