The Oxford handbook of cities in world history / edited by Peter Clark.

Includes bibliographical references and index

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction / Peter Clark -- pt. I EARLY CITIES -- Surveys -- 2. Mesopotamia / Augusta McMahon -- 3. Cities of the Ancient Mediterranean / Andrew Wallace-Hadrill -- 4. Africa / Kevin MacDonald -- 5. South Asia / Cameron A. Petrie -- 6. China / N. Steinhardt -- Themes -- 7. Economy / David L. Stone -- 8. Population and Migration / Luuk de Ligt -- 9. Power and Citizenship / Mario Liverani -- 10. Religion and Ritual / J. A. Baird -- 11. Planning and Environment / Ray Laurence -- pt. II PRE-MODERN CITIES -- Surveys -- 12. Medieval Europe / Marc Boone -- 13. Early Modern Europe: 1500-1800 / Ilja Van Damme -- 14. Middle East: 7th-15th Centuries / Dominique Valerian -- 15. Ottoman City: 1500-1800 / Ebru Boyar -- 16. China: 600-1300 / Hilde De Weerdt -- 17. China: 1300-1900 / William T. Rowe -- 18. Japan's Pre-modern Urbanism / James McClain -- 19. Port Cities of South East Asia: 1400-1800 / Leonard Blusse -- 20. Latin America / Felipe Fernandez-Armesto -- Themes -- 21. Economy / Jan Luiten van Zanden -- 22. Population and Migration: European and Chinese Experiences Compared / Anne Winter -- 23. Power / Marjoleint Hart -- 24. Culture: Representations / Peter Burke -- pt. III MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY CITIES -- Surveys -- 25. Europe: 1800-2000 / Lynn Hollen Lees -- 26. Latin America / Alan Gilbert -- 27. North America / Carl Abbott -- 28. China: 1900 to the Present / Kristin Stapleton -- 29. Japan / Paul Waley -- 30. South Asia / Prashant Kidambi -- 31. South East Asia and Australia / Peter J. Rimmer -- 32. Middle East / Mohammad al-Asad -- 33. Africa: 1000-2010 / Bill Freund -- Themes -- 34. Industrialization and the City: East and West / Shaohua Zhan -- 35. Population and Migration / Leo Lucassen -- 36. Poverty, Inequality, and Social Segregation / Alan Gilbert -- 37. Urban Environment / Martin V. Melosi -- 38. Creative Cities / Peter Clark -- 39. Cinema and the City / Hannu Salmi -- 40. Colonial Cities / Thomas R. Metcalf -- 41. Contemporary Metropolitan Cities / Henry Fitts -- 42. Suburbs / Jussi S. Jauhiainen -- 43. Port Cities / Carola Hein -- 44. Conclusion: Cities in Time / Penelope J. Corfield.

In 2008 for the first time the majority of the planet's inhabitants lived in cities and towns. Becoming globally urban has been one of mankind's greatest collective achievements over time and raises many questions. How did global city systems evolve and interact in the past? How have historic urban patterns impacted on those of the contemporary world? And what were the key drivers in the roller-coaster of urban change over the millennia - market forces such as trade and industry? Rulers and governments? Competition and collaboration between cities? Or the urban environment and demographic forces? This pioneering comparative work by fifty leading scholars drawn from a range of disciplines offers the first detailed comparative study of urban development from ancient times to the present day. The Handbook explores not only the main trends in the growth of cities and towns across the world but also many of the essential themes in the making and remaking of the urban world.