The Growth of Cities and Towns

• The topic is how cities and towns grew
• Learning outcome: More than half of all humans live in towns or cities, and this study explains how
• Keywords: Farming, Settlements, Town, Industry, Urbanisation, Megacity

Once Upon a Time...

• Ancestors lived by hunting, and eating wild fruit and seeds
• They were always on the move, looking for food
• 12 000 years ago, people began to plant seeds and rear animals
• The first animals they reared were sheep - this was the start of farming
• Farming allowed people to settle in one place
• Over time clusters of dwellings grew to become settlements

How Towns Evolved

• Farmers grew enough extra produce to sell
• Not everyone needed to farm so markets began
• Villages grew around the markets
• Some villages grew into towns because they had advantages, such as being easier to reach from many directions
• The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th Century
• Factories sprang up in or near towns with access to coal, water and other resources

How Cities Evolved

• People from rural areas went to towns hoping to work in the new factories
• Towns grew into cities
• Industry spread to other European countries, and the USA, thus towns and cities also grew
• African and Asian cities are growing fastest today

What is Urbanisation

• Every week, 3 million people move from rural to urban areas across the world
• Many new babies are born in the urban areas
• The percentage of the world's population living in urban areas is increasing, called urbanisation

Urban Areas Are Spreading

• Populations grow, and urban areas spread, absorbing nearby towns and even rural areas
• A city with over 10 million people is called a megacity
• There were 33 megacities in the world in 2019
• Megacities are formed when major cities fuse together
• The biggest megacity is Tokyo, with over 37 million people

More than half of all humans live in towns or cities. This study explains the history of how towns and cities grew, from the first settlements and farming to the industrial revolution. Learn about the factors that contributed to urbanization and the rise of towns.