Testimonies of the city: Identity, community and change in a contemporary urban world

Abstract

Density and proximity are two of the defining characteristics of the urban dimension. It is these that identify a place as uniquely urban, although the threshold for such pressure points varies from place to place. What is considered an important cluster in one context - may not be considered as urban elsewhere. A third defining characteristic is functionality - the commercial or strategic position of a town or city that conveys an advantage over other places. Over time, these functional advantages may diminish, or the balance of advantage may change within a hierarchy of towns. To understand how the relative importance of towns shifts over time and space is to grasp a set of relationships that is fundamental to the study of urban history.