Cities shape people’s lives in the 21st century. They are home to our governments, drive our economies, and play an ever-greater role in our daily lives. By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities. Cities are also key battlegrounds in our fight against climate change. They cause environmental pollution and influence temperatures and precipitation, but they are also vulnerable to increasingly frequent natural hazards. A decisive part of the battle for humanity’s future sustainability will be won or lost in cities.
Cities, however, are not a new phenomenon. They have existed for nearly 6,000 years. The remnants of this urban past, however, are often treated either as passive heritage, anecdotal curiosities, or metaphors for decline should we continue to “overuse” our environment. This lecture, however, argues that they can tell us something more tangible, practical, and indeed useful about our lives in the present and how we might seek to shape our urban future.
Drawing on the latest research from the fields of archaeology, history, paleoecology, and computer-aided methods, this lecture will explore how we can use the past to understand local, regional, and even global urban developments. We will examine whether there are fundamental similarities in urban dynamics, how major climatic and socioeconomic changes have disrupted urban life, and whether we can find pathways to urban resilience. We will see that many answers lie beyond what we consider “urban,” underscoring the ongoing need to view cities within their broader networks, landscapes, and land-use interactions.