Abstract
Just as the beginning of Western civilization is marked by the permanent settlement of formerly nomadic peoples in the Mediterranean basin, so the beginning of what is distinctively modern in our civilization is best signalized by the growth of great cities. Nowhere has mankind been farther removed from organic nature than under the conditions of life characteristic of great cities. The contemporary world no longer presents a picture of small isolated groups of human beings scattered over a vast territory, as Sumner described primitive society1. The distinctive feature of the mode of living of man in the modern age is his concentration into gigantic aggregations around which cluster lesser centers and from which radiate the ideas and practices that we call civilization.
Keywords
CivilizationUrbanismGeographyHistorySettlement (finance)Ancient historyArchaeologyArchitecture
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Publication Info
- Year
- 2025
- Type
- book
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 114-123
- Citations
- 2718
- Access
- Closed
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Cite This
Louis Wirth
(2025).
“Urbanism as a Way of Life”.
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks
, 44
(1)
, 114-123.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003519508-16
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003519508-16