How cities took over the world: a history of globalisation spanning 4,000 years

From bronze-age Iraq’s market-driven cities to the riches of Antwerp to the tech revolution in India, Greg Clark identifies the many waves of urban globalisation in an extract from his new book, Global Cities

History shows that cities have tended to embrace international opportunities in waves and cycles. They rarely break out into global activity by themselves. Cities participate in collective movements or networks to take advantage of new conditions, and often their demise or withdrawal from a global orientation is also experienced jointly with other cities as circumstances change, affecting many at once.

Read the whole article HERE

Published in Guardian Cities

(https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/dec/01/how-cities-took-over-the-world-a-history-of-globalisation-spanning-4000-years), 01/12/2016