Learning Journal, Week 7
By
Samanta Komonaj Lewis Mumford is an American Architectural critic, urban planner, and historian whose studies dealt with the effects of technology and urbanization on human societies (Mumford, 1956). He was born on October 19, 1895 in Flushing, New York and died on January 26, 1990. Mumford attended the City College of New York and the School for Social Research. In 1919, he became an associate editor for Dial. In the same year, he published his architectural review on the New Yorker magazine. He published many articles on architecture, arts and urban life. One of his famous works is “The Natural History of Urbanization.”
The natural history of urbanization can be categorized into three distinct historical stages: 1. the agricultural or pre-industrial, the industrial and urban-suburban stages. Prior to the Neolithic age, nomadic groups of people roamed about in search of food for subsistence. Mumford (1956) in his book “The Natural History of Urbanization” stated that even when men lived in caves and hollowed-out walls of rock, they performed cooperative, shared activities such as the performance of rituals, or the hunting and gathering of food for the tribe. Later, during the Neolithic period, these indigenous people, using simple tools and knowledge of cultivating the land, and raising …show more content…
For instance, the this week’s reading says the conditions for cities to grow are: “Good environment with fresh water and favorable climate; Advanced technology that will produce adequate food supply; and strong social organization and a stable economy” (Little, 2013 ). The concentric zone model where people of different socio-economic status reside in different zones from the center of the business district also applies to the development of the cities that Mumford