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*3000 BC. Part of the fertile crescent of Southwest Asia, in Ur (present-day Iraq) that later diffused west to Egypt and East to China and to South Asia’s Indus Valley.
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*2500 BC. Settlements in the eastern Mediterranean: Knossos on the island of Crete, Troy in Turkey and Mycenae in Greece. These settlements were trading centers and were organized into independent self-governing communities. Athens & Rome.
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5th century- 15th century. These urban European settlements served as power centers for lords and church leaders. The cities were surrounded with walls.
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After the fall of the Roman Empire, the world's largest settlements resided in China. Several cities in China like Chang'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Jinling and Beijing were known to have exceeded 1 million inhabitants. These settlements were usually around rivers as they depended on them for agriculture.
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European nations came to the Americas to increase their wealth and broaden their influence over world affairs. The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore the New World and the first to settle in what is now the United States.
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Aspects of urban life were sacrificed to requirements of industrial production. These were known as factory towns.
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Present-day. Metropolitan areas with a population larger than 10 million. There are 35 megacities in existence including Tokyo and Shanghai, they tend to be plagued by chaotic and unplanned sprawling growth, pollution, and widespread poverty.
