Urban History

Abstract

From the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, the historian's main interests were mainly political, legal, and/or constitutional problems. However, the new trends of urban history since World War II concern more social, economic, physical, or topographic issues. Organized research in urban history began in Germany at the end of the 1950s, in England during the 1960s, and in Japan and the US in the early 1970s. There are four types of cities recognized by urban historians, i.e., (a) ancient oriental cities, (b) cities of the classical antiquity, (c) medieval cities, and (d) modern industrial towns. The distinct characteristics of recent research in urban history include international cooperation and inter- or multidisciplinary research. Cooperation among urban historians, ancient and medieval archaeologists, historical geographers, town planners, and architectural historians is worth noting.