Sjoberg's Pre-Industrial Cities
Gideon Sjoberg first noticed some differences between newly forming African cities before he created his model. He noted that unlike many United States cities (or other cities of developed countries), these African cities were not and had ever been industrialized. These pre-industrial patterns made them reminiscent of European cities; that is, they emerged without any industrial influence. But he did not compare them to modern European cities; he stated that these new African cities were similar to medieval European cities, and with this different city type came a different physical layout. Observe the model of a pre-industrial city again:
This layout of the city looks much different from the layouts of cities today. One major difference is the location of the elite. According to other geographers, the elite are not positioned in the center of a city; they are more likely found at or beyond buffer zones between a city and the suburbs, or are situated in the suburbs themselves. Also, in this image, suburbs are outside of a wall, and modern cities are not walled cities. Also, the lower class live around the upperclassmen, or the elite, but in other models showing industrialized and the average modern city, the opposite is true: the elite surround the lower class, often living in the outskirts of the city.
More About Sjoberg's Theory
Sjoberg's theory involved and explained the following:
-divided the world into industrial and preindustrial cities (distinguished on the basis of differences in the society's technological level)
-preindustrial cities are found societies without sophisticated machine technology, human and animal labor form the basis for economic productivity.
-residential and commercial districts not as sharply separated as they are today
-most traders and artisans worked at home, although people with the same trades tended to live in the same areas of town.
-people segregated themselves from one another according to class. Ethnicity and religion-little to no chance for social mobility or interactions with other groups.
-churches or other sacred institutions dominate most of the cultural landscape as well as the cultural beliefs of the urban place
-major urban function was imperial administration rather than industrial production.
-industrial cities predominate in the modernized nations of Western Europe and America
-fossil fuels and atomic power expand economic productivity
-large, densely populated, and diverse
-contained many people of varying backgrounds,interests, and skills who lived and worked together in a defined amount of space.
-served as commercial center, supporting many businesses and factories.
-attracted a large amount of immigrants from other countries hoping to better themselves by securing stable work and finding a "fresh start"
-divided the world into industrial and preindustrial cities (distinguished on the basis of differences in the society's technological level)
-preindustrial cities are found societies without sophisticated machine technology, human and animal labor form the basis for economic productivity.
-residential and commercial districts not as sharply separated as they are today
-most traders and artisans worked at home, although people with the same trades tended to live in the same areas of town.
-people segregated themselves from one another according to class. Ethnicity and religion-little to no chance for social mobility or interactions with other groups.
-churches or other sacred institutions dominate most of the cultural landscape as well as the cultural beliefs of the urban place
-major urban function was imperial administration rather than industrial production.
-industrial cities predominate in the modernized nations of Western Europe and America
-fossil fuels and atomic power expand economic productivity
-large, densely populated, and diverse
-contained many people of varying backgrounds,interests, and skills who lived and worked together in a defined amount of space.
-served as commercial center, supporting many businesses and factories.
-attracted a large amount of immigrants from other countries hoping to better themselves by securing stable work and finding a "fresh start"