Growing up in and around New York City I have always been fascinated by the process of urbanization. So the animation (below) by Ollie Bye intrigued me. The examination of the growth of the world’s largest cities from 3000 BCE to the present day offers a brilliant visualization of urban growth and decline. I had to pause the video multiple times to actually look up some of the cities that I was unfamiliar with just to get some perspective. While watching, it’s important to consider what leads to urban growth at specific times in history: a mixture of economics, agriculture, technology, demographics, social movements, empire/colonialism, public health, and the like.

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