| In this dissertation, an investigation into the origins of urban life is presented in which cities are analyzed as formal entities, i.e., arrangements of architectonic elements. Using form alone to distinguish cities from other settlement types, it is possible to regard urban places as providing a certain kind of perceptual experience. Researches in neuroscience and environmental psychology provide some bases for proposing that certain kinds of perceptual experiences evoke generalized affective responses. It is possible, then, the motive for creating new settlement forms can be inferred from the form itself. It is hypothesized that urban built environments are intended to invite exploration. Through exploration the potential for social interaction is heightened. If this is so, we might expect the earliest urban settlements to exhibit those formal characteristics most highly associated with affective arousal.; To evaluate this proposition, architectural profiles of three settlement types—villages, proto-cities, and mature cities—were constructed based on the degree to which the settlement's configuration is guided by design principles that would promote affective arousal: salience, permeability, subordination, ambiguity, and centricity. A comparison of the profiles with examples of early, archaeologically known settlement plans shows that settlements conforming to the proto-city profile are found in different geographic areas (Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, and coastal Peru) associated with the autochthonous development of urbanism. The occurrence of proto-urban settlements appears to have been restricted in time and space. Settlements that successfully attract new residents adopt new design strategies to accommodate the increase in population. The structure of decision-making also changes.; The affective power of proto-urban settlement configurations suggests that only special social circumstances encourage a community to drastically redesign its built environment. Proto-urban settlements are recognized as products of the collective effort of a comparatively egalitarian society whose motive is more emotional than practical.; The proliferation of urban settlements can be attributed mainly to diffusion. Imitations of proto-cities differ in design in predictable ways from their prototypes; their collective establishment is a calculated effort rather than the result of emergent collaboration. |
