The collective logic of pre-modern cities

From our previous comparative research on historic state formation we found that collective state-building entailed significant social and cultural change. In particular, we found the more collective polities to be comparatively more socially complex in part because the central offices of the state develop stronger controls over local institutions across the realm and across social sectors. In this paper we follow up on this original work to investigate the consequences of collective state-building in urban settings. We look especially at intra-urban transportation and communication as measured by urban population density and the efficiency and legibility of road layout. Although urban form reflects the operation of multiple causal forces, we provisionally conclude that collective action is one force shaping cities because it presupposes certain characteristic patterns of movement and, hence, spatial structure.