Persistence and Continuity of Cities and Neighborhoods through History: Lessons for Sustainability
Project Overview
This project investigates why some cities and settlements persist for centuries while others decline or disappear. Using archaeological data from regions around the world, it explores how population dynamics, social networks, environmental conditions, and institutions shape long-term community resilience.
Michael E. Smith
Arizona State University
Jose Lobo
Arizona State University
Abigail York
Arizona State University
Matthew Peeples
Arizona State University
Project Details
Why do some settlements persist for centuries or even millennia while others are abandoned after relatively short periods of occupation? This project investigates the long-term persistence of cities, towns, and villages by examining archaeological settlement data from regions around the world. Using evidence from large-scale archaeological surveys, the research explores how communities grow, adapt, and respond to social and environmental challenges over time.
The project combines archaeological data with approaches from urban science, resilience research, network analysis, and environmental modeling to examine the factors that contribute to long-term settlement success. By comparing demographic trajectories, social networks, environmental conditions, and institutional arrangements across diverse regions, the project seeks to identify the processes that promote persistence and resilience in human communities. The results will provide new insights into the long-term dynamics of cities and settlements and contribute to broader discussions about sustainability, adaptation, and urban resilience.
Research Team
- Michel E. Smith, Arizona State University
- Jose Lobo, Arizona State University
- Abby York, Arizona State University
- Matthew Peeples, Arizona State University
- Katherine Crawford, Arizona State University
- Angela Huster, Chronicle Heritage
- Benjamin Stanley, Arizona State University
- Nicolas Gauthier, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History
Project Funding
2019 SHESC Interdisciplinary Grant Program
Outcomes
2023 Crawford, Katherine, Angela Huster, Matthew A. Peeples, Nicolas Gauthier, Michael E. Smith, Abigail York, and Daniel Lawrence. A systematic approach for studying the persistence of settlements in the past. Antiquity 97(391):213-230.
2021 Smith, Michael E., Jose Lobo, Matthew A. Peeples, Abigail M. York, Benjamin W. Stanley, Katherine A. Crawford, Nicolas Gauthier, Angela C. Huster. The Persistence of Ancient Settlements and Urban Sustainability. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118(20):e2018155118.