The 16 Greatest Cities In Human History

Business Insider ^ | 12/25/2011 | Robert Johnson and Gus Lubin

[Straight Vermonter]

Mexico City has many, many people living off the grid, that is without city water or sewer, and with unofficial electrical hookups. It is probably larger than Tokyo, but no one can really say.

Lagos Nigeria is much the same.

[SunkenCiv]

The author notes that my favorite Sumerian town, Lagaash, was the largest city in the world, until of course it suffered an inopportune military defeat and was destroyed by Ur.

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Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census by Tertius Chandler paperback

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[BIGLOOK]

Cities are just repositories of facts of life and mistakes that others will research in the future. They just last longer but then the family farms, fishing villages and trails outlast them all. Then they deteriorate to seats of government (poorly managed over time), crime (evolving to the detriment of the city) and tourist attractions (ever seen a museum in a barn).

Well...so much for that mot of nonsense and erudition.

[tarheelswamprat]

And let’s not forget Minot, ND. It’s not the end of the world but you can see it from there.

Having traveled the whole state in a previous career, I'd say it's Williston... /g

BTW, is the billboard on the interstate heading west out of Bismarck that said "Custer was fine when he left here!" still there?

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the post. Fascinating read!

Ayutthaya is a really interesting day trip out of Bangkok. Because the city was sacked and abandoned it is just like it was left. It's like something out of Indiana Jones.