The Suburbanization of the Late Ancient City
Abstract: Nowadays, approximately 55 % of the world's population lives in cities, and this number will continue to growth with the increasing urbanization of less advanced areas of Asia and Africa. It also entails some ambiguous phenomena such as suburbanization, revitalization of brownfields, landscape fragmentation or the sustainable development. These phenomena affect not only the quality of life but also the shape of the residential landscape itself. The aim of this paper is point on the example of suburbanization (ie, the process where some residential, commercial and other functions move from the core city to its suburbs) that with similar phenomena affected modern cities had to deal with the late antique centers at the end of the Roman Empire. Based on the available archaeological and written sources, this work will attempt to identify the selected late antique suburbs (ie the residential area outside the compact core building with a relatively autonomous function and spatial identity), which will be studied with regard to the general principles of their origin, development and impact on the ancient residential area. The article will also deal with the comparison of late-ancient suburbs with modern ones. How did the late antique suburbs originate? What role did they play in the settlement system? Does such a comparison have any justification? Can we learn from the history of the development of cities lessons?
