Streets In 19th Century Essay

Ancient cities were enclosed by walls to provide security for the community. To increase the density and to use the space within these walls to the maximum, the streets were narrow and serpentine, in other words, only functional. “Since the streets of ancient cities were dark at night and did not ensure any entertainment for citizens, people spent their times in the evenings at home, often on rooftops."(Gideon, 1995)However central and northern European cities emerged only after middle ages.
The emergence of agora in Greek colony resulted an increase in the importance of the main streets of the city’s leading to the center. Now these streets were more than just a place for passing. However, these relatively wide streets were institutionalized by Roman uniformed design, thus lacked a local character. Streets leading to the center, were flanked with shops and street vendors. Shopping Streets, somehow similar to what we have today, started to appear close to markets in some eastern provinces of Rome, in Ephesus, Timgad, and Palmyra. (Koray, 1998)
Vegetable market Antwerp

Many historians have declared that shopping as we know it today, which is the pleasurable act of walking down the streets, comparing the merchandise, interacting with the people and finally the satisfaction of buying a new item, has only been introduced in the 19th century with the dawn of shopping arcades and department stores. But it is said that even in the late 17th century, a small shopping street in The Hague was the usual route for fashionable ladies to enjoy spending their money while also being an appealing sight to the eyes of the male inhabitants. Shopping for food and clothes have often been considered an activity for women. However, this is always related to the context and cultural norms. Besides that, division of labor has an important role in gender divisions of shopping activities (Zukin,