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129-587: San Sebastián , officially known by the bilingual name Donostia / San Sebastián ( Basque: [doˈnos̺ti.a] , Spanish: [san seβasˈtjan] ), is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community , Spain . It lies on the coast of the Bay of Biscay , 20 km (12 miles) from the France–Spain border . The capital city of the province of Gipuzkoa ,

258-755: A tourist destination . Despite the city's relatively small size, events such as the San Sebastián International Film Festival and the San Sebastian Jazz Festival have given it an international dimension. San Sebastián, along with Wrocław , Poland, was the European Capital of Culture in 2016. In spite of appearance, both the Basque form Donostia and the Spanish form San Sebastián have

387-546: A Contemporary Culture Centre, conjures up the former industrial past of the area. Right opposite to this building lies the Cristina Enea park, a public compound with a botanic vocation. Egia holds the city cemetery, Polloe, at the north-east fringes of the district, stretching out to South Intxaurrondo. This part (meaning 'walnut tree' in Basque) is a large district to the east of the city. The original nucleus lies between

516-759: A Parisian Haussmannian style. The arcades of the Buen Pastor square were modelled upon those of the Rue de Rivoli , while the Maria Cristina Bridge was inspired by the Pont Alexandre III that crosses the Seine. The Estación del Norte train station standing directly across the bridge was inaugurated in 1864, just after the arrival of the railway to San Sebastián. Its metallic roof was designed by Gustave Eiffel . San Sebastián's central bus station

645-577: A central area containing buildings with special economic, political, and religious significance. Archaeologists refer to this area by the Greek term temenos or if fortified as a citadel . These spaces historically reflect and amplify the city's centrality and importance to its wider sphere of influence . Today cities have a city center or downtown , sometimes coincident with a central business district . Cities typically have public spaces where anyone can go. These include privately owned spaces open to

774-665: A central authority. The term can also refer either to the physical streets and buildings of the city or to the collection of people who dwell there and can be used in a general sense to mean urban rather than rural territory . National censuses use a variety of definitions – invoking factors such as population , population density , number of dwellings , economic function, and infrastructure – to classify populations as urban. Typical working definitions for small-city populations start at around 100,000 people. Common population definitions for an urban area (city or town) range between 1,500 and 50,000 people, with most U.S. states using

903-461: A central point. This form could evolve from successive growth over a long time, with concentric traces of town walls and citadels marking older city boundaries. In more recent history, such forms were supplemented by ring roads moving traffic around the outskirts of a town. Dutch cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem are structured as a central square surrounded by concentric canals marking every expansion. In cities such as Moscow , this pattern

1032-552: A combination of these. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations . The degree of urbanization is a modern metric to help define what comprises a city: "a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants in contiguous dense grid cells (>1,500 inhabitants per square kilometer)". This metric was "devised over years by the European Commission , OECD , World Bank and others, and endorsed in March [2021] by

1161-620: A continuous urban landscape called urban agglomeration , conurbation , or megalopolis (exemplified by the BosWash corridor of the Northeastern United States .) The emergence of cities from proto-urban settlements , such as Çatalhöyük , is a non-linear development that demonstrates the varied experiences of early urbanization . The cities of Jericho , Aleppo , Byblos , Faiyum , Yerevan , Athens , Matera , Damascus , and Argos are among those laying claim to

1290-426: A copper or brass tip, but early knappers could have used antler tines or a pointed wooden punch; traditionalist knappers still use antler tines and copper-tipped tools. The major advantage of using soft metals rather than wood or bone is that the metal punches wear down less and are less likely to break under pressure. In cultures that have not adopted metalworking technologies, the production of stone tools by knappers

1419-430: A distinctive elite social class, but it should indeed be considered a city based on a functional redefinition of urban development. In particular, Jenné-Jeno featured settlement mounds arranged according to a horizontal, rather than vertical, power hierarchy, and served as a center of specialized production and exhibited functional interdependence with the surrounding hinterland. More recently, scholars have concluded that

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1548-477: A grid plan with specialized districts used across the Hellenistic Mediterranean . The urban-type settlement extends far beyond the traditional boundaries of the city proper in a form of development sometimes described critically as urban sprawl . Decentralization and dispersal of city functions (commercial, industrial, residential, cultural, political) has transformed the very meaning of

1677-511: A key role in both the economy and government. Late antique cities in the East were also undergoing intense transformations, with increased political participation of the crowds and demographical fluctuations. Christian communities and their doctrinal differences increasingly shaped the urban fabric. The locus of power shifted to Constantinople and to the ascendant Islamic civilization with its major cities Baghdad , Cairo , and Córdoba . From

1806-452: A lighter lithic tool kit to be carried by mobile societies. Pressure flaking involves removing narrow flakes along the edge of a stone tool. This technique is often used to do detailed thinning and shaping of a stone tool. Pressure flaking involves putting a large amount of force across a region on the edge of the tool and (when successful) causing a narrow flake to come off of the stone. Modern hobbyists often use pressure flaking tools with

1935-531: A minimum between 1,500 and 5,000 inhabitants. Some jurisdictions set no such minima. In the United Kingdom , city status is awarded by the Crown and then remains permanent. (Historically, the qualifying factor was the presence of a cathedral , resulting in some very small cities such as Wells , with a population of 12,000 as of 2018 , and St Davids , with a population of 1,841 as of 2011 .) According to

2064-524: A neoclassical Parisian style, and Goicoa designed several elegant buildings, such as the Miramar Palace and La Concha Promenade. The city was chosen by the Spanish monarchy as a summer retreat following the French example of nearby Biarritz , and Spanish nobility and the diplomatic corps opened residences in the town. As the "wave baths" at La Concha were in conflict with nearby shipbuilding activity,

2193-703: A privileged elite among towns having won self-governance from their local lord or having been granted self-governance by the emperor and being placed under his immediate protection. By 1480, these cities, as far as still part of the empire, became part of the Imperial Estates governing the empire with the emperor through the Imperial Diet . By the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities become powerful states, taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. In Italy, medieval communes developed into city-states including

2322-437: A respirator, mask, or fan to control dust (although 68% preferred to knap outdoors). About half of respondents reported being injured at least "often" when knapping, and 23% admitted having to seek professional medical attention at least once. The most commons injuries were cuts and bruises, typically on the fingers and hands, while flakes in the eye were also frequent. Modern American interest in knapping can be traced back to

2451-495: A rule cannot produce their own food and therefore must develop some relationship with a hinterland that sustains them. Only in special cases such as mining towns which play a vital role in long-distance trade, are cities disconnected from the countryside which feeds them. Thus, centrality within a productive region influences siting, as economic forces would, in theory, favor the creation of marketplaces in optimal mutually reachable locations. The vast majority of cities have

2580-422: A string of regional sentences upheld by royal decision (regional diets of Zestoa 1527, Hondarribia 1557, Bergara 1558, Tolosa 1604 and Deba 1662). Meanwhile, the climate of war and disease left the town in a poor condition that drove many fishermen and traders to take to the sea as corsairs as a way of getting a living, most of the times under the auspices of the king Philip II of Spain , who benefited from

2709-549: A super-wealthy elite living in gated communities and large masses of people living in substandard housing with inadequate infrastructure and otherwise poor conditions. Cities around the world have expanded physically as they grow in population, with increases in their surface extent, with the creation of high-rise buildings for residential and commercial use, and with development underground. Urbanization can create rapid demand for water resources management , as formerly good sources of freshwater become overused and polluted, and

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2838-423: A temple. A minority viewpoint considers that cities may have arisen without agriculture, due to alternative means of subsistence (fishing), to use as communal seasonal shelters, to their value as bases for defensive and offensive military organization, or to their inherent economic function. Cities played a crucial role in the establishment of political power over an area, and ancient leaders such as Alexander

2967-567: A workers' town associated with the pyramid of Senusret II , and the religious city Amarna built by Akhenaten and abandoned. These sites appear planned in a highly regimented and stratified fashion, with a minimalistic grid of rooms for the workers and increasingly more elaborate housing available for higher classes. In Mesopotamia, the civilization of Sumer , followed by Assyria and Babylon , gave rise to numerous cities, governed by kings and fostered multiple languages written in cuneiform . The Phoenician trading empire, flourishing around

3096-518: Is a district of San Sebastián on the right side of the Urumea beyond the train station. At the beginning of the 20th century, a patch of land by the railway started to be used as a football pitch, eventually turning into the official stadium of the local team Real Sociedad before it was transferred in the 1990s to Anoeta, south of Amara Berri (nowadays the site harbours houses). The former tobacco factory building Tabakalera , which has been converted into

3225-441: Is a resurgence of the craft due to government funding. The sustained inhalation of flint dust produced by knapping can cause silicosis . This has been called "the world's first industrial disease ". However, it is unclear how severe the issue may actually have been in prehistoric working conditions, as silicosis is aggravated by a lack of ventilation and the use of metal tools which produce more dust. Ancient knappers, working in

3354-463: Is believed to have been used to make some of the earliest stone tools ever found, some of which date from over 2 million years ago. Soft hammer techniques are more precise than hard hammer methods of shaping stone. Soft hammer techniques allow a knapper to shape a stone into many different kinds of cutting, scraping, and projectile tools. These "soft hammer" techniques also produce longer, thinner flakes, potentially allowing for material conservation or

3483-534: Is built on the sandy terrain across the river from the old town. In the 19th century, shanties and workshops began to appear in this area, which was eventually named for Tomás Gros, one of the main proprietors. The former monumental bullring in the area, Chofre , was demolished in 1973, and the site is now occupied by a housing estate. A relatively recent major landmark of the district is the Kursaal Congress Centre overlooking Zurriola Beach. One of

3612-503: Is common, but in modern cultures the making of such tools is the domain of experimental archaeologists and hobbyists. Archaeologists usually undertake the task so that they can better understand how prehistoric stone tools were made. Knapping is often learned by outdoor enthusiasts. Knapping gun flints , used by flintlock firearms was formerly a major industry in flint-bearing locations, such as Brandon in Suffolk , England, and

3741-472: Is located underground adjacent to the train station. The Parte Vieja (Spanish) or Alde Zaharra (Basque) — Old Town – is the traditional core area of the city, and was surrounded by walls until 1863, when they were demolished in order to occupy the stretch of sand and land that connected the town to the mainland. A part of these walls is still standing at the exit from the Old Town towards the port, through

3870-414: Is more specific, referring almost exclusively to the hand-tool pressure-flaking process pictured. It is distinguished from the more general verb "chip" (to break up into small pieces, or unintentionally break off a piece of something) and is different from "carve" (removing only part of a face), and "cleave" (breaking along a natural plane). Flintknapping or knapping is done in a variety of ways depending on

3999-673: Is now the Old Part of the city, according to excavations carried out in the convent of Santa Teresa, on the slopes of Urgull . San Sebastián is thought to have been in the territory of the Varduli tribe in the Roman times. 10 km (6 mi) east of the current city lay the Basque Roman town of Oiasso ( Irun ) which was subsequently incorrectly identified with San Sebastián for some time by many historians. No written records about

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4128-517: Is still clearly visible. A system of rectilinear city streets and land plots, known as the grid plan , has been used for millennia in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The Indus Valley Civilization built Mohenjo-Daro , Harappa , and other cities on a grid pattern, using ancient principles described by Kautilya , and aligned with the compass points . The ancient Greek city of Priene exemplifies

4257-420: Is the most urban continent, with four-fifths of its population living in cities, including one-fifth of the population said to live in shantytowns ( favelas , poblaciones callampas , etc.). Batam , Indonesia , Mogadishu , Somalia , Xiamen , China , and Niamey , Niger , are considered among the world's fastest-growing cities, with annual growth rates of 5–8%. In general, the more developed countries of

4386-601: The Pact of San Sebastián , leading to the Second Spanish Republic . Unrest and repression did not stop with the new political regime, and large-scale industrial action was called several times by the growing anarchist, communist and socialist unions. The 1936 military coup was initially defeated by the resistance, led by the Basque Nationalists , anarchists and communists, but later that same year

4515-603: The Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa . In Northern Europe, cities including Lübeck and Bruges formed the Hanseatic League for collective defense and commerce. Their power was later challenged and eclipsed by the Dutch commercial cities of Ghent , Ypres , and Amsterdam . Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai , which enjoyed considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. In

4644-947: The United Nations ... largely for the purpose of international statistical comparison". The word city and the related civilization come from the Latin root civitas , originally meaning 'citizenship' or 'community member' and eventually coming to correspond with urbs , meaning 'city' in a more physical sense. The Roman civitas was closely linked with the Greek polis —another common root appearing in English words such as metropolis . In toponymic terminology, names of individual cities and towns are called astionyms (from Ancient Greek ἄστυ 'city or town' and ὄνομα 'name'). Urban geography deals both with cities in their larger context and with their internal structure. Cities are estimated to cover about 3% of

4773-505: The Uruk period . In the fourth and third millennium BC , complex civilizations flourished in the river valleys of Mesopotamia , India , China , and Egypt . Excavations in these areas have found the ruins of cities geared variously towards trade, politics, or religion. Some had large, dense populations , but others carried out urban activities in the realms of politics or religion without having large associated populations. Among

4902-730: The civilization of Djenne-Djenno was likely established by the Mande progenitors of the Bozo people . Their habitation of the site spanned the period from 3rd century BCE to 13th century CE. Archaeological evidence from Jenné-Jeno, specifically the presence of non-West African glass beads dated from the third century BCE to the fourth century CE, indicates that pre-Arabic trade contacts probably existed between Jenné-Jeno and North Africa. Additionally, other early urban centers in West Africa, dated to around 500 CE, include Awdaghust , Kumbi Saleh ,

5031-645: The commune ( in France and Chile ; or comune in Italy). Knapping Knapping is the shaping of flint , chert , obsidian , or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools , strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and flushwork decoration. The original Germanic term knopp meant to strike, shape, or work, so it could theoretically have referred equally well to making statues or dice. Modern usage

5160-427: The government workers . (This arrangement contrasts with the more typically horizontal relationships in a tribe or village accomplishing common goals through informal agreements between neighbors, or the leadership of a chief.) The governments may be based on heredity, religion, military power, work systems such as canal-building, food distribution, land-ownership, agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, finance, or

5289-538: The knowledge economy . A new smart city paradigm, supported by institutions such as the RAND Corporation and IBM , is bringing computerized surveillance , data analysis, and governance to bear on cities and city dwellers. Some companies are building brand-new master-planned cities from scratch on greenfield sites. Urbanization is the process of migration from rural to urban areas, driven by various political, economic, and cultural factors. Until

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5418-564: The service economy and public-private partnerships , with concomitant gentrification , uneven revitalization efforts , and selective cultural development. Under the Great Leap Forward and subsequent five-year plans continuing today, China has undergone concomitant urbanization and industrialization and become the world's leading manufacturer . Amidst these economic changes, high technology and instantaneous telecommunication enable select cities to become centers of

5547-535: The " Global North " remain more urbanized than the less developed countries of the " Global South "—but the difference continues to shrink because urbanization is happening faster in the latter group. Asia is home to by far the greatest absolute number of city-dwellers: over two billion and counting. The UN predicts an additional 2.5 billion city dwellers (and 300 million fewer country dwellers) worldwide by 2050, with 90% of urban population expansion occurring in Asia and Africa. Megacities , cities with populations in

5676-539: The "functional definition", a city is not distinguished by size alone, but also by the role it plays within a larger political context. Cities serve as administrative, commercial, religious, and cultural hubs for their larger surrounding areas. The presence of a literate elite is often associated with cities because of the cultural diversities present in a city. A typical city has professional administrators , regulations, and some form of taxation (food and other necessities or means to trade for them) to support

5805-532: The 18th century), Ile-Ifẹ̀ (70,000 to 105,000 inhabitants in the 14th and 15th centuries), Niani (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD) and Timbuktu (100,000 inhabitants in 1450 AD). In the West, nation-states became the dominant unit of political organization following the Peace of Westphalia in the seventeenth century. Western Europe's larger capitals (London and Paris) benefited from the growth of commerce following

5934-420: The 18th century, an equilibrium existed between the rural agricultural population and towns featuring markets and small-scale manufacturing. With the agricultural and industrial revolutions urban population began its unprecedented growth, both through migration and demographic expansion . In England , the proportion of the population living in cities jumped from 17% in 1801 to 72% in 1891. In 1900, 15% of

6063-441: The 1960s and 1970s led to rapid and chaotic housing and building activity, resulting in a maze of grey landscape of skyscrapers with a population of 32,531 in 1970. The population is 20,000 as of 2013. Ibaeta stands on the former location for various factories (e.g., Cervezas El León) of San Sebastián, with the buildings of the old industrial estate being demolished in the late 20th century. The levelling of this large flat area paved

6192-718: The 30th and 18th centuries BC. Mesoamerica saw the rise of early urbanism in several cultural regions, beginning with the Olmec and spreading to the Preclassic Maya , the Zapotec of Oaxaca, and Teotihuacan in central Mexico. Later cultures such as the Aztec , Andean civilizations , Mayan , Mississippians , and Pueblo peoples drew on these earlier urban traditions. Many of their ancient cities continue to be inhabited, including major metropolitan cities such as Mexico City , in

6321-750: The 9th through the end of the 12th century, Constantinople , the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire , was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe, with a population approaching 1 million. The Ottoman Empire gradually gained control over many cities in the Mediterranean area, including Constantinople in 1453 . In the Holy Roman Empire , beginning in the 12th century, free imperial cities such as Nuremberg , Strasbourg , Frankfurt , Basel , Zürich , and Nijmegen became

6450-566: The Andes, the first urban centers developed in the Norte Chico civilization , Chavin and Moche cultures, followed by major cities in the Huari , Chimu , and Inca cultures. The Norte Chico civilization included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru . It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas, flourishing between

6579-642: The City Hall. In 1953, city businessmen organised the first San Sebastián International Film Festival to stimulate the economic life and profile of the city. Mass immigration from other parts of Spain, spurred by growing industrial production, greatly increased the population, initiating rapid and chaotic urban development on the outskirts of the city (Altza, Intxaurrondo, Herrera, Bidebieta). Social, cultural and political conflicts followed, leading to popular dissatisfaction. Protests and street demonstrations became more common, driven by Basque nationalists (especially

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6708-594: The French assault and many urban structures were reconstructed, e.g. a new opening in the middle of the town, the Plaza Berria (that was to become the current Konstituzio Plaza). In 1728, the Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas was founded and boosted commerce with the Americas . Thanks to the profit the company generated, the town underwent some urban reforms and improvements and the new Santa Maria Church

6837-529: The Great founded and created them with zeal. Jericho and Çatalhöyük , dated to the eighth millennium BC , are among the earliest proto-cities known to archaeologists. However, the Mesopotamian city of Uruk from the mid-fourth millennium BC (ancient Iraq) is considered by most archaeologists to be the first true city, innovating many characteristics for cities to follow, with its name attributed to

6966-667: The Ministry of War in 1924. This part is located on the western side of the city beyond the Miramar Palace. The monastery of San Sebastián el Antiguo ('the Old') is mentioned in historical documents from the time of the foundation of the city in the 12th century. In the mid 19th century, industrial enterprises developed in the district, such as Cervezas El León, Suchard, and Lizarriturry, and it subsequently came to be populated by workers. Industry has since been replaced by services and

7095-521: The Modern Age brought a period of instability and war for the city. New state boundaries were drawn that left Donostia located close to Spain 's border with France; thicker and more sophisticated walls were erected, with the town becoming involved in the 1521–1524 military campaigns that formed part of the Spanish conquest of Navarre . The town provided critical naval help to Emperor Charles V during

7224-498: The N-1 E-5 E-80 E-70 ring road (South Intxaurrondo). The police force Guardia Civil runs controversial barracks there (works for new housing are underway). Altza ( Basque for alder tree) is the easternmost district of San Sebastián, along with Bidebieta and Trintxerpe. In 1910 it was a quaint village comprising scattered farmhouses and a small nucleus, with 2,683 inhabitants, but the arrival of thousands of immigrants in

7353-416: The Old Part. Most current buildings date back to the 19th century, built as part of the city's reconstruction after the 1813 destruction of the town by the allied Anglo-Portuguese troops. There is a small fishing and recreation port, with two-floor houses lined under the front-wall of mount Urgull . These houses are relatively new, resulting from the demilitarization of the hill, sold to the city council by

7482-594: The Portaletas gate. The Old Town is divided into two parishes relating to the Santa Maria and San Vicente churches; the inhabitants belonging to the former are known traditionally as joxemaritarrak , while those attached to the latter are referred to as koxkeroak . Until the early 18th century, the koxkeroak mostly spoke Gascon . Especially after the end of the Franco dictatorship, many bars were established around

7611-601: The Winds was built at the western tip of the bay. The 1970s to the mid-1980s were years of general urban and social decay marked by social and political unrest and violence. In 1979, the first democratic municipal elections were held, won by the Basque Nationalist Party , who held office along with splinter party Eusko Alkartasuna (Basque Solidarity) until 1991. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 's Odon Elorza took over as mayor from 1991 until 2011, when he

7740-536: The ancient capital of Ghana, and Maranda , a center located on a trade route between Egypt and Gao. The dissolution of the Roman Empire in the West was connected with profound changes in urban fabric of western Europe. In places where Roman administration quickly weakened urbanism went through a profound crisis, even if it continued to remain an important symbolic factor. In regions like Italy or Spain cities diminished in size but nevertheless continued to play

7869-475: The area during the first months of occupation. Many children were evacuated to temporary safety in Bilbao, with the city's population falling by an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. In the aftermath of war, the city was stricken by poverty, famine and repression, coupled with a thriving smuggling trade. Many republican detainees were held at the beach-side Ondarreta Prison in grim and humid conditions, until

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7998-761: The armed separatist organisation ETA) and various underground unions, triggering the first state of emergency in Gipuzkoa in 1968. Several more were imposed by the Francoist authorities in the period immediately preceding Franco's death in 1975. Amid the fragile economic situation and real estate speculation, the Kursaal and the Chofre bullring in Gros were demolished in 1973. From 1975 to 1977, sculptor Eduardo Chillida and architect Luis Peña Ganchegui 's landmark The Comb of

8127-464: The athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the polis. Rome was the first city that surpassed one million inhabitants. Under the authority of its empire , Rome transformed and founded many cities ( Colonia ), and with them brought its principles of urban architecture, design, and society. In the ancient Americas , early urban traditions developed in the Andes and Mesoamerica . In

8256-491: The bay pushed by urban building pressure. It lies by the Urumea at the south-east end of the city. It comprises a small patch of detached houses (Ciudad Jardín) and a core area of 6-odd floor buildings. The district has recently gone through a major makeover, with works finishing in 2008. The road axis coming from important industrial areas (Astigarraga- Hernani ) crosses the district heading downtown. A military base stands across

8385-407: The benefit of mitigating the urban heat island effect, especially in cities that are in warmer climates. These spaces prevent carbon imbalances, extreme habitat losses, electricity and water consumption, and human health risks. The urban structure generally follows one or more basic patterns: geomorphic, radial, concentric, rectilinear, and curvilinear. The physical environment generally constrains

8514-582: The building was demolished in 1948. However, industrial development paved the way for urban expansion in the Egia and Amara Berri districts, on the marshes and riverbed of the Urumea, at the end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s. In 1943, the first Basque language schools were established by Elvira Zipitria, who taught in Basque from her home in the Old Town. In 1947, the Grand Casino was converted into

8643-412: The chert nodule will be split in half to create two cherts with a flat circular face for use in walls constructed of lime. More sophisticated knapping is employed to produce near-perfect cubes which are used as bricks. There are many different methods of shaping stone into useful tools. Early knappers could have used simple hammers made of wood or antler to shape stone tools. The factors that contribute to

8772-447: The city began from the 1940s, after the completion of works to canalize the river. Nowadays the name Amara usually refers to this district, which has exceeded Amara Zaharra both in size and population. The district revolves around the axis of Avenida Sancho el Sabio and Avenida de Madrid , and is the main road entrance to the city. Facilities of many state run agencies are established here, as well as many business offices. The district

8901-445: The city over whether to pursue an economy based on tourism or manufacturing, Donostia developed into a fully-fledged seaside resort, but some industry developed in the district of Antiguo and on the outskirts of the city. Following the outbreak of World War I, San Sebastián became a destination for renowned international figures of culture and politics, including Mata Hari , Leon Trotsky , Maurice Ravel , and Romanones . San Sebastián

9030-490: The city's identity in the centuries to come. In 1265, the use of the city as a seaport was granted to Navarre as part of a wedding pact. The large quantity of Gascons inhabiting the town favoured the development of trade with other European ports and Gascony . The city steered clear of the destructive War of the Bands in Gipuzkoa, the only town in doing so in that territory. In fact, the town only joined Gipuzkoa in 1459 after

9159-601: The city) and Igeldo (overlooking Concha Bay from the west). San Sebastián lies at the mouth of the Urumea river, and it was in large part built on the river's wetlands during the last two centuries. The city centre and the districts of Amara Berri and Riberas de Loiola lie on the former riverbed, which was diverted to its current canalized course in the first half of the 20th century. San Sebastián features an oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ) with warm summers and cool winters. Like many cities with this climate, San Sebastián typically experiences cloudy or overcast conditions for

9288-432: The condition before the age of fifty. The average age of death for knappers was 44 years, compared to 66 for other employed men in the same area. Modern knappers are advised to work in the open air to reduce the dust hazard, and to wear eye and hand protection. Some modern knappers wear a respirator to guard against dust. A 2020 survey of 173 knappers found that 86% used eye protection, 57% wore gloves, and only 5% used

9417-520: The core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas —creating numerous commuters traveling toward city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifying globalization , all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues , such as sustainable development , climate change , and global health . Because of these major influences on global issues,

9546-438: The creation of a wide network of cycle lanes, underground car-parks and significant improvements to public transport. Districts of cutting-edge design have been erected, such as Ibaeta and Riberas de Loiola , while some other major public works are still pending confirmation of funding and approval. New districts developed after the walls of the city were demolished in 1863, as the city expanded in several directions, first into

9675-523: The current city is the settlement of Ametzagaña , between South Intxaurrondo and Astigarraga . The unearthed remains, such as knapped stones used as knives to cut animal skin, date from 24,000 to 22,000 BC. The open-air findings of the Upper Paleolithic have revealed that the settlers were modern human ( Homo sapiens ) hunters, besides pointing to a much colder climate at the time. There were Roman settlements (from around 50-200 AD) in what

9804-524: The disruption caused to and wealth obtained from the French and Dutch trade ships. In 1660, the city was used as the royal headquarters during the marriage of the Infanta to Louis XIV at Saint-Jean-de-Luz nearby. After a relatively peaceful 17th century, the town was besieged and taken over by the troops of the French Duke of Berwick up to 1721. However, San Sebastián was not spared by shelling in

9933-542: The early Old World cities, Mohenjo-daro of the Indus Valley civilization in present-day Pakistan , existing from about 2600 BC, was one of the largest, with a population of 50,000 or more and a sophisticated sanitation system . China's planned cities were constructed according to sacred principles to act as celestial microcosms . The Ancient Egyptian cities known physically by archaeologists are not extensive. They include (known by their Arab names) El Lahun ,

10062-429: The emergence of an Atlantic trade. However, most towns remained small. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the old Roman city concept was extensively used. Cities were founded in the middle of the newly conquered territories and were bound to several laws regarding administration, finances, and urbanism. The growth of the modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and

10191-812: The first millennium AD, the Khmer capital of Angkor in Cambodia grew into the most extensive preindustrial settlement in the world by area, covering over 1,000 km and possibly supporting up to one million people. West Africa already had cities before the Common Era , but the consolidation of Trans-Saharan trade in the Middle Ages multiplied the number of cities in the region, as well as making some of them very populous, notably Gao (72,000 inhabitants in 800 AD), Oyo-Ile (50,000 inhabitants in 1400 AD, and may have reached up to 140,000 inhabitants in

10320-461: The flatlands shaped by the river Urumea and later up the hills. The first expansion of the old town was towards the river's mouth, on the old quarter called Zurriola (a name later given by Council decision to the sand area and the avenue across the river). The orthogonal layout of the modern city centre (the Cortazar development) was built up until 1914 (when the first phase finished) reflecting

10449-471: The foot of the Mount Ulia Park, on the left hand side of the road heading from San Sebastián to Pasaia and Irun . It consists of a residential area, besides holding a number of educational institutions, culture and sports centres built since 1980. The Park of Nurseries of Ulia sits at the base of the road leading to Mount Ulia, with its name deriving from its function as a nursery of plants for

10578-440: The form in which a city is built. If located on a mountainside, urban structures may rely on terraces and winding roads. It may be adapted to its means of subsistence (e.g. agriculture or fishing). And it may be set up for optimal defense given the surrounding landscape. Beyond these "geomorphic" features, cities can develop internal patterns, due to natural growth or to city planning . In a radial structure, main roads converge on

10707-636: The ground for a carefully planned modern and elegant housing estate, featuring a new university campus for the public University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) and institutions such as the Donostia International Physics Center or the Nanotechnology Center . A stream called Konporta flows down along the eastern side of the area, but it was canalized under the ground almost all along to its mouth on

10836-800: The international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11 . Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption , dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element in fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have some significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands , concentrating pollution , and stressing water supplies and other resources. A city can be distinguished from other human settlements by its relatively great size, but also by its functions and its special symbolic status , which may be conferred by

10965-520: The knapping results are varied, but the EPA (exterior platform angle) indeed influences many attributes, such as length, thickness and termination of flakes. Hard hammer techniques are used to remove large flakes of stone. Early knappers and hobbyists replicating their methods often use cobbles of very hard stone, such as quartzite. This technique can be used by flintknappers to remove broad flakes that can be made into smaller tools. This method of manufacture

11094-472: The land surface of the Earth. Town siting has varied through history according to natural, technological, economic, and military contexts. Access to water has long been a major factor in city placement and growth, and despite exceptions enabled by the advent of rail transport in the nineteenth century, through the present most of the world's urban population lives near the coast or on a river. Urban areas as

11223-468: The late 1960s and early 1970s experimental archaeologist Don Crabtree published texts such as Experiments in Flintworking . François Bordes was an early writer on Old World knapping; he experimented with ways to replicate stone tools found across Western Europe . These authors helped to ignite a small craze in knapping among archaeologists and prehistorians. English archaeologist Phil Harding

11352-475: The longest continual inhabitation . Cities, characterized by population density , symbolic function, and urban planning , have existed for thousands of years. In the conventional view, civilization and the city were both followed by the development of agriculture , which enabled the production of surplus food and thus a social division of labor (with concomitant social stratification ) and trade . Early cities often featured granaries , sometimes within

11481-648: The majority of the year, typically with some precipitation. The city averages roughly 1,650 mm (65 in) of precipitation annually, which is fairly evenly spread throughout the year. However, the city is somewhat drier and noticeably sunnier in the summer months, experiencing on average approximately 100 mm (3.94 in) of precipitation during those months. Average temperatures range from 8.9 °C (48.0 °F) in January to 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) in August. The first evidence of human stationary presence in

11610-497: The multi-millions, have proliferated into the dozens, arising especially in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Economic globalization fuels the growth of these cities, as new torrents of foreign capital arrange for rapid industrialization, as well as the relocation of major businesses from Europe and North America, attracting immigrants from near and far. A deep gulf divides the rich and poor in these cities, which usually contain

11739-412: The municipality's population is 188,102 as of 2021, with its metropolitan area reaching 436,500 in 2010. Locals call themselves donostiarra (singular), both in Spanish and Basque . It is also a part of Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián . The economic activities in the city are dominated by the service sector , with an emphasis on commerce and tourism , as San Sebastián has long been well-known as

11868-599: The newest parts of the city, Aiete retained a rural character until not long ago. The post-war city council purchased the compound of the Aiete Palace for the use of Francisco Franco in 1940, immediately after the Civil War. The palace became Franco's summer residence until 1975, and is now home to the Bakearen Etxea (Peace Memorial House). Egia, stemming from (H)Egia ( Basque for either bank/shore or hill),

11997-405: The old town, has a neoclassical, austere and systematic style of architectural construction. Constitution Square was built in 1817 and the town hall (currently a library) between 1828 and 1832. Housing in the old town was built gradually alongside the rest of the area. The liberal and bourgeois San Sebastián became the capital of Gipuzkoa (instead of Tolosa ) until 1823, when absolutists besieged

12126-464: The open air and with stone and bone tools, would have had less prolonged exposure to dust than in more modern workshops. When gun flint knapping was a large-scale industry in Brandon, Suffolk , silicosis was widely known as knappers' rot . It has been claimed silicosis was responsible for the early death of three-quarters of Brandon gun flint makers. In one workshop, seven of the eight workers died of

12255-462: The place are known until, in 1014, the monastery of Saint Sebastian with its apple orchards for cider production, then located within the boundaries of the town of Hernani , was reportedly donated to the Abbey of Leire by Sancho III of Pamplona . By 1181, the city was chartered (given the fuero ) by king Sancho VI of Pamplona on the site of Izurum, having jurisdiction over all the territory between

12384-467: The province and annexation to Navarre in 1841. In 1863, the defensive walls of the town were demolished (their remains are visible in the underground car park on the Boulevard) and an expansion of the town began in an attempt to move on from its previous military function. Jose Goicoa and Ramon Cortazar were appointed to oversee the work. They modelled the new city according to an orthogonal shape in

12513-544: The province fell to Spanish Nationalist forces during the Northern Campaign . The occupation proved disastrous for the city's residents. Between 1936 and 1943, 485 people were executed as a result of show trials by the Spanish Nationalists ( Requetés and Falangists ). It has been estimated that extrajudicial executions ( paseos ) by the occupying military forces accounted for over 600 murders in

12642-500: The public as well as forms of public land such as public domain and the commons . Western philosophy since the time of the Greek agora has considered physical public space as the substrate of the symbolic public sphere . Public art adorns (or disfigures) public spaces. Parks and other natural sites within cities provide residents with relief from the hardness and regularity of typical built environments . Urban green spaces are another component of public space that provides

12771-496: The public gardens of San Sebastián throughout the 20th century until 2008. It includes two ancient water-tanks, architectonic elements, and specific flora and fauna. City Historically, city dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization , more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability . Present-day cities usually form

12900-402: The purpose of the final product. For stone tools and flintlock strikers, chert is worked using a fabricator such as a hammerstone to remove lithic flakes from a nucleus or core of tool stone . Stone tools can then be further refined using wood, bone, and antler tools to perform pressure flaking . For building work a hammer or pick is used to split chert nodules supported on the lap. Often

13029-485: The railway and the Ategorrieta Avenue, where still today the farmhouse Intxaurrondo Zar, declared "National Monument", is situated since the mid-17th century. The railway cuts across the district, the southern side being the fruit of the heavy development undergone in the area during the immigration years of the 1950s and 1960s. In addition, further housing estates have been built up more recently souther beyond

13158-873: The rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. England led the way as London became the capital of a world empire and cities across the country grew in locations strategic for manufacturing . In the United States from 1860 to 1910, the introduction of railroads reduced transportation costs, and large manufacturing centers began to emerge, fueling migration from rural to city areas. Some industrialized cities were confronted with health challenges associated with overcrowding , occupational hazards of industry, contaminated water and air, poor sanitation , and communicable diseases such as typhoid and cholera . Factories and slums emerged as regular features of

13287-472: The river, home to an uprising in 1936. Attempts by the city council to close it have been unsuccessful so far. New modern district erected in the 2000s next to the city's inner bypass and south road entrance to San Sebastián. A pedestrian bridge spans the Urumea river onto the Cristina Enea Park. The Martutene district bordering to the south on the town of Astigarraga comes next to Loiola in

13416-473: The rivers Oria and Bidasoa . In 1200, the city was conquered by Castile , whose king Alfonso VIII , confirmed its charter (fuero), but the Kingdom of Navarre was deprived of its main direct access out to the sea. Perhaps as soon as 1204 (or earlier), the city nucleus at the foot of Urgull started to be populated with Gascon -speaking colonizers from Bayonne and beyond, who left an important imprint in

13545-698: The same location as Tenochtitlan ; while ancient continuously inhabited Pueblos are near modern urban areas in New Mexico , such as Acoma Pueblo near the Albuquerque metropolitan area and Taos Pueblo near Taos ; while others like Lima are located nearby ancient Peruvian sites such as Pachacamac . From 1600 BC, Dhar Tichitt , in the south of present-day Mauritania , presented characteristics suggestive of an incipient form of urbanism. The second place to show urban characteristics in West Africa

13674-415: The same meaning — Saint Sebastian . The dona/done/doni element in Basque place names signifies "saint" and is derived from Latin domine ; the second part of Donostia contains a shortened form of the saint's name. There are two hypotheses regarding the evolution of the Basque name: one says it was *Done Sebastiáne > Donasa(b)astiai > Donasastia > Donastia > Donostia , the other one says it

13803-472: The sea between the waters of the Bay of Biscay and the broad estuary of the Urumea River, the town was hard to get at and well fortified – "it was the strongest fortification I ever saw, Gibraltar excepted", wrote William Dent. Three days later, on 31 August, British and Portuguese troops besieging San Sebastián assaulted the town. The relieving troops ransacked and burnt the city to the ground. Only

13932-462: The shipyards relocated to Pasaia , a nearby bay that had formerly been part of San Sebastián. However, in 1875, war came to the town again, and in 1876 shelling over the city by Carlists claimed the life of acclaimed poet Bilintx . From 1885, King Alfonso XII of Spain 's widow Maria Cristina spent every summer in Donostia along with her retinue, staying at the Miramar Palace. In 1887, a casino

14061-615: The siege of Hondarribia , which earned the town the titles "Muy Noble y Muy Leal", recorded on its coat of arms. The town also aided the monarch by sending a party to the Battle of Noain and providing help to quash the Revolt of the Comuneros in 1521. After these events, Gascons, who had played a leading role in the political and economic life of the town since its foundation, began to be excluded from influential public positions by means of

14190-672: The small towns of Meusnes and Couffy in France. Meusnes has a small museum dedicated to the industry. In 1804, during the Napoleonic Wars , Brandon was supplying over 400,000 flints a month for use by the British Army and Navy. Brandon knappers made gun flints for export to Africa as late as the 1960s. Knapping for building purposes is still a skill that is practiced in the flint-bearing regions of southern England, such as Sussex , Suffolk, and Norfolk , and in northern France, especially Brittany and Normandy , where there

14319-399: The south direction. This part of the city features an industrial area, a football pitch for lower leagues, a disused vocational training building and enclosure as well as a prison, much in decay and due to be transferred soon to a new location, probably in the municipality's exclave of Zubieta, while this option is coming in for much opposition. This part stands on the east side of the city at

14448-471: The street at the foot of the hill (now called 31 August Street) remained. After these destructive events, reconstruction of the city was commenced in the original location with a slightly altered layout. A modern octagonal layout as drafted by the architect P.M. Ugartemendia was turned down and eventually M. Gogorza's blueprint was approved, then supervised and implemented by the Ugartemendia. This area,

14577-466: The study of a California Native American called Ishi who lived in the early twentieth century. Ishi taught scholars and academics traditional methods of making stone tools and how to use them for survival in the wild. Early European explorers to the New world were also exposed to flint knapping techniques. Additionally, several pioneering nineteenth-century European experimental knappers are also known and in

14706-489: The term and has challenged geographers seeking to classify territories according to an urban-rural binary. Metropolitan areas include suburbs and exurbs organized around the needs of commuters , and sometimes edge cities characterized by a degree of economic and political independence. (In the US these are grouped into metropolitan statistical areas for purposes of demography and marketing .) Some cities are now part of

14835-638: The tourism sector. The Matia kalea provides the main axis for the district. Amara Zaharra ("Old Amara") is named after the Amara farmhouse. Over time it has mostly merged with the city centre, as the former Amara lay on the marshes on the left of the River Urumea . The core of this district is the Easo plaza , with the Euskotren railway terminal closing the square at its south. This southern expansion of

14964-597: The town (only 200 inhabitants remained in the town when the offensive troops entered). It was designated again as the capital in 1854. In 1835-6, the British Auxiliary Legion under Sir George de Lacy Evans defended the town against the Carlist besiegers. Some of those who died were buried in the English Cemetery on Mount Urgull . At the beginning of the 19th century, the local government

15093-412: The turn of the first millennium BC , encompassed numerous cities extending from Tyre , Cydon , and Byblos to Carthage and Cádiz . In the following centuries, independent city-states of Greece , especially Athens , developed the polis , an association of male landowning citizens who collectively constituted the city. The agora , meaning "gathering place" or "assembly", was the center of

15222-446: The urban landscape. In the second half of the 20th century, deindustrialization (or " economic restructuring ") in the West led to poverty , homelessness , and urban decay in formerly prosperous cities. America's "Steel Belt" became a " Rust Belt " and cities such as Detroit , Michigan, and Gary, Indiana began to shrink , contrary to the global trend of massive urban expansion. Such cities have shifted with varying success into

15351-535: The volume of sewage begins to exceed manageable levels. The local government of cities takes different forms including prominently the municipality (especially in England , in the United States , India , and other British colonies ; legally, the municipal corporation ; municipio in Spain and Portugal , and, along with municipalidad , in most former parts of the Spanish and Portuguese empires) and

15480-444: The war came to an end. Up to the 16th century, Donostia remained mostly out of wars, but by the beginning of the 15th century, a line of walls of simple construction is attested encircling the town. The last chapter of the town in the Middle Ages was brought about by a fire that devastated Donostia in 1489. After burning to the ground, the town began a new renaissance by building up mainly with stone instead of bare timber. The advent of

15609-523: The world's population lived in cities. The cultural appeal of cities also plays a role in attracting residents. Urbanization rapidly spread across Europe and the Americas and since the 1950s has taken hold in Asia and Africa as well. The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reported in 2014 that for the first time, more than half of the world population lives in cities. Latin America

15738-522: Was *Done Sebastiane > *Done Sebastiae > *Done Sebastie > *Donesebastia > *Donasastia > *Donastia > Donostia . The city is located in the north of the Basque Country , on the south-eastern coast of the Bay of Biscay . San Sebastián has three beaches , Concha, Ondarreta, and Zurriola, and is surrounded by hilly areas: Urgull (adjacent to the old part of the city), Mount Ulia (extending east to Pasaia ), Mount Adarra (south of

15867-543: Was Dia , in present-day Mali , from 800 BC. Both Dhar Tichitt and Dia were founded by the same people: the Soninke , who would later also found the Ghana Empire . Another ancient site, Jenné-Jeno , in what is today Mali , has been dated to the third century BCE. According to Roderick and Susan McIntosh, Jenné-Jeno did not fit into traditional Western conceptions of urbanity as it lacked monumental architecture and

15996-660: Was built, which eventually became the current city hall, and some time later the Regional Government building was completed in Plaza Gipuzkoa following Jose Goicoa's design. Cultural life thrived in this period, giving rise to various events that still take place in the city, such as the Caldereros or the Tamborrada , and journalistic and literary works in both Spanish and Basque. After much debate in

16125-465: Was carried out on the Urumea river at the southern edge of the city. However, after the city's Belle Epoque in the European wartime, repression under Miguel Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship was not favourable for the city. In 1924, gambling was prohibited by the authoritarian regime, causing existential problems for the Grand Casino and the Kursaal (1921). In 1930, Spanish republican forces signed up to

16254-565: Was defeated unexpectedly by Juan Carlos Izagirre ( Bildu ) in elections. From the 1990s, a major makeover of the city centre began, aimed at enhancing and revamping the neoclassical and modernist side of San Sebastián's architecture. Other regeneration projects included the reshaping and enlargement of Zurriola beach and promenade, the opening of the Kursaal Palace cubes (1999), the new university campus and technology facilities in Ibaeta,

16383-473: Was erected by subscription. This period of wealth and development was to last up to the end of 18th century. In 1808, Napoleonic forces captured San Sebastián in the Peninsular War . In 1813, after a siege of various weeks, on 28 August, during the night, a landing party from a British Royal Navy squadron captured Santa Clara Island , in the bay. Situated on a narrow promontory that jutted out into

16512-520: Was one of earliest towns hit by the 1918 Influenza epidemic , dealing with a first wave outbreak in February of that year. Officials feared for the city's reputation and attempted to keep the disease's spread quiet, to no avail, and the outbreak soon spread throughout Spain. Various rationalist architectural works, typically white or light-coloured, were built in the 1920s and 1930s, such as La Equitativa, Nautico, and Easo. In 1924–1926, canalisation work

16641-575: Was still ruled by the principle of nobility, while inhabitants of foreign origin or descent had always been numerous in the town, especially among the trading community. Although San Sebastián benefited greatly from the charter system established in the Southern Basque Country ( foruak , with borders in the Ebro river and no duties for overseas goods), the town was at odds with the more traditional Gipuzkoa , even requesting secession from

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