Methodological Approaches on Urban Micro-Regions

The connectivity between the city and the hinterland is
an important but challenging question in studying
urban development in the Roman Empire. Specific variabilities
in time and space require a local or micro-regional
approach that can differ to varying extents. In
this article, two connected analyses will be presented,
using the case study of the Almanzora river valley in the
southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. First, a quantitative
approach is presented to examine the connection
between city and hinterland and their development,
focusing on the connectivity between cities and
settlements and their economic development in the 1st
and 2nd c. CE. The second case study from Africa is a
more qualitative approach to understanding how
connectivity between the settlement and its hinterland
affected local or micro-regional forms of architecture
and urban armatures in these cities. By focusing on the
Urban Boom in the hinterland of Roman Carthage at the
beginning of the 3rd c. CE, the examples of Bulla Regia
and Thugga show different kinds of urban development
that can be interpreted as a result of their differently
organized hinterlands.