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New: Article on the Medieval minsters of Beverley, Rippon and York, submitted by Stuart Sharp.
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In conclusion, several factors, including technological innovation, influenced the spatial layouts of Roman and medieval cities. Each of these technological innovations must be considered in the social context in which they were created and to which they contributed. The very formal layout of Roman cities, for example, came about at a time of very strong central government and strong military dominance. The need to move troops, messengers and goods was important to the city designers and mechanisms existed by which the power structure could impose these needs on city layout. Roman culture imposed a degree of universality of philosophy, language, government forms and city design throughout the empire. Public space was valued and construction of public works (such as roads or aqueducts) and buildings for use or entertainment (such as the Flavian Amphitheatre) brought prestige to the ruler.
In contrast, medieval cities evolved at a time of constant social upheaval, with weak central states. The commanding secular structures were dominated by the needs of defence. Religious structures became the foci of social life and came to form dominating structures in the layout of cities, forming the focal points of urban centres, and visibly dominating the city layouts.
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