{"id":7536,"date":"2026-07-14T22:28:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T22:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jssp.reviste.ubbcluj.ro\/?p=7536"},"modified":"2026-07-20T20:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:19:06","slug":"abstract-04jssp012026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jssp.reviste.ubbcluj.ro\/?p=7536","title":{"rendered":"Abstract 04JSSP012026"},"content":{"rendered":"

European Urban Population Dynamics, 1875-1904: Alexander Supan\u2019s Geography Textbook as a <\/span><\/strong>Historical-Geographical Source<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Valer\u0456\u0456 RUDENKO1<\/sup>, Diana-Elena ALEXANDRU*2<\/sup>, Viktoriia BILOUS1<\/sup>, Vasile ZOTIC<\/strong>2<\/sup><\/strong>
\n<\/strong>* Corresponding author
\n1 <\/sup>Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Faculty of Geography, Chernivtsi, UKRAINE
\n2 <\/sup>Babe\u015f-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Human Geography and Tourism, Centre for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
\nE-mail<\/strong>: rudenko_valery@ukr.net; ORCID<\/strong>: 0000-0002-7542-4399
\n<\/strong>E-mail<\/strong>: diana.alexandru@ubbcluj.ro; ORCID<\/strong>: 0000-0002-2221-9316
\n<\/strong>E-mail<\/strong>: geobilous@gmail.com; ORCID<\/strong>: 0000-0001-7394-836X
\n<\/strong>E-mail<\/strong>: vasile.zotic@ubbcluj.ro; ORCID<\/strong>: 0000-0002-4489-0637
\n<\/strong>Pages<\/strong>: 49-62. DOI<\/strong>: 10.24193\/JSSP.2026.1.04<\/a>
\nReceived<\/strong>: 27 November 2025
\nReceived in revised form<\/strong>: 12 April 2026
\nAccepted for publication<\/strong>: 20 May 2026
\nAvailable online<\/strong>: 30 June 2026
\n<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Cite<\/strong>: Rudenko V., Alexandru D.-E., Bilous V., Zotic V. (2026), European Urban Population Dynamics, 1875-1904: Alexander Supan\u2019s Geography Textbook as a Historical-Geographical Source. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 17(1), 49-62. DOI: 10.24193\/JSSP.2026.1.04<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong>. This study examines the population dynamics of European cities in the last quarter of the 19th<\/sup> \u00a0century through a systematic extraction and analysis of the urban population figures published across four benchmark editions (1875, 1880, 1890, 1904) of Alexander Supan\u2019s geography textbook for Austrian secondary schools.\u00a0Using historical-geographical and statistical methods, the study reconstructs Supan\u2019s implicit urban classification and traces changes in the number and population of cities in six size groups, from small towns to capital-million-plus cities.\u00a0Results show a marked concentration of urban growth in the upper tiers of the European urban hierarchy. While big cities remained the most numerous category overall, the relative weight of small, midsize, and big cities declined, and the share of large, largest, and million-plus cities rose strongly by 1904.\u00a0The number of cities with 100,000 inhabitants or more increased from 71 to 124, and their combined population grew from 20.9 to 44.5 million.\u00a0The fastest relative growth occurred in cities such as Kiel, Mannheim, Kyiv, and Leipzig, and at the country level in the Netherlands, Germany, and Spain.\u00a0Read critically, Supan\u2019s textbook does not provide a census-equivalent dataset, but it does preserve a rare contemporary geographical interpretation of European urbanization during its most intensive nineteenth-century phase, making it a valuable source for both historical urban studies and the history of geographical knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

K e y w o r d s<\/strong>: <\/strong>Alexander Supan, geography textbook, European cities, population dynamics, alternative data source, history of geography<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

European Urban Population Dynamics, 1875-1904: Alexander Supan\u2019s Geography Textbook as a Historical-Geographical Source Valer\u0456\u0456 RUDENKO1, Diana-Elena ALEXANDRU*2, Viktoriia BILOUS1, Vasile ZOTIC2 * Corresponding author 1 Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Faculty of Geography, Chernivtsi, UKRAINE 2 Babe\u015f-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Department of Human Geography and Tourism, Centre for Research on Settlements and Urbanism, Cluj-Napoca, … <\/p>\n

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