ancient cities

226 Divided Cities
national boundaries brought about by war and
conflict. Europe’s landscape is dotted with such
cities. There are also some in China and in North
America. Internal processes can also cause urban
divisions. A particular form of ghettoization—
which was once found throughout Europe in the
form of Jewish ghettoes and today is more common
in the United States in the form of African
American ghettos and American barrios—is one
such process. Another internal process of sociospatial
urban division are those cities that contain
gated communities. These are enclosed and protected
territories designed to house a certain social
stratum of the urban population. The following
paragraphs describe some of these examples of
cities divided by external and internal factors.
Jerusalem as a divided city is discussed separately,
as it belongs in a category of its own.
Cities Divided by External Causes
Shifting national boundaries as a result of war is
the most common cause of urban divisions. There
are many cities in Europe that have been divided in
this manner. In the early nineteenth century,
Napoleon divided Laufenburg across Switzerland
and Germany. Later, after World War I and the
collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, conflicts
between Slavic and German-speaking populations
resulted in the creation of Bad Radkersburg as a
border city. It was split by the Mura River into
Bad Radkersburg, Austria, and Gornja, Radgona
(which is now called Slovenia). Also in this time,
the Lainsitz River formed the new border between
Austria and what is now the Czech Republic. The
city of Gmuend, on this river, was divided into
Gmuend and Cˇeské Velenice. Similarly, the city of
Komarom of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was
divided across the jurisdictions of Hungary and
what is now Slovakia along the Danube River.
Fighting over the Gorizia also began in World War
I. It was not until after World War II, however,
that the city became divided across the jurisdictions
of Italy and what is now Slovenia.
After World War II, the reformation of Germany’s
northeastern border caused the division of cities
sitting along the Oder and Neisse rivers. Muskau
was divided into Bad Muhskau and Łe˛knica,
Görlitz was divided into Görlitz and Zgorzelec,
Guben was divided into Guben and Gubin, Forst
was divided into Forst and Zasieki, Frankfurt
(Oder) was divided into Frankfurt (Oder) and
Słubice, and Küstrin was divided into Küstrin-
Kietz and Kostrzyn and Odra˛. Since the fall of the
Berlin wall the restrictions in mobility have been
greatly relaxed, but the fragmented parts remain
under the corresponding political jurisdictions of
either Germany or Poland. The division of Germany
into the eastern German Democratic Republic and
the western Federal Republic of Germany, following
the discussions at Potsdam, also created the
famous divide of the city of Berlin (now reunified).
Cities divided as a result of changing national
borders can also be found elsewhere on the globe.
In the eastern hemisphere, the annexing of Hong
Kong to the British Empire after the Opium Wars
also generated some divided cities. In 1997, as
Hong Kong was handed to China, the cities of Lo
Wu (Hong Kong) and Luohu (China) were reunited
under one jurisdiction. Similarly, Sha Tau Kok
(China) and Shatoujiao (Hong Kong) were also
reunited. Upon reconciliation, the parts that were
previously governed by British Hong Kong came
under the jurisdiction of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region, while the other halves
would be administered by Guangdong Province. In
the western hemisphere, the dissension and separation
of the United States from Britain led to the
creation of the Canadian–American border that
divided Derby Line in Vermont from Rock Island
in Quebec, Canada. This border also split several
North American Indian nations. The annexing of
Sault Ste. Marie south of St. Mary’s River from
Ontario, Canada, to Michigan, United States,
divided not only the city but also the Chippewa
communities. Between New York and Ontario, the
St. Regis Mohawk Reservation was also divided.
One of the most spectacular twentieth-century
examples of a divided and reunited city is Berlin.
Because it is a large metropolitan area, it showcases
how extreme the problems associated with
division can be. After World War II, Berlin was
divided among the Allies, and the separate neighborhoods
were occupied by the respective military
powers. However, the allied cooperation broke
down, and the city was divided into administrative
areas, with the Soviets occupying the eastern half,
and the French, British, and Americans occupying
the western half. In 1961, the Soviet Union began
building the “anti-fascist wall of protection”