During the second half of the nineteenth century, the rapid urbanization of Europe sparked a set of complex, often contradictory reactions to life in the large modern city. Europe's urban population grew sixfold from 1800 to 1910 as a result of overall population growth and considerable migration to cities, with the greatest expansion occurring in the latter half of this period. Adapting to the needs of industrial capitalism and the development of the nation-state, “central place” cities such as Vienna and Paris began building projects that destroyed old neighborhoods and tore down medieval walls to allow new construction. Growth of this magnitude created the sensation of constant change and instability. For many citizens the big city came to represent modernity itself, characterized by flux and spectacle.
Density dependence forces divergent population growth rates and alters occupancy patterns of a central place foraging Antarctic seabird