Why did most European towns remain relatively small during the ancien régime?

Question

a) Poor roads and unproductive farms meant that cities with populations above 5,000–10,000 found it difficult to get enough food from local suppliers.
b) Traditional-minded townspeople refused to move elsewhere to better their financial prospects.
Consider This: How long did it take to travel by foot or oxcart in this period? See 1.2: Immobile Lives.
c) For the most part, larger towns were forbidden because the authorities worried more people meant more rioting.
Consider This: How long did it take to travel by foot or oxcart in this period? See 1.2: Immobile Lives.
d) Smaller towns, where everyone knew their neighbors, were preferable to anonymous big cities.
Consider This: How long did it take to travel by foot or oxcart in this period? See 1.2: Immobile Lives.

Answer 1

a) Poor roads and unproductive farms meant that cities with populations above 5,000–10,000 found it difficult to get enough food from local suppliers.