Cities came to be created independently in different world regions at different moments. However, how did the first urban settlements emerge in these different regions? What are the social and spatial conditions and processes in the emergence of cities? Are they universal or context-dependent? In fact, what differentiates cities from other types of human settlements? This paper investigates the processes driving the creation of cities across various regions and historical periods, exploring the social and spatial conditions underpinning urban emergence. While most approaches to urban morphogenesis focus on morphological evolution in specific contexts, they often overlook the fundamental forces that shape cities’ formation. In response, this study adopts a hybrid approach, combining classic theories such as those of Alexander and Hillier with biological concepts like morphospace—the space of all possible configurations—and archaeological insights. The paper examines the transition from (sedentary) hunter-gatherer communities to urban societies, identifying key drivers such as defence, social hierarchy formation, population scale, and work specialization, all contributing to the division of labour as a main driver of urbanization. We propose a view of morphogenesis as a trajectory across morphospace in the evolutionary selection of configurations fit to increasingly complex divisions of labour. By mapping the space of possible urban configurations, the study highlights the non-ergodic nature of urban morphogenesis as structure-seeking selection and growth, based on balancing spatial properties, namely density, permeability and information. These parameters are analyzed in theoretical and empirical contexts, including human settlements, proto-cities, and contemporary urban configurations.