Catalhoyuk raises some interesting questions about that b/c it's a town entirely without roads. All the houses were built abutting each other and people walked across roofs and entered and exited through the roof. And it's one one of the oldest known towns.

You haven’t thought about coastal or river settlements, have you? That’s where it all starts …

Interesting question. I guess it comes down to how you define a town and a road

The "road". Passes, rivers, low plains, and anywhere else that people find easier to traverse are where most towns developed. These pathways would intersect and if there was enough people passing through to support full-time occupation, a town would develop.

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