Roman citizens who lived in the cities enjoyed the benefits of urban amenities. Cities offered residents access to baths, sewers, latrines, aqueducts, and roadways. In some ways, these amenities are like what modern people have today. There are also notable differences between the amenities that the Romans had and what modern people have. Roman city life was different because Romans experienced constraints that modern people are not restricted by, which makes the services available to Romans different from what is available and possible in the modern world.

Roman baths were a part of every day life; even Romans who had private facilities and plumbing at home still went to the baths to socialize because their general lack of a need for privacy made the atmosphere communal and social. The baths were not coed so sexes were separated and the price of a bath could vary from place to place. Baths were also more than just pools for bathing and socializing. They were places where food was sold, where someone could work out, listen to poetry, and tend to matters of personal hygiene like hair plucking and cutting. In that way, Roman bath facilities are like the modern shopping mall, the gym, and the personal salon in one. Roman baths were a luxury that is not a part of modern urban life since we do not have public bathing facilities outside what one would find in a gym. However, like modern private baths, the Roman baths too had filtered water and furnaces below that gave hot water.

Due to the lack of technology and heavy machinery used for modern sewage control, Roman sewers were made out of underground tunnels that were carved into large vaults of stone, some large enough to sail a boat through for inspection. Sewers in Rome were efficient in sending waste water from Rome into the Tiber. Because the sewers were large, they could carry a great amount of water out at a time. Sewers were not for the exchange of water like they are in the modern sewage system. Filtering was not efficient enough to circulate water, so sewers were only for the disposal of water.

Sewage waste water came from rainwater run off, water used for cleaning or bathing, and water flowing from the many public latrines in Rome. Rome had public toilets only available to men that could be used for a small price. Water flowed from aqueducts in through passages underneath the latrines that flushed the waste water out through the sewer system, which was their equivalent of flushing without modern technology. Public restrooms are available in the modern world, but the nature of them is changed by the different value of privacy. To the Romans, privacy was not something desired. Public bathrooms were very public places used even for socializing and men were in close proximity to one another in Roman public latrines. In the matter of technology, Romans were also constrained by the absence of toilet paper. Romans used sponges to clean off, sometimes communal sponges used by more than one person if they could not afford one of their own.

As stated previously, aqueducts brought water into the city of Rome using gravity and suction. Most of the water brought into Rome was for public use unlike modern amenities that provide for a balance of private and public use. Aqueducts were built above ground from stone. Construction was done without modern machines, trucks, or stone cutters. Water is sent into modern cities through underground tubes, but Rome did not enjoy that luxury. Roman aqueducts were frequently cracked by growing trees, obstructed by buildings, clogged by leaves or dead animals, and ruined by normal wear and tear. Due to this, they needed constant inspection to keep them up to proper working capacity. Another thing Romans experienced unknown to most modern people was the cutting of their water supply by invaders. Due to the visible nature of the aqueducts, they were vulnerable and easily tampered with. They were also easily stolen from by people tapping illegally into the supply. If something did happen to the aqueduct, a temporary structure could be constructed to keep water flowing into Rome, but constant repair and building temporary passages were time and effort consuming.

Rome was a large territory and roads were an important means of transportation, trade, and communication. The building of roads was labor intensive and roads were in constant need of repair from the heavy use of feet and carts, though this is little different from the need for modern road repair. For Romans, roads were more important for communication because they were their only method of passing information along. Just like the modern world, Rome could not have functioned without a well kept and extensive network of roads. To make roads, Romans sometimes had to cut paths, take down trees, drain water, and reinforce land without the benefit technology. This made building roads all the more labor intensive. Roman roads were constructed out of rocks packed in layers to make them sturdy, some of which survive in use today, which makes Roman road construction different but not inferior to modern paving.

Romans who lived in cities benefited from urban amenities like baths, sewers, latrines, aqueducts, and roads. In some ways, these amenities are like some of what we have in the modern world such as our salons, malls, gyms, public bathrooms, public water with sewage disposal, and roads. We also share in that these services require constant upkeep to keep them in working order. However, there are also notable differences between Roman and modern city luxuries given the nature of values such as privacy and the differences of technology available for construction and upkeep.