This chapter examines the relation between urbanization and colonial settlement in the western Mediterranean and evaluates whether the Mediterranean should be considered an urban region. It investigates the interconnection between urbanization and colonialism and analyses archaeological evidence for early colonial settlement, focusing on Greek colonization in South Italy and Sicily and the Phoenician presence on the Tyrrhenian islands and the Spanish south-east coast. The findings indicate that the urban fabric of many colonial foundations does not necessarily have to be understood in urban terms.