Is there a timeline for the urbanization of Coruscant?

Question

Coruscant would have gone through a gradual transformation from an all-natural world to an ecumenopolis.

When was it an almost 100% natural world, without civilized settlements? (Meaning the only settlements were villages and the kind of stuff you can't see from space.)

When did large cities visible from space start forming?

When did serious urbanization start happening, and how long did it take until 100% of the planet was a city?

I'm OK with EU canon.

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^{Related: What did Coruscant's nature look like before it was urbanized?}

Answer 1

A loose one

In canon, no.

There’s not much in canon to suggest when Coruscant was urbanized. We know, certainly, that it’s had large skyscrapers on it for no less than millenia:

Some of the deepest layers have been sealed off for thousands of years.

_{Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know}

In Legends, yes.

Legends has at least a loose chronology for the development of Coruscant.

• 200,000 BBY: Local urbanization

  As of this time, the ancient Zhells had at least one city. There were still natural features such as volcanoes, however, and urbanization had not yet reached the point it had some tens of millenia later, when nearly the whole surface was covered. According to a blog post about material that was considered for Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare, but was never included:

  The outlines of what happened some 200,000 years ago are known to every schoolchild: The 13 nations that made up the Battalions of Zhell spent centuries clashing with the forces of the Taungs. During one of their skirmishes, a volcanic eruption destroyed the city of Zhell, shattering the Battalions’ power. The assembled Taungs watched in awe as ash blotted out the sun and rained down upon them. Taking their opponents’ destruction as a sign of divine favor, the Taungs christened themselves Dha Werda Verda, the Shadow Warriors, and celebrated their victory in the epic poem of the same name.

• 90,000 BBY: Significant global urbanization

  In murky prehistory, the planet that would become Coruscant served as a battleground between the Taungs and the human tribes of the Battalions of Zhell. The withdrawal of the Taungs to Roon left humans in sole possession of the world, and urbanization soon followed. The megalopolis that would one day become Galactic City is said to have already stood layer upon layer as early as 90,000 BBY.

  _{Star Wars: The Essential Atlas}

• Sometime after 30,000 BBY: Planet-wide urbanization

  The planet was not entirely urbanized until 30,000 BBY at the very earliest. This is when the Infinite Empire of the Rakata took over:

  The Rakata of the Infinite Empire assumed ownership of Coruscant in 30,000 BBY, providing technical clues that allowed the Coruscantis to build sleeper ships and colonize habitable worlds over the course of decades.

  _{Star Wars: The Essential Atlas}

  Some time after this, development accelerated and the planet was entirely covered by buildings:

  Urbanization continued at a furious pace. Soon, no point on the surface remained free from construction, save for the peaks of the Manarai mountains.

  _{Star Wars: The Essential Atlas}

  At this point, it has become the Coruscant of the prequel series: a planet-wide city.