Urban Sociology

What is urbanization?

• Urbanization is a shift in population from rural living to living in cities and towns.• Occurred alongside industrialization.• London as a prime example: 1800: 1.1 million people 1900: > 7 million people• The United States: 1800: <10% urban 2010: approximately 80% urban

Important issues about urbanisation:

• How cities have changed and why• Rural, urban, and suburban living• Globalization and urbanization• Population growth and its consequences

Ancient cities

• Ancient cities are organised very differently than today’s cities, both spatially and socially.• Centers for culture, science, commerce, and so on The vast majority of the population lived in rural towns and communities, with little or no connection to cities.

Rural life

• Stereotypes of idyllic rural America often misrepresent rural realities• Rural areas = 75% of land, but hold only 17% of the population.• The rural population has been in decline for most of the twentieth century.

The Roman Coliseum was built as place for entertainment and public exhibitions.

http://www.goddess-athena.org/Museum/Temples/Parthenon/Parthenon_NW_from_W_rec.html

What led to the decline in rural population

• Declines in farming and other rural industries• High poverty rates• Few opportunities or amenities• Few government services• Hard to attract new residents• New technologies

and social programs work to reverse these trends

Urban sociology

• It is the sociological study of life and human interaction in metropolitan areas.

• It is a normative discipline of sociology seeking to study the structures, processes, changes and problems of an urban area and by doing so provide inputs for planning and policy making.

• In other words it is the sociological study of cities and their role in the development of society.

• Like most areas of sociology, urban sociologists use statisticial analysis, observation, social theory, interviews, and other methods to study a range of topics, including migration and demographic trends, economics, poverty, race relations, economic trends, etc.

Urban sociological theories

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

• People in preindustrial, traditional societies were generic, tribal beings• Rise of city was transition from barbarism to civilization• People realize political and economic freedom, productive specialization• Social evolution of humans not complete until capitalism was

transformed into socialism• Emphasis of economics and problems of inequality and conflict

Max Weber (1864-1920)

• Considered social structure of city• Ecological-demographic characteristics: the city was a

relatively closed and dense settlement• Undertook survey of various cities throughout world unlike

previous theorists who focused on European cities solely• Defined urban community, an ideal type, required:• 1) trade or commercial relations, e.g. market• 2) court and law of its own• 3) partial political autonomy• 4) militarily self-sufficient for self-defence

• 5) forms of associations or social participation whereby individuals engage in social relationships and organizations

• Suggested that cities are linked to larger processes, e.g. economic or political orientations, instead of city itself being cause of distinguishing qualities of urban life, i.e. different cultural and historical conditions will result in different types of cities, same as with Marx & Engels who argued that human condition of cities was result of economic structure

Effects of urbanization

•As Bombay was a deep water port, large vessels were able to dock there.

• In 1854 the first Indian cotton mill was opened.•The cotton textile industries were established.•Raw cotton was shipped from Bombay to England.

The urbanization of bombay•This provided more opportunities for people.•And also the film city set its base in bombay which attracted more people to the city.• This resulted in rapid increase in population.

As the population increased the city limits were extended to the north.

• The traffic movement was from the north of Mumbai to the south in the mornings and from the south to the north in the evenings.This resulted in congestion and traffic jams.

•By combining two or three compatible transport systems, the plan is freed from the constraint of a narrow ribbon development and considerable physical planning advantages accrue. •Futher more ,and of prime importance, the interchanges between the systems will constitute natural nodal points in the city’s growth.

Now a town of 100,000. . . and we have several colonies where blue people reside. . . and furthermore, some of the red dots on the fringes of these colonies are turning. . . purple!

Next: a town of 25,000 people. Ah! An historic moment:two blue people are meeting for the first time.

a town of 1000 people. Now there are 4 or 5 bluedots floating around.

diagram of a village: 250 red dots and one blue one – he's ablue person. Einstein? The village idiot? Anyway, he's differentfrom the rest.

• That's what cities are about. Blue people getting together.

• Communicating. Reinforcing each other. Challenging (and changing!)the red ones.

Mysore city

• Development from the center,(center being the Mysore palace).

• The main market area,and other commercial areas developing near the palace.

• The residential areas developing with respect to the market and the center the palace.

Disadvantages

• the one main commercial area becomes very crowded,even though thesmaller commercial spaces are developing.

colour representation*red-palace*light blue-main commercial/market areas*dark blue-water bodies*light green-open spaces/Zoo*dark green-parks*yellow-public building/grounds/spaces*light orange-residential and some commercial areas

Urban Sociology

Documents

Transcript of Urban Sociology