T1 URBANIZATION

Urban sociology

is a branch of sociology that studies city life and examines how urban living affects social action, social relationships, social institutions, and patterns of civilization.

The term urban comes from the Latin word

urbanus, meaning “belonging to a city,” and refers to cities or towns as opposed to villages or rural areas.

Urbane

refers to being refined, polite, and elegant—qualities historically associated with city dwellers rather than rural populations!

What does urbane mean and how is it related to urban life?

refers to being refined, polite, and elegant—qualities historically associated with city dwellers rather than rural populations.

urbanite

a resident of a city or town.

When did cities first appear?

approximately 10,000 years ago.

Who wrote the earliest known book on cities and what was it called?

Giovanni Botero wrote Delle Cause della grandezza della citta in 1598

Why is Giovanni Botero’s work considered important but limited?

While it was an early work on cities, it did not establish urban sociology as a scientific discipline.

When did cities become objects of scientific inquiry?

from the seventeenth century onward.

Who is considered the first true urban sociologist and why?

Georg Simmel: because he provided a sociological definition of urban life and analyzed the relationship between spatial density, social behavior, and economic differentiation.

What is Georg Simmel’s major contribution to urban sociology?

His work The Metropolis and Mental Life (1903), which explored how city life affects individual psychology and social interaction.

Name three classical works important to urban sociology.

• The Metropolis and Mental Life – Georg Simmel

• The City – Max Weber

• Le Village et la Ville – René Maunier

Who gave urban sociology a major boost in the United States?

Robert E. Park, through his article “The City” published in 1915.

Chicago School of Urban Sociology

A school of thought developed by Park, Burgess, and McKenzie that laid the foundation of urban sociology through ecological and empirical studies of cities.

Name two major works that laid the foundation of urban sociology.

• The City (1925) by Park, Burgess, and McKenzie

• The Urban Community (1925) edited by E.W. Burgess

When did urban sociology gain official recognition in the USA?

In 1925, when the American Sociological Society devoted its annual meeting to urban sociology.

When and where was the first sociology department established in India?

In 1920 at the University of Bombay by Professor Patrick Geddes.

Why was urban sociology neglected in India for a long time?

1. Low level of urbanization

2. Belief that rural and urban life were not sharply divided in Indian society

According to M.S.A. Rao, why did urban sociology develop slowly in India?

Because sociologists believed rural–urban distinctions were not meaningful and that villages and cities were part of the same civilization.

Ecology

• . It is the Science which studies the relationship between living things and the environment

• habitat shows it's influence in areas other than human life

• botanists became conscious of the influence of the physical environment

Appproaches of Urban sociology

1. City and

What is the subject matter of urban sociology?

• The impact of city life on social action

• social relationships

• social institutions

• urban civilization.

How did Louis Wirth describe the city?

• As a densely populated

• heterogeneous

• complex social entity marked by economic inequality, ethnic diversity, and social conflict.

Why are cities considered socially complex?

Because they contain:

1. diverse populations differing in age

2. sex

3. occupation

4. income

5. ethnicity

6. culture.

What is meant by community in sociology?

• A group of people living in a common area (habitat)

• with shared social relationships, emotional bonds, and a sense of belonging.

• Cooperation is communicated

How did Davis define community?

smallest territorial group that can encompass all aspects of social life.

How did MacIver and Page define community?

As a group in which all social relationships of individuals may be found within it.

As a group in which all social relationships of individuals may be found within it.

The study of the relationship between human beings and their physical environment, especially spatial distribution in cities.

Why is human ecology different from plant ecology?

Humans are mobile and socially driven, whereas plants are fixed and biologically dependent on soil.

What are the four major approaches to the study of urban sociology?

1. City and civilization approach

2. Ecological of urbanism

3. Social organization approach

4. Social problem perspective

city and civilization approach

• It views cities as symbols and drivers of civilization and studies urban growth within historical development.

• concerned with the relationship between city and civilization - identify the city and trace the origins of modern city life

ecological of urbanism

see cities as a physical, spatial, and material aspects of urban life

social organization

• It examines how individuals, groups, institutions, and bureaucracies function within urban society.

• it deals basic forms of urban lfie

levels of urban social organization?

1. Individuals

2. primary groups

3. neighborhoods

4. social networks

5. voluntary associations

6. bureaucracies

7. social institutions.

social problem approach?

It focuses on urban issues such as poverty, crime, housing shortages, unemployment, pollution, and social conflict.

Why should cities not be defined only by their problems?

Because cities are more than a collection of social problems, and urbanization alone does not cause these issues.

How is urban sociology different from other social sciences?

It focuses primarily on social structure, culture, human behavior, and social institutions rather than space, economics, or politics alone.

Why is urban sociology considered interdisciplinary?

Because it overlaps with:

geography, economics, political science, anthropology, and history.