Communities

andUrbanizatio

n

Chapter 20

Communities• In sociological terms, a community may be defined

as a spatial or political unit of social organization, that gives people a sense of belonging. That sense of belonging can be based on something the people have in common.

• Some examples:– A Shared residence in a particular city or

neighborhood – New York, New Jersey, etc.– A common identity – Drivers, Homeless people,

students, minors, etc.• Whatever the members have in common,

communities give people a feeling that they part of something larger than themselves.

How have communities changed?

• Thousands of years ago, communities consisted of people who had one common goal – to survive (usually achieved by hunting + gathering). Gradually, however, farming communities began to form. The accumulated surplus of food allowed some people to turn to the production of other goods and services. This economic breakthrough laid the foundation for social stratification and the rise of new communities - cities.

Types of Cities

• Pre-industrial Cities – 10,000 B.C. – 18th century

• Industrial Cities – 18th – mid 20th century

• Postindustrial Cities – beginning late 20th century

Pre-Industrial cities • The pre-industrial city generally had only a few thousand

people living within its borders, and was characterized by a relatively closed class system and limited mobility.

• A pre-industrial city had the following characteristics:– Closed class system – social class determined at birth– Economic realm controlled by only a few families and

guilds– Almost no division of labor in the production of goods– Religion greatly influences social norms– Little/no standardization of prices, weights, and measures– Population largely illiterate, oral communication– Schools limited to elites, designed to protect their

privileged status

Industrial Cities• The industrial city was not merely more populous than

the pre-industrial city; it was based on very different principles of social organization.

• Characteristics of Industrial cities:– Open class system – mobility based on achieved characteristics– Relatively open competition – less economy control– Partial division of labor, specialization in manufacturing of goods– Influence of religion limited as society becomes more secularized– Standardization enforced by custom and law– Communication through bulletins, posters, newspapers– Formal schooling open to the masses and viewed as a means of

advancing the social order

Postindustrial Cities• The postindustrial city is a city in which global finance

and the electronic flow of information dominate the economy. Social change is a constant feature of this type of city.

• Postindustrial city characteristics:– Wealth based on ability to obtain and use information (plans,

inventions)– Corporate power dominates– Transnational networks emerge– Religion becomes fragmented; greater openness to new religious

faiths– Emergence of extended electronic networks– Professional, scientific, and technical personnel become

increasingly important

Urbanization• What is urbanization?

– the physical growth of rural or natural land into urban areas as a result of population movement to an existing urban area.

• In 1900, only 10% of the world’s people lived in urban areas, but by 2000, around 50% of them did.

• Urbanization has become a central aspect of life in the United states. Only four states (Maine, Mississippi, Vermont, and West Virginia) are truly rural – meaning more than half their population lives in towns of fewer than 2500 residents.

Megapolis• Some metropolitan areas have spread so far that they

have connected with other urban centers. Such a densely populated area, containing 2 or more cities and their suburbs, is called a megapolis.– An example would be the BosWash (Boston-

Washington) megapolis. It is a 500 mile corridor stretching from Boston south to Washington, D.C., which includes NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and accounts for 1/6 of the total population of the US.

• Even when the megapolis is divided into autonomous political jurisdictions, it can be viewed as a single economic unit. There are also megapolises in Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Egypt, India, Japan, and China.

North America at night

Chicago -

Pittsburgh

Boston - Washingt

on

San Francisco – San Diego

Functionalist View: Urban ecology

• Human ecology studies interrelationships between people and their environment, how the physical environment shapes people’s lives (example: rivers can serve as natural barriers to residential expansion), and how people influence the surrounding environment (Air and water pollution, deforestation). Urban ecology focuses on such relationships in urban areas. Urban ecologists trace their work back to 2 theories; the concentric-zone theory, and the mutiple-nuclei theory.

Concentric-zone Model

• Center – central business district.– Large department stores– Hotels– Theaters– Shopping Malls

• Surrounding the center.

– Factories / Industry– Working Class

Housing– Middle Class

Housing– High Class Housing

Multiple-Nuclei Model

• In some metropolitan areas there appeared to be more than one point of development. To support this, Edward Ullman presented his Multiple-Nuclei model.

• Ullman believed that all urban growth does not radiate outward from a central business district. Instead, a metropolitan area has many centers of development, where each one reflects a particular urban need or activity.

Gemeinschaft vs Gesellschaft

• Urban communities vary in the degree to which their members feel connected and share a common identity.

• A “Gemeinschaft” (German) – term, used to describe a close-knit community where social interaction among people is intimate and familiar.– A “Gesellschaft” (German) – describes modern urban

life, in which people have little in common with others. Social relationships result from interactions focused on immediate tasks, such as purchasing a product.

– In the United States, contemporary city life generally resembles a Gesellschaft.