Urban Sociology

Term Paper # 102962

Philosophy
Political Science
Sociology > Theory

Urban Sociology

This paper discusses the term and the concept of urban and looks at how the urban setting directly impacts the social relations that are conducted within it.

1,207 words () | 3 sources | MLA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer looks at the meaning of the term urban and discusses the extent that the urban setting shapes the social life which occurs within it. The writer notes that these issues are closely interrelated. This paper argues, the term "urban" must be understood as a sociological concept whose characteristics fundamentally define the social relations that occur within the urban space. The writer concludes that models of human social behaviour, such as civility, are developed in urban settings as a means of coping with the stresses of population densities as well as a cultural production that is deeply intertwined with economic and emotional relationships of humans as groups and as individuals.

From the Paper:

"The relationship between the urban setting and the social life that occurs within it is thus complex but clear. The population densities and uses of space that physically characterize urban settings lead to a range of impacts upon social relations that, in many cases as in the cultural realm, seem indirect and would likely not be predicted. To use a metaphor, within a physical setting human population densities increase until a "critical mass" is attained, at which point "urbanity" comes into existence with an explosion of social and cultural forms that are distinct to urban life.
"Consider, for example, the arguments of some urban sociologists that the urban setting has led to a radical revisioning of fundamental human social interactions."

Sample of Sources Used:

Fong, Eric. "Immigration in the City." In Harry Hiller, ed. Urban Canada: Sociological Perspectives. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2005, 118-137
Gilles, A.R. "Cities and Social Pathology." In Harry Hiller, ed. Urban Canada: Sociological Perspectives. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2005, 191-223.
Reimer, Bill. "Rural and Urban: Differences and Common Ground." In Harry Hiller, ed. Urban Canada: Sociological Perspectives. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2005, 71-94.