Urban sociology is a branch of sociology. As sociology itself is of recent origin urban sociology is much younger than sociology. Urban sociology as a systematic study saw its development in the 20th century in America. Most of the work on urban sociology has been carried out in the USA, because by 1920 more Americans lived in cities than in rural areas.
The rapid process of urbanization that took place from the late 19th century through the first part of the 20th century has tremendous importance (both symbolic and real) since it marks the emergence of the USA as an urban nation. ‘Urban sociology’ emerged as an attempt to understand this process, and the consequences that it had for social life. And at the core of this field was the increasingly prominent and rapidly growing American city. ” The dominance of the city, especially of the great city’, wrote Louis Wirth in 1938, ‘may be regarded as a consequence of the concentration in cities of industrial, commercial, financial, and administrative facilities and activities, theaters, libraries, museums, concert halls, operas, hospitals, colleges, research and publishing centers, professional organizations, and religious and welfare institutions.’
For years to come, the city would remain the hub of modern, social, political, economic and cultural activity; a place regarded by many as the centerpiece of ‘modern civilization.’ Moreover, while another process, sub-urbanization, was well on its way as early as the 1930s throughout the first-half of this century, the city remained as the heart and soul of urban life and, as such, it remained the single most important subject of urban sociology.
In the post-War era, in America, however, the structure of urban life changed. Political decisions, economic conditions and technological developments—the very same forces that had combined in an earlier era to produce massive utilization and city growth—brought about a reversal of fortunes to the ‘great city.’ By the 1970s, major cities across America were in crisis.
Their once proud and bustling central areas had become economically depressed and had fallen into disrepair. Unemployment, homelessness, crime, pollution, substandard housing, inadequate public transportation and infrastructure had become the trademarks of inner cities and downtown districts throughout the USA. Many of the activities and functions once associated with the city, had become decentralized. The suburbs, which up until then had merely been single-function, ‘dormitory’ zones, took over as economic and cultural destinations. In fact, these suburbs became for all practical purposes, self-sufficient, multi-purpose cities of their own. The city had become unessential.
At the same time, the massive growth of the suburbs transformed urban areas into huge metropolises and beyond—into megalopolises. Changes in lifestyle, the use of space and politics accompanied this transformation and urban sociology changed with its subject. Increased attention is now being paid to the new sprawling suburban communities—rapidly expanding outwardly from the edges of the old city.
Although beaten and bruised, however, cities did not die out. In fact, the saga of the American city has become one of the most interesting and poignant chapters in the sociological chronicle of urban America. Its transition from bustling centre of modernity to a decaying symbol of industrial and economic transformation is only a part of the story. Eventually, cities would stage a comeback.
But the late 20th century city was a different one, from the one described by Wirth 50 years earlier. The new city, the ‘post-modern city’ as it has been called, was reborn (and frequently, ‘ re, ‘re-created’) under very different conditions both locally and globally And it’s new look, as a gentrified, thematized and ‘restored’ enclave of cultural and social life, is both illustrative of these new conditions and consequential for the lives of people living inside and outside of it.
Economic, social and cultural changes have taken place in the last few decades. Many social scientists refer to these changes in the urban landscape as the post-modern or post-suburb. The proliferation of terms like suburbs and exurbs, metropolis and megalopolis, technocrat and cyberbia reflects the variety and complexity of urban environments that now constitutes this field of study.
Many books were written on classification of towns, development of cities, urban environment, social disorganization in cities demographical trends, community life and its impact on personality, family, marriage, divorce and so on. Apart from these, work has also been done on the reforms and development of urban life such as social welfare, religious, cultural and educational institutions in cities, town planning and rehabilitation.
All these works were carried out first in the USA. Later studies on urban centres were carried out in different parts of the world giving wider scope of study to the subject. Studies were conducted by Lyndssays, Sorokin and Zimmerman and thereby by 1930 urban sociology developed as a specialized field of enquiry within the formal discipline of sociology.
The Chicago School is a major influence on the study of urban sociology. Despite having studied cities in the early 20th century, the Chicago School is still recognized as important. Many of its findings have been refined or rejected, but its lasting impact can still be found in today’s teachings of urban sociology.
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