The City According to….

1. The City According to…. The Theory of Urban Sociology

2. Tonnies and Simmel

3. Community • Agricultural economy • Local Politics • Consensus of Wills • “Folk Society” • Culture and Artisans • Family is the general basis of life • Wealth is in land ownership • Imagination • Rational Society • Commerce economy • National/International Politics • Ideological justification in public opinion • Public policy • Emphasis on Science • Economic control • Capital wealth • Rational Thought

4. Interstate Highway System Gesellschaft Farmers Market Gemeinschaft Gesellschaft or Gemeinschaft? Streetcars?

5. Metropolitan Man Assertion of Personality – fight of the objective spirit Over stimulation - Reacts with head instead of heart Less sensitive and more sensory Intellectuality is seen to preserve subjective life Metropolis is the seat of the money economy Street, Dresden , Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Interaction becomes matter-of-fact: Quantitative Values Division of Labor/Specialization But much Personal Freedom; which attracts people Creates a Blasé Attitude – reserved and irreverent

6. In Simmel’s Words: “The deepest problems of modern life derive form the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, or historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life” (Pg. 24). “The atrophy of individual culture through the hypertrophy of objective culture…” (Pg. 31). Georg Simmel,.2007. “Urbanism and Community.” Pp. 23 - 31in The Urban Sociology Reader, edited by Jan Lin, and Christopher Mele New York: Routledge. .

7. The Contemporary Metropolitan Man • Blackstar (Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common): Respiration (1998) Tried to call, or at least beep the Lord, but didn't have a touch-toneIt's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush onSome of this land I must ownOutta the city, they want us goneTearin down the 'jects creatin plush homesMy circumstance is between Cabrini and Love JonesSurrounded by hate, yet I love homeAsk my guy how he thought travellin the world soundFound it hard to imagine he hadn't been past downtown Click for Youtube Video

8. Wirth VS. Gans

9. The City According to Wirth “While the City Sleeps” Anonymous 1916 Stand in your window and scan the sights, On Broadway with its bright white lights Its dashing cabs and cabarets Its painted women and fast cafes That’s when you really see New York. Vulgar of manner, overfed, Overdressed and underbred. Heartless and Godless, Hell’s delight, Rude by day and lewd by night. Picture from, The Ghetto, written by Louis Wirth

10. The City According to Gans • Three Propositions • The inner city must be distinguished from the outer city and suburbs • Ways of life, even in the inner city, resemble Wirth’s description only to a limited extent • Physical and other differences between city and suburb are often spurious

11. Wirth VS. Gans Focus on the “schizoid” urban personality beset by “segmented roles” Wirth’s Urban Way of life is inaccurate Have to take the outer-city and Suburbs into consideration • Foundational Statements for the Theory of Urbanism: • Size of Population • Population Density • Heterogeneity Very Few Primary Groups Quasi-Primary relationships exist The Inner City might have unique urban personality characteristics • Five ideal Types of Urbanites: • Cosmopolites • Unmarried or Childless • Ethnic Villagers • Deprived • Trapped The Human Ecological Perspective

12. Fischer’s Take • Subcultural Theories • Basic orientation of Gans, but does say that ecological properties of cities do have certain effects on individuals • However, these effects are not focused on social disorganization (Wirth), but instead ecological factors help to create and strengthen subcultures • Thus intimate social circles persist in the urban environment (migrants and specialization) • Urbanism intensifies social organization

13. Theory Comparison:

14. The City According to You How do you view urban society? Do you agree more with Wirth, Gans or Fischer? Why?