SO4029 The Sociology of the City

1. SO4029The Sociology of the City Modern & Postmodern �Spaces and Places�

2. In the modern era, say following industrialisation, space has acquired a more rationalized meaning. In the modern era, spaces tend to be measured; they tend to be zoned and partitioned; they tend to be formally named; they tend to be commodified (that, they are owned and controlled by individuals or institutions); they tend to be controlled and monitored by technologies of surveillance; access to them can be restricted or prohibited.. Alternatively, when we talk of �place�, we are refering to a particularized form of space. We are talking of a particular �locality�, which has personalized qualities to the individual or group, in a micro-sense. Indeed, sociologists here refer to a �sense� of place. This �sense� of place connotes a familiarity with the �place�, a degree of intimacy with it. Even if this intimacy is negatively weighted - when we talk of dangerous places, for example - we still claim to have an intimacy of knowledge with this particular social space, with this �place�. Places, then, have a particular, heightened meaning for those who refer to these spaces as such.In the modern era, say following industrialisation, space has acquired a more rationalized meaning. In the modern era, spaces tend to be measured; they tend to be zoned and partitioned; they tend to be formally named; they tend to be commodified (that, they are owned and controlled by individuals or institutions); they tend to be controlled and monitored by technologies of surveillance; access to them can be restricted or prohibited.. Alternatively, when we talk of �place�, we are refering to a particularized form of space. We are talking of a particular �locality�, which has personalized qualities to the individual or group, in a micro-sense.

3. Space and Place Henri Lefebvre: Experienced Perceived Imagined See Savage et al p.135+See Savage et al p.135+

4. David Harvey (1998;1999) Created Space -�created space replaces effective space as the overriding principle of geographical organization� (Harvey ,1988, p.309) �the signs and signals that surround us in the urban environment are powerful influences� (Ibid, 310). As geographical differences decline, symbolic differences become more significant Knox and Pinch p.265Knox and Pinch p.265

5. Topophilia (& Topophobia) (Yi Fu Tuan, 1999) Affection for place �Religious�/Familial Ties. Traditional identity and collective memory Hostility to: Change, Renewal, Rationalisation, & Commodification Why? Destroy Authenticity and Sense of Place

6. Modernity, Postmodernity & The City The Rational Society & The Rationalisation of Urban Space: 1. Personal to impersonal attachment (space) 2. Standardisation diminishes unique characteristics. 3. Relocation � Out of Town/Edge City 4. Spaces reflect power (who goes where?) 5. Spaces are commodified 6. Space and behaviour Modernity - Disenchantment, Rationality and Modernity (Weber) Postmodernity - Re-enchantment (Baudrillard, Derrida, Bryman etc.)

7. Grand Visions : Ebenezer Howard (1890�s +) Ebenezer Howard & The Garden City (late 19th C.) � the roots of (sub)urban disneyfication? (See also Raymond Unwin) propro

8. Grand Visions: Le Corbusier (1920�s +) Le Corbusier & The Rational/Geometric City The City as �machine� Expunging of decorative building and local cultural traits Zoning & Transport Post-War Urban Renewal 1. Villa Savoye, Poissy, France 2. Corbusier�s Ideal City1. Villa Savoye, Poissy, France 2. Corbusier�s Ideal City

9. The Modern City High Rise, Homogeneity & Disenchantment Garden Suburbs �New Towns�- (Welwyn Garden City, East Kilbride, Cumbernauld)

10. New Urbanism Anti-Modernist Urban Sprawl & Zoning � see Jane Jacobs �Traditional Neighborhood Design� Collaborative Planning Neighbourhood/ Pedestrian Scale & Social Interaction Sustainable Cities Early in the 1960s, Jane Jacobs authored The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which set the precedent for the new urbanist trend by condemning the accepted planning theories of the time; calling for an increased effort by planners to reconsider the failing single-use housing projects, large car-dependent thoroughfares, and segregated commercial centers that had become the "norm" of civic planning and zoning thought. Another mid-twentieth century writer that inspired the new urbanist movement was the social philosopher/historian Lewis Mumford, who criticized the "anti-urban" development of post-war America. Today's popular trend of new urbanism had its roots in the work of maverick architects, planners, and theorists, like Jacobs, who believed that the conventional planning thought was gradually failing in one way or another. In the 1970s and 1980s, these new ideas emerged, and eventually coalesced into a unified group in the 1990s. From modest beginnings, the trend is beginning to have a substantial impact. More than 600 new towns, villages, and neighborhoods are planned or under construction in the U.S., using principles of new urbanism. Additionally, hundreds of small-scale new urban infill projects are restoring the urban fabric of cities and towns by reestablishing walkable streets and blocks. The heart of new urbanism is in the design of neighborhoods, which can be defined by 13 elements, according to town planners Andr�s Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, two of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. An authentic neighborhood contains most of these elements: The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or memorable street corner. A transit stop would be located at this center. Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk of the center, an average of roughly 2,000 feet. There are a variety of dwelling types�usually houses, rowhouses and apartments�so that younger and older people, singles and families, the poor and the wealthy may find places to live. At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops and offices of sufficiently varied types to supply the weekly needs of a household. A small ancillary building or garage apartment is permitted within the backyard of each house. It may be used as a rental unit or place to work (for example, office or craft workshop). An elementary school is close enough so that most children can walk from their home. There are small playgrounds accessible to every dwelling�not more than a tenth of a mile away. Streets within the neighborhood form a connected network, which disperses traffic by providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination. The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by rows of trees. This slows traffic, creating an environment suitable for pedestrians and bicycles. Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close to the street, creating a well-defined outdoor room. Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, usually accessed by alleys. Certain prominent sites at the termination of street vistas or in the neighborhood center are reserved for civic buildings. These provide sites for community meetings, education, and religious or cultural activities. The neighborhood is organized to be self-governing. A formal association debates and decides matters of maintenance, security, and physical change. Taxation is the responsibility of the larger community.Early in the 1960s, Jane Jacobs authored The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which set the precedent for the new urbanist trend by condemning the accepted planning theories of the time; calling for an increased effort by planners to reconsider the failing single-use housing projects, large car-dependent thoroughfares, and segregated commercial centers that had become the "norm" of civic planning and zoning thought. Another mid-twentieth century writer that inspired the new urbanist movement was the social philosopher/historian Lewis Mumford, who criticized the "anti-urban" development of post-war America. Today's popular trend of new urbanism had its roots in the work of maverick architects, planners, and theorists, like Jacobs, who believed that the conventional planning thought was gradually failing in one way or another. In the 1970s and 1980s, these new ideas emerged, and eventually coalesced into a unified group in the 1990s. From modest beginnings, the trend is beginning to have a substantial impact. More than 600 new towns, villages, and neighborhoods are planned or under construction in the U.S., using principles of new urbanism. Additionally, hundreds of small-scale new urban infill projects are restoring the urban fabric of cities and towns by reestablishing walkable streets and blocks. The heart of new urbanism is in the design of neighborhoods, which can be defined by 13 elements, according to town planners Andr�s Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, two of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism. An authentic neighborhood contains most of these elements: The neighborhood has a discernible center. This is often a square or a green and sometimes a busy or memorable street corner. A transit stop would be located at this center. Most of the dwellings are within a five-minute walk of the center, an average of roughly 2,000 feet. There are a variety of dwelling types�usually houses, rowhouses and apartments�so that younger and older people, singles and families, the poor and the wealthy may find places to live. At the edge of the neighborhood, there are shops and offices of sufficiently varied types to supply the weekly needs of a household. A small ancillary building or garage apartment is permitted within the backyard of each house. It may be used as a rental unit or place to work (for example, office or craft workshop). An elementary school is close enough so that most children can walk from their home. There are small playgrounds accessible to every dwelling�not more than a tenth of a mile away. Streets within the neighborhood form a connected network, which disperses traffic by providing a variety of pedestrian and vehicular routes to any destination. The streets are relatively narrow and shaded by rows of trees. This slows traffic, creating an environment suitable for pedestrians and bicycles. Buildings in the neighborhood center are placed close to the street, creating a well-defined outdoor room. Parking lots and garage doors rarely front the street. Parking is relegated to the rear of buildings, usually accessed by alleys. Certain prominent sites at the termination of street vistas or in the neighborhood center are reserved for civic buildings. These provide sites for community meetings, education, and religious or cultural activities. The neighborhood is organized to be self-governing. A formal association debates and decides matters of maintenance, security, and physical change. Taxation is the responsibility of the larger community.

11. The Postmodern City The City as Text (Derrida) Simulacra (Baudrillard) Disneyfication (Bryman) Hybridity

12. The Fantasy City (Hannigan, 1998) 1) Theme-o-centric 2) Branding 3) 24 hour experience 4) Modular (global brands) 5) Solipsistic 6) Postmodern

13. Modern or Postmodern? Space or Place? Re-enchantment or gilded machine? �Culture of Cities� (Zukin,1995) Globalization and �Themocentric� cities Glocalization (Robertson, 1992)