SUBCULTURAL THEORY

SUBCULTURAL THEORY IS A SOCIAL INTERACTIONIST-STYLE APPROACH TO THE CITY THAT CREDITS URBANISM FOR STRENGTHENING SOCIAL GROUPS BY PROMOTING THE FORMATION OF DIVERSE SUBCULTURES.

SUBCULTURAL THEORY PROPOSES THAT THOSE LIVING IN AN URBAN SETTING ARE ABLE TO FIND WAYS OF CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY DESPITE THE PREVAILING ALIENATION AND ANONYMITY. THE CULTURAL STRUCTURE IS DOMINATED BY THE MAJORITY NORMS, WHICH FORCES INDIVIDUALS TO FORM COMMUNITIES IN NEW AND DIFFERENT WAYS.

MORE RECENTLY, FISCHER (1995) PROPOSED THAT THE SIZE, POPULATION, AND HETEROGENEITY OF CITIES ACTUALLY STRENGTHENS SOCIAL GROUPS, AND ENCOURAGES THE FORMATION OF SUBCULTURES, WHICH ARE MUCH MORE DIVERSE IN NATURE COMPARED TO THE GENERAL CULTURE. FISCHER DEFINES A SUBCULTURE AS, "...A LARGE SET OF PEOPLE WHO SHARE A DEFINING TRAIT, ASSOCIATE WITH ONE ANOTHER, ARE MEMBERS OF INSTITUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR DEFINING TRAIT, ADHERE TO A DISTINCT SET OF VALUES, SHARE A SET OF CULTURAL TOOLS AND TAKE PART IN A COMMON WAY OF LIFE" (FISCHER: 544).

FISCHER, CLAUDE. (1995). "THE SUBCULTURAL THEORY OF URBANISM: A TWENTIETH YEAR ASSESSMENT". AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY 101(3), 543--577.