REVIEW -- OCTOBER

SOCIOLOGY OF URBAN LIFE

AK/POLS/SOCI 3561 6.0A

{SYNOPSIS AND GENERAL OVERVIEW: THE FIRST SECTION OF THE COURSE HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO FOUR SUBJECT AREAS: (1)URBANISM AND URBANIZATION {THEORIES AND THEORISTS} (2) THE INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION AND SECULARIZATION PROCESS (3) CANADIAN URBANIZATION PROCESSES

{THE SOCIOLOGICAL KEY === IN THIS FIRST SECTION OF THE COURSE WE LEARNED ABOUT THE CHARACTERISTICS AND DYNAMICS OF “URBANISM” AND “URBANIZATION” THEIR RELATION TO CITY LIVING

PART I – URBANISM AND URBANIZATON

A) WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN URBANISM AND URBANIZATION?

{MINORITIES CHANGE THE FACE OF TORONTO BY 2017 EXERCISE – HYPENATED CANADIAN EXERCISE}

URBANISM REFERS TO LIFE WITHIN THE CITY, WHILE URBANIZATION REFERS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AREAS

URBANISM IS THE CULTURE OR WAY OF LIFE OF CITY DWELLERS =====> THE CONCEPT REFERS TO THE EXPERIENTIAL ASPECTS OF CITIES – HOW URBAN LIFE FEELS, HOW PEOPLE REACT TO LIVING IN AN URBAN SETTING, AND HOW THE CITY ORGANIZES PERSONAL LIVES.

URBANIZATION IS THE PROCESS BY WHICH AN INCREASING PORPORTION OF THE POPULATION LIVES IN CITIES RATHER THAN RURAL AREAS =======> IN THE 21ST CENTURY URBANIZATION IS A GLOBAL PROCESS OF STRUCTUAL/DEMOGRAPHIC RECONFIGURATION, TIED TO THE SPREAD OF CAPITALISM ACROSS THE WORLD.

B) SOCIAL THEORIES

GEORG SIMMEL

CONSIDERED IMPORTANCE OF URBAN EXPERIENCE, I.E. CHOSE TO FOCUS ON URBANISM (LIFE WITHIN THE CITY) RATHER THAN URBANIZATION (DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AREAS), "THE METROPOLIS AND MENTAL LIFE" IS AN ESSAY DETAILING HIS VIEWS ON LIFE IN THE CITY, FOCUSING MORE ON SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

1) THE “SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL ADJUSTMENTS” THAT URBAN RESIDENTS MAKE TO THE ECOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENTS OF CITY.

2) THE “INNER MEANING OF URBAN LIFE” AND THE NOTION OF URBANISM AS A DISTINCTIVE MODE OF EXISTENCE

SIMMEL'S URBAN FORM OF LIFE IS CHARACTERIZED BY:

1. INDIVIDUALITY =====> {“...NOURISHED BY THE QUANTITATIVE RELATION OF THE METROPOLIS, NAMELY, INDIVIDUAL INDEPENDENCE AND THE ELABORATION OF INDIVIDUALITY ITSELF”}2) AUTONOMY =======> {“...THE FULL DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL CONDITIONED BY THE MOST RUTHLESS STRUGGLE OF INDIVIDUALS”}

2. TECHNOLOGICAL PESSIMISM ======> {“PERSON RESISTS BEING LEVELED DOWN AND WORN OUT BY A SOCIAL-TECHNOLOGICAL MECHANISM.”}.

3. INTENSIFICATION OF NERVOUS STIMULATION =======> {“... RESULTS FROM THE SWIFT AND UNINTERRUPTED CHANGE OF OUTER AND INNER STIMULI. MAN IS A DIFFERENTIATING CREATURE. HIS MIND IS STIMULATED BY THE DIFFERENCE ...”}

4. THE PECUNIARY PRINCIPLE =====> {“MONEY ECONOMY AND THE DOMINANCE OF THE INTELLECT ARE INTRINSICALLY CONNECTED ======> MONEY IS CONCERNED ONLY WITH WHAT IS COMMON TO ALL: IT ASKS FOR THE EXCHANGE VALUE, IT REDUCES ALL QUALITY AND INDIVIDUALITY TO THE QUESTION: HOW MUCH? ALL INTIMATE EMOTIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN PERSONS ARE FOUNDED IN THEIR INDIVIDUALITY, WHEREAS IN RATIONAL RELATIONS MAN IS RECKONED WITH LIKE A NUMBER,”

5. PUNCTUALITY, CALCULABILITY, EXACTNESS ARE FORCED UPON LIFE BY THE COMPLEXITY AND EXTENSION OF METROPOLITAN EXISTENCE {“IF ALL CLOCKS AND WATCHES IN BERLIN WOULD SUDDENLY GO WRONG IN DIFFERENT WAYS, EVEN IF ONLY BY ONE HOUR, ALL ECONOMIC LIFE AND COMMUNICATION OF THE CITY WOULD BE DISRUPTED FOR A LONG TIME.”}

6. RECIPROCAL RESERVE AND INDIFFERENCE ======> {“ THE BODILY PROXIMITY AND NARROWNESS OF SPACE MAKES THE MENTAL DISTANCE ONLY THE MORE VISIBLE”}

7. THE METROPOLITAN BLASÉ ATTITUDE =======> “CONSISTS IN THE BLUNTING OF DISCRIMINATION. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE OBJECTS ARE NOT PERCEIVED, AS IS THE CASE WITH THE HALF-WIT, BUT RATHER THAT THE MEANING AND DIFFERING VALUES OF THINGS, AND THEREBY THE THINGS THEMSELVES, ARE EXPERIENCED AS INSUBSTANTIAL. THEY APPEAR TO THE BLASÉ PERSON IN AN EVENLY FLAT AND GRAY TONE; NO ONE OBJECT DESERVES PREFERENCE OVER ANY OTHER”}.

LOUIS WIRTH

DEVELOPED FIRST URBAN THEORY IN US, PREVIOUS URBAN SOCIOLOGY COMPRISED ESSENTIALLY DESCRIPTIVE STUDIES

FOCUS ON URBANISM--URBAN LIFESTYLE--MORE THAN ON STRUCTURE

DEFINITION OF CITY WAS THAT IT WAS LARGE, DENSE WITH PERMANENT SETTLEMENT AND SOCIALLY AND CULTURALLY HETEROGENEOUS PEOPLE, AND SO URBANISM WAS A FUNCTION OF POPULATION DENSITY, SIZE AND HETEROGENEITY:

1. POPULATION SIZE: CREATES GREAT DIVERSITY BECAUSE LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER LOGICALLY INCREASE POTENTIAL DIFFERENTIATION AMONG THEMSELVES, AND WITH MIGRATION OF DIVERSE GROUPS TO CITY; CREATES NEED FOR FORMAL CONTROL STRUCTURES, E.G. LEGAL SYSTEMS; SUPPORTS PROLIFERATION OF FURTHER COMPLEX DIVISION OF LABOUR SPECIALIZATION; ORGANIZES HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS ON INTEREST-SPECIFIC BASIS, I.E. "SOCIAL SEGMENTALIZATION", WHERE SECONDARY RELATIONSHIPS ARE PRIMARY, IN ESSENCE URBAN TIES ARE RELATIONSHIPS OF UTILITY; CREATES POSSIBILITY OF DISORGANIZATION AND DISINTEGRATION

2. POPULATION DENSITY: INTENSIFIES EFFECTS OF LARGE POPULATION SIZE ON SOCIAL LIFE; MANIFESTS QUALITY OF SEPARATENESS, E.G. ECONOMIC FORCES AND SOCIAL PROCESSES PRODUCE READILY IDENTIFIABLE DISTINCT NEIGHBOURHOOD, "ECOLOGICAL SPECIALIZATION"; FOSTERS A LOSS OF SENSITIVITY TO MORE PERSONAL ASPECTS OF OTHERS, INSTEAD TENDENCY TO CATEGORIZE AND STEREOTYPE; RESULTS IN GREATER TOLERANCE OF DIFFERENCE BUT AT SAME TIME PHYSICAL CLOSENESS INCREASES SOCIAL DISTANCE; MAY INCREASE ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR

3. POPULATION HETEROGENEITY: WITH SOCIAL INTERACTION AMONG MANY PERSONALITY TYPES RESULTS IN BREAKDOWN OF THE RIGIDITY OF CASTE LINES AND COMPLICATES CLASS STRUCTURE, THUS INCREASED SOCIAL MOBILITY; WITH SOCIAL MOBILITY TEND TO HAVE PHYSICAL MOBILITY; LEADS TO FURTHER DEPERSONALIZATION WITH CONCENTRATION OF DIVERSE PEOPLE.

PART III – CANADIAN URBANIZATION PROCESSES

{INTERRELIGIOUS MARRIAGE EXERCISE}

INDUSTRIALIZATION: THE PROCESS BY WHICH SOCIETIES ARE TRANSFORMED FROM DEPENDENCE ON AGRICULTURE AND HANDMADE PRODUCTS TO AN EMPHASIS ON MANUFACTURING AND RELATED INDUSTRIES ========è

URBANIZATION: THE PROCESS BY WHICH AN INCREASING PROPORTION OF THE POPULATION LIVES IN CITIES RATHER THAN RURAL AREAS ========è

SECULARIZATION: (A) THE BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL RELIGIOUS TIES OR “RELIGIOUSITY”; (B) THE PROCESS OF CHANGING FROM SPIRITUAL TO WORLDLY MATTERS (C) THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION AS A SOCIETY SLOWLY MIGRATES FROM CLOSE IDENTIFICATION WITH THE LOCAL INSTITUTIONS OF RELIGION TO A MORE CLEARLY SEPARATED RELATIONSHIP.

PART III – THE CANADIAN URBANIZATION PROCESS

{COURSE TEXT READINGS}

1) URBAN CANADA, CH. 1, “CANADIAN URBANIZATION IN HISTORICAL AND GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE,” HARRY H. HILLER ==è THE CHAPTER LAYS THE GROUNDWORK FOR INTERPRETING URBANIZATION IN CANADA – THE KEY POINTS ARE: (A) ALL CITIES REQUIRE A HINTERLAND THAT PROVIDES LABOUR AND RESOURCES FOR ITS NEEDS; (B) THE PROCESS OF URBANIZATION HAS HISTORICALLY ALWAYS BEEN TIED TO THE PRESENCE OF EMPIRES (CANADA AS A OUTPOST OF COLONIAL EXPANSION); (C) THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF AGRICULTURE HAS PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN REDUCING RURAL POPULAITONS AND CONCURRENTLY CONTRIBUTING TO GROWTH AND CHARACTER OF CITIES; AND (D) THE GLOBAL RESTRUCTURING THAT HAS OCCURRED HAS MEANT THAT CANADIAN CITIES ARE NO LONGER BASED ON MANUFACTURING ECONOMIES BUT SERVICE ECONOMIES.

A) AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION – ADVANCES IN FOOD PRODUCTION THAT CREATED A FOOD SURPLUS AND WAS MARKED BY THE SHIFY FROM A NOMADIC HUNTING AND GATHERING LIFESTYLE TO MORE PERMANENT SETTLEMENT THAT OCCURRED AROUND 6000 BC IN ITS EARLIEST FORM BUT YIELDED MASSIVE STRIDES IN PRODUCTION WITH MECHNIZATION AFTER 1800.

B) SOCIOLOGICALLY, THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE SURPLUS HAD FOUR CONSEQUENCE:

1. A COMPLEX DIVISION OF LABOUR (WHERE PEOPLE COULD SPECIALIZE IN NON-AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS)

2. A HIERARCHICAL SOCIETY (WHERE LEADERS EXTRACTED A PORTION OF SURPLUS FOR TAXES AND CONTROL THE DIVISION OF LABOUR)

3. AN ADMINSTRATIVE STRUCTURE (TO MANAGE THE SURPLUS AND MAINTAIN SOCIAL CONTROLS)

4. THE ACCENTUATION OF “SOCIAL INEQUALITIES” (RESULTING FROM THE RESOURCE/CAPITAL REDISTRIBUTION PROCESS).

C) METROPOLIS-HINTERLAND – AN INTERACTIVE BUT UNEQUAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOCATIONS OF HIGH POPULATION DENSITY, DECISION-MAKING, AND CONTROL AND LOCATIONS OF STAPLE EXPLOITATION AND LOW DENSITY – HINTERLAND IS A REGION LYING BEYOND MAJOR METROPOLITAN OR CULTURAL CENTERS

2) URBAN CANADA, CH. 2, “THE DYNAMICS OF CANADIAN URBANIZATION” HARRY H. HILLER ===è THE POLITICAL ECONOMY PERSPECTIVE STRESSES THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL POWER AND DECISION MAKING IN HOW CITIES DEVELOP AND WHICH CITIES GROW – WHILE CANADIAN CITIES INITIALLY DEVELOPED AS A RESPONSE TO FRENCH AND BRITISH INTERESTS {AS A COLONIAL OUTPOST}, THOSE EXTERNAL TIES ARE NOW BING EXPRESSED THROUGH GLOBALIZATION ==è CANADIAN GROWTH IS PRODUCING METROPOLITAN CONCENTRATION IN A FEW URBAN PLACES ===è WHEN EXTERNAL FACTORS OF GLOBALIZATION ARE JOINED WITH INTERNAL FACTORS WHERE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC POWER IS ALSO CONCENTRATED AND CENTRALIZED, THE RESULT IS UNEVEN URBANIZATION IN WHICH SOME CITIES ARE SURPASSINGLY LARGER {PRIMATE CITIES} AND GETTING BIGGER WHILE OTHER URBAN NODES ARE ARRESTED IN DEVELOPMENT.

3) URBAN CANADA, CH. 14 “TORONTO: THE FORM OF THE CITY” JON CAULFIELD ===è THE CHAPTER STRESSES FIVE TOPICS – HOW CITY FABRICS REFLECT URBAN ECONOMY, THE ROLE OF CORPORATIONS IN SHAPING URBAN SPACE TODAY, THE ONGOING REPRODUCITON OF THE CITY'S OFTEN TRANSITORY FABRIC, THE INFLUENCE OF THE MODERNIST AND POST MODERN PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE ON THE CONTEMPORARTY CITY, AND THE DIALOGICAL (READ: “RECIPROCAL IMPRINTING”) NATURE OF URBAN FORMS

A) MODERNIST MOVEMENT – AROSE IN EUROPE BY THE 1920S IN RESPONSE TO THE EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIALISM ON CITY FABRICS ======> MODERNISTS BELIEVED THAT THE SURE FATE OF THE INDUSTRIAL CITY AS IT WAS DEVELOPING WAS URBAN ANARCHY – THAT THE FURIOUS CROWDING OF PEOPLE, EVER-LARGER FACTORIES, AND OFFICE SKYSCRAPERS INTO THE TEMPLATE OF THE PREINDUSTRIAL CITY COULD NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE SUSTAINED. THE SOLUTION THEY IMAGINED WAS TOTAL REBUILDING OF THE CITY ACCORDING THE NEW UTILITARIAN SCIENCE OF URBAN DESIGN ===è AMONG THEIR PRINCIPLE CONCERNS WAS THE CONDITION OF EVERYDAY LIFE EXPERIENCED BY WORKING-CLASS CITY DWELLERS, THE MASSES OF INDUSTRIAL URBANISM PRESSED INTO DENSE SQUALID SLUMS (RELPH, 1987: 106-12) ===è A CENTRAL ELEMENT {PLANNING APPROACH} OF MODERNISM’S AGENDA WAS TO REPLACE THIS KIND OF SLUM WITH HEALTHY AND EFFICIENT, LOW-COST HOUSING ORIENTED TO USE VALUE RATHER THAN PROFIT THAT MIGHT BE EARNED – EXCHANGE VALUE – AND BY DOING SO TO PROMOTE A MORE HUMANITARIAN AND EQUITABLE URBAN SOCIETY.

B) THE ANTI-MODERNIST MOVEMENT AND POSTMODERN CITY FORM – AROSE AS A REACTION TO THE MODERNIST URBAN DESIGN(S) BASED STRICTLY ON USE-VALUE {JANE JACOBS PRIMARY EXPONENT – SHE CHALLENGED THE MODERNIST VIEW THAT HIGH-DENSITY JUMBLE OF PEOPLE AND ACTIVITIES IS A RECIPE FOR URBAN ANARCHY}======> ANTI-MODERNISTS BELIEVE THAT BUILT FORMS ARE VITAL PARTS OF THE HISTORY AND HERITAGE OF URBAN PLACES, IMPORTANT TO THE IDENTITIES OF CITIES AND THEIR CITIZENS =====> IT IS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLE THAT THERE IS A TIME-TESTED LOGIC OF URBAN SPACE THAT HAS EVOLVED ACROSS HISTORY, AND THAT TRADITIONAL URBAN PLACES HAVE FOUR SPECIFIC QUALITIES THAT ALLOW THEM TO SERVE AS “EFFECTIVE ECONOMIC POOLS OF USE” AND REGENERATE OVER TIME THROUGH PROCESSES OF GRADUAL CHANGE (JACOBS, 1961: 143-238).

· MIXED PRIMARY USES, INCLUDING A GOOD MEASURE OF RESIDENTIAL USE, THAT DRAW DIFFERENT PEOPLE INTO AN AREA ON DIFFERENT SCHEDULES FOR DIFFERENT REASONS;

· A HIGH CONCENTRATIN OF PEOPLE AND CLOSELY GRAINED ACTIVITIES;

· OLDER LOWER-COST BUILDINGS THAT ACT AS ECONOMIC INCUBATORS BY PROVIDING START-UP SPACE FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY AND MORE MARGINAL COMMERCIAL USES;

· A STREET SYSTEM OF SHORT BLOCKS THAT DRAWS PEOPLE THROUGH AN AREA ALONG A COMPLEXITY OF ROUTES.

(C) POSTMODERN URBANISM (THREE GENRES)

1) THE REPLICATIONS OF OLD CITY FORMS {EX: RETENTION OF A NEIGHBOURHOOD'S OLD FABRIC AND GRAIN OF USES, RAISING ITS DENSITY, AND MAINTAINING ITS STEET SYSTEM}.

2) THE MAINTAINENCE OF OLD FORMS WITH THEIR ORIGINAL USE {EX: OLD NEIGHBOURHOODS PROTECTED FROM DEMOLITION FOR REDEVELOPMENT THAT CONTINUES AS TRADITIONAL RESIDENTIAL AREAS AND BUILDINGS REMAIN AND ARE REFURBISHED}.

3) THE ADAPTIVE REUSE OF OLD STRUCTURES (EX: OLD WAREHOUSES AND HYDRO FACILITIES, CHURCHES ETC. RESTORED AS POSH RETAIL, OFFICE, THEATRE, AND CONDOMINIUM SPACE)

*THESIS: HIGH QUALITY OF COSMOPOLITANISM LIFE IS CULTIVATED THROUGH POSTMODERN URBAN DESIGN

4) URBAN CANADA, CH. 3, “ANALYZING AND INTERPRETING THE CITY: THEORY AND METHOD” JOHN HANNIGAN ===è ARGUES THAT URBAN SOCIOLOGY IS CURRENTLY IN A STATE OF THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FLUX – (A) THE DIFFERENT CAMPS TEND TO OPERATE IN PARALLEL FASHION RAHTER THAN ENGAGE ONE ANOTHER, (B) URBAN QUESTIONSDO NOT LEND THEMSELVES EASILY TO APPROACHES USING A SINGLE METHOD OR ONLY A PARTICULAR TYPE OF DATA, NOR DO THEY LEAD TO SWEEPING THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS OF CHANGE, (C) THE BEST KIND OF METHODOLOGICAL STRATEGY RELIES ON MULTIPLE KINDS OF DATA {QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE} SO AS TO PROVIDE BOTH A GENRALIZED OVERVIEW AND A NUANCED OBSERVATIONAL ACCOUNT ==è IT MAY BE THE SYNAPSE OF THE LOCAL AND THE GLOBAL THAT URBAN SOCIOLOGIST WILL FINALLY COME TO GRIPS WITH THEIR CALLING.

A) THE CULTURALIST ORIENTATION – THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE THAT CONCEPTUALIZES THE CITY AS GIVING RISE TO A DISTINGUISHABLE AND CHARACTERISTIALLY URBAN WAY OF THINKING, RELATING AND BEHAVING ====è DEALS WITH THE EXPERIENTIAL ASPECTS OF CITIES, ADDRESSING HOW URBAN LIFE FEELS, HOW PEOPLE REACT TO LIVING IN AN URBAN SETTING, AND HOW THE CITY ORGANIZES PERSONAL LIVES (URBANISM).

B) THE STRUCTURALIST ORIENTATION – THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE THAT VIEWS URBAN PLACES AS MANIFESTATION OF WIDER CONFIGURATIONS OF POWER AND WEALTH THAT SHOULD BE TREATED AS THE ULTIMATE CAUSES OF PATTERNS OF THOUGHT, BEHAVIOUR, AND ORGANIZATION ASSOCIATED WITH URBAN DWELLERS =====è HOLDS THAT THE ULTIMATE CAUSES OF URBAN WAYS OF THINKING AND ACTING ARE FOUND EXTERNALLY IN WIDER PATTERNS OF POWER AND WEALTH IN SOCIETY {URBANIZATION} =====> (AS WE BEGIN THE 21^ST CENTURY, THE PROCESSES DRIVING URBAN CHANGE ARE SAID TO BE GLOBAL IN SCOPE, RATHER THAN NATIONAL OR LOCAL).

C) THE ARTICLE OUTLINES THE KEY APPROACHES TO THE SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY OF CITIES {PP. 51}:

1. · HUMAN ECOLOGICAL – URBAN GROWTH MODELLING

2. · URBAN-COMMUNITY STUDIES – PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION; ETHNOGRAPHY

3. · INTERACTONIST – NETWORK ANALYSIS; PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

4. · POLITICAL ECONOMY – GROUNDED HISTORICAL CASE STUDY

5. · SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST – DISCOURSE ANALYSIS*

* DISCOURSE ANALYSIS – “CULTURAL MAPS OF THE WORLD/ FRAMES OF REFERENCE” – CULTURAL DISCOURSE PROVIDES THE CONCEPTUAL MODELS FOR PEOPLE AROUND WHICH THEY MAP THE WORLD (GOLDBERG, 1993; FOUCAULT, 1980) – THE CITY CONSITUTES A “DISCOURSE” CONTRUCTED BY ACADEMICS, PLANNERS, AND POLITICIANS AND COMMUNICED THROUGH A VARIETY OF CHANNELS – CONFERENCES, THE MEDIA, THE CLASSROOM.

*TRANSNATIONAL URBANISM – {SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST SEE CITY AS DOMINATED BY} ORDINARY PEOPLE ARE VIEWED AS CREATIVE ACTORS WHO CONSTRUCT TRANSNATIONALISM OUT OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKS IN WITH THEY ARE SITUATED.