Chapter 15 Urban Life

Colonial Villages: 1565-1800 The period of 1565-1800 was one of tiny villages Small in size with no more than a few hundred residents at first Walking villages-mostly pedestrian traffic People knew one another These early settlements grew slowly

Westward Expansion: 1800-1860 Westward migration Followed new transportation routes National Road By 1860 about 20 percent of the population was living in cities

The Industrial Metropolis: 1860-1950 Civil War and industrial and urban expansion Industrial metropolis Cities grew in population Expanded outwards around the development of new urban forms of transportation

The Industrial Metropolis: 1860-1950 Social Problems in Cities Cities were synonymous with immigrants Ethnic prejudice and the anti-urban bias Cities were synonymous with social problems Early part of the twentieth century urban living was very difficult

Postindustrial Cities and Suburbs: 1950-Present Post WW II and migration to the suburbs Suburbs-urban areas beyond the political boundaries of cities Postindustrial developments-information technology made possible the economic development of the suburbs Decentralizing population from the central cities

Fiscal Problems Movement of populations and industry from the central city led to some fiscal problems in the 1970s Corporate mergers and downsizing and loss of jobs in the city Poor were left behind along with an increase in demand for city services

Fiscal Problems The Postindustrial Revival Postindustrial economic growth and the revitalization of cities Immigrants and population growth

Urban Sprawl Cities and outward expansion Government policies Interstate highways Low cost housing The emergence of the megalopolis-urban region containing a number of cities and their surrounding suburbs

Urban Sprawl Rapid, unplanned, and low-density development at the edge of urban areas The numbness of urban sameness Consumption of land Auto-gridlock and pollution

Urban Sprawl Edge Cities – business centers located some distance from the old downtowns Mostly commercial developments Most major cities contain several edge cities Urban decentralization has increased the plight of the poor Loss of city jobs to edge cities

Poverty Migration of city jobs to the suburbs and elsewhere and the concentration of poverty in cities Disadvantaged minorities Lack of economic opportunities

Housing Problem Tenement Housing Immigrants and tenement housing in the early part of the twentieth century Poorly constructed Crowded living conditions The 1930’s and the New Deal saw improvement in housing

Housing Problem Urban Renewal Post WW II and the migration of city dwellers to the suburbs Decline of the city Govt. passed the Urban Housing Act of 1949 Urban Renewal an attempt to revitalize urban areas The regeneration of slums

Housing Problem Public Housing Urban renewal and the emergence of public housing Public Housing-typically high density apartment buildings, constructed with government funds to house poor people

Housing Problem Public Housing Concerns and criticisms of public housing Liberals saw it as a band-aid approach to the housing problem Conservatives objected to government getting into the housing business and interfering with free-enterprise Poor objected to the cultural stigma associated

Housing Problem Oscar Newman’s study High-rise buildings and higher crime rates Most crimes occurred in public parts of the buildings Reason High-rise living breeds anonymity

Racial Segregation Race, poverty and residential segregation Hypersegregation-entire districts of a city racially segregated Minority/poor urbanites are Spatially isolated Socially isolated

Homelessness Approximately 500,000 people are homeless on any given day Largely an urban problem Poverty puts people at risk of becoming homeless Family conflict and becoming homeless Decline in affordable rental/housing units

Homelessness Solution to homelessness Supportive housing- program that combines low-income housing with on-site social services Build more low-income units

Snowbelt and Sunbelt Cities Population transfer from snowbelt cities to the sunbelt Change in political influence and power from snowbelt to sunbelt

Cities and Terrorism Risk is greatest in large population centers May cause cities to lose some of their attractiveness

Cities in Poor Countries About 75 percent of the population of rich nations live in cities About 25 percent of the population in poor countries live in cities Urban population is increasing globally Rural to urban migration and the emergence of shantytowns

Structural-Functional Analysis: A Theory of Urbanism Ferdinand Tonnies: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Gemeinschaft-type of social organization by which people are closely bound by kinship and tradition Rural villages Gesellschaft-type of social organization by which people interact on the basis of self interest urban communities

Structural-Functional Analysis: A Theory of Urbanism Emile Durkheim: Mechanical and Organic Solidarity Mechanical solidarity-social bonds based on common feelings and shared moral values Rural villages Organic solidarity-social bonds based on specialization and mutual interdependence Urban communities

Structural-Functional Analysis: A Theory of Urbanism Louis Wirth: Urbanism as a Way of Life Urban life shaped by large, dense, and socially diverse populations Increase in secondary ties and encounters

Symbolic-Interaction Analysis: Experiencing the City George Simmel: Urban Stimulation and Selectivity Urbanites and a blasé attitude Blasé attitude of survival due to over-stimulation Leo Srole: Mental Health in the Metropolis Studied urban life and mental health

Social-Conflict Analysis: Cities and Inequality Urban Political Economy Economic and political structure of the society shape the city David Harvey’s study of Baltimore

Conservatives: The Market and Morality Market economy should shape the city Conservatives support creating Enterprise zones- inner city where government tries to attract new business with the promise of tax relief

Liberals: Government Reform Problems of cities stem from social inequality Liberals favor government intervention into solving the problems

Radicals: The Need for Basic Change Problems of the city are function of inequality,class, race, and gender Solutions to the problems of the city would require a major overhaul of society and the economic and political order