The post modern Essay

Submitted By Max-Kruse
Words: 1585
Pages: 7

3,4. The urban explosion is the accelerated urban growth in western nations during the 19th and 20th centuries. Currently there is a tremendous urbanization occurring in developing countries. This has happened mainly post World War II. This urbanization has been even more rapid than that of the western nations. The developing worlds urbanization involves a spread of slums around cities; about half the urban residents live in slums. Western cities have few areas that would be classified as slums.

6. Urbanization is the process of people moving to cities or densely populated areas producing changes in the proportion of a nations people living in urban areas. It also describes the social changes that result from population concentration. Urbanism refers to the changes when metropolis areas grow. Theses are social changes and behaviors resulting from living in cities. The values, mores, customs and behaviors of the people change when they move to a city. Urbanism is a way of life.

10. The Chicago school changed sociology from a random collection of data and untested theories into an established academic discipline and emerging science. There focus was the city studied through detailed empirical observations. The pioneer was Robert Park, his interest was the patent of social and spatial organization in what seems like the chaos of the city. His students described the effects of urbanization on immigrant and rural people settling in the cities. Louis Wirth one of Park’s students made a clear formulation of how the size density and varied nature of cities produce a unique urban lifestyle.

4. The first urban settlements could only development through an agricultural revolution. Settled agriculture meant people know longer had to be nomadic. When the agricultural system produced a surplus some people could be moved from food production and start to produce other goods. Permanent settlements led to population growth and social classes. The increased technical knowledge of farming and particularly the development of irrigation lead to greater surplus production. The social consequences were a development of cities with complex stable social structures and hierarchies. The amount of surplus was critical in determining the size of the city. In addition the ability to transport the surplus was essential; river transport was most common. The city became a central place where goods and services could be exchanged. In contrast rural villages and small towns supported far fewer people and had less social stratification and social structure. They were occupied by and served a small local population.

7. The preindustrial is relatively small 10,000-30,000 people in medieval Europe with perhaps a few reaching 100,000. The growth was slow, they were marketing centers and political, religious and educational in function. They relied on food and raw materials from outside the city and there size was limited because of modest levels of surplus, problems in transportation and the storage of food. Only about 10 percent of the total population in an area lived in the city. The rest were rural peasants. There was a closed or rigid class system with little mobility and the city is not socially or economically integrated. The elite occupies the center of the city and is surrounded by craft neighborhoods with suburbs being outside the city walls. There was a lack of specialization in labor a craftsman would create his product from raw materials to the end product himself. Education is privilege of the elite who maintain their status over the other city dwellers. There is no formal police force; the social control is the responsibility of the particular group individual belongs to. The family influence is very powerful with large extended families.

9,10. The second urban revolution occurred in the 18th century which made it possible for more than 10 percent of the population to live in urban places. This was the early stage of