Issues in Urbanisation

In 1939 Lewis Wirth introduced the concept

of Urbanism as a way of life.

According to Wirth it is difficult to defend the

census definition in identifying a settlement
as urban as the proportion of population
cannot fully or accurately measure ‘Urban’.
Sociologically “a city may be defined as a relatively
large, dense, and permanent settlement of socially
heterogeneous individuals”.

Cities are historically identified as breeding ground

for new biological and cultural hybrids
SIZE

Aristotle’s “politics” first recognised that increase the

number of people in a settlement beyond certain
limit will affect the relationship between them and
character of the city
Large number will bring greater range of individual
variation.

Greater the number of individuals participating in a

process of interaction greater is the potential
differentiation between them.

 Personal traits, occupations, cultural life and ideas

of the members are expected to have wide range in
compare to rural community
This variation will give rise to spatial segregation of
individuals according to race, religion, kinship,
caste, economic and social status, etc.

The bond of kinship because of living together in

same place for a long time will be absent or very
weak.

Under such circumstances “competition” and

“formal control mechanism” acts as substitute for the
bonds of solidarity to hold the society together.
Personal relation with others will be restricted
when the number increased beyond few hundred.

The mutual acquaintanceship between the

inhabitants that ordinarily developed in a
neighbourhood will be lacking.
The increase in number thus involves a
changed character of social relationships and
requirement for new set of institutions, and
control mechanism.

Urbanites meet one another in highly

segmental roles.

They are dependent upon more people for

their needs and thus associated with large
number of people in compare to rural society
 Density

According to E.Durkheim- Increase in density

tends to produce “differentiation” and
“specialisation” for supporting the increased
number of population.

It also increases the complexities of social

structure.

It will result in close physical contact but social

contact will be distant..
Place of work tends to disassociated from the place
of residence, for the proximity of industrial and
commercial establishments make an area both
economically and socially undesirable for residential
purpose
Density, land value, rentals, accessibility,
healthfulness, prestige, aesthetic consideration,
absence of nuisances determines the desirability of
various areas of the city as place of settlement for
different sections of population.

Congested habitat gives occasion to friction and

irritation.

In such situation, unattached individuals towards

one another gives rise to loneliness.
 Heterogeneity

It tends to breakdown the rigidity of caste line and

complicates the class structure and leads towards
differentiated framework of social stratification.

Partly because of physical footlooseness of population and

partly as a result of their social mobility.

Turnover in group membership is rapid.

When a large numbers have to make common use of

facilities and institutions, an arrangement must be made to
adjust the facilities and institutions to the needs of the
average persons rather than to particular individual
 Social organizations

Weakening of primary relationship,

bonds of kinship, and

declining social significance of

family.
educational, a recreational
activity to specialised institutions
outside the home has deprived
the family some historical
functions.

Marriage tends to be postponed,

and proportion of single and
unattached people will be more.

City discourages an economic life

in which the individual in time of
Urbanism as a characteristic mode of life may
be approached empirically from interrelated
perspectives:

1.As a physical structure comprising a population

base, a technology, and an ecological order

2.As a system of social organizations involving a

characteristic social structure, a series of social
institutions and a typical pattern of social
relationships
3. As a set of attitudes and ideas, and a
constellation of personalities engaging in typical
forms of collective behaviour and subject to
characteristic mechanism of social control

4. Dominance of cities over its hinterland through

functional characteristics of the city---Facilities, Skill
and Organizations (services)
 Herbert Jans
Way of life in inner city must be distinguished from outer city
and the suburbs.

Last two has very little to do with WIRTH’S theory of

urbanism.

In inner city life can be explained better by using socio-

economic variables rather than number, etc.

Suburbs are more like dormitories and further away from

work and play facilities, CBD and others.

These are more modern than city residential areas and

designed for automobiles rather than pedestrian. They have
single family and more homogeneous.
Radhakamal Mukherjee (1968), has described
various facets of urbanism as follows:

1. Ecologically speaking, urbanism has a

demographic and mechanical-technical base-
viz. a dense aggregation of individuals whose
life, career and labour are oriented to the pre-
determined rhythm and tempo of machinery and
the pressure of the vast complicated, capitalistic
industrial structure and finance, which operate
and control mass standardized production.
2.The natural areas of the city and the patterns
of land use habitations, transportation and
the ecological process of competition,
specialization, gradation and segregation
governs all communications, which represent
the physical milieu of urban dwellers
(iii) Biologically speaking, urbanism is
characterized by a preponderance of a
heterogeneous, foreign-born, adult population with
an excess of single and unattached persons and a
deficiency of women and minors and exhibit low
birth rate and high mortality
(iv) Psychologically speaking, it is a system of
ideas, attitudes and ideals, marked by:
Formal, objective, pecuniary standards, which fit
into the machine technology and rapid tempo of
life leave little room for personal and emotional
self-expression hence it accompanies individual
and social irritation, excitement and strife