GEOG 3205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Social Disorganization Theory, Glocalization
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What%is%a%City?% % % (8/28)%
- Cities%-%Entities%&%Qualities%
o Entities:%external%factors%
§ Systems%of%cities,%main%cities,%global%cities,%etc.%
o Qualities:%internal%structures%
§ Systems%in%cities%
%
- Urban%Question:%Is%the%urban%spatial%form%a%cause%or%consequence%of%social%relations%(or%
both)?%
o Physical%Structure%
§ Chicago%School%of%Urban%Ecology%
• A%city%is%a%point%on%a%map%with%clear%boundaries%of%the%spatial%unit%
which%shapes%social%effects%among%urban%inhabitants%
• Explored%sites%and%communities%as%social%worlds%
• Mapped%forms%of%social%disorganization%
• Considered%relations%between%people%and%communities%
§ Example:%Wirth’s%Urbanism%as%a%Way%of%Life%
• Critiques:%
o Gives%too%much%power%to%environment%while%ignoring%
issues%of%power%and%inequality%
o Castells:%Nothing%particular%about%the%urban%in%the%study%
o City%as%a%System%of%Interrelated%Social,%Economic%&%Political%Processes%
§ Space%is%relational%
§ Society%and%space%influence%each%other%
§ Harvey:%Urban%process%(especially%capitalism)%both%influence%and%are%
influenced%by%urban%space%
• The%social%processes%underlying%the%best-designed,%community-
enhancing%place,%still%need%to%be%cultivated%&%sustained%
• Urges%planners%and%policy-makers%to%design%flexible,%adjustable%
cities,%and%to%encourage%fluid%social%processes%
%
- Scale%and%Space%
o Different%Levels%of%Scale%
§ World%
• i.e.%global%climate%
§ Nation%
• i.e.%mass%transit%
§ Region%