1.
Introduction
to Urban
Sociology
urban sociology (ADS605) 1

2.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this chapter a student should be able to :
i. Explain the brief history of urban sociology.
ii. Define the urban sociology terms and concepts.
iii. Identify the significance of urban sociology.
iv. Elaborate on the socio-spatial perspective and sociological
theories in urban studies.
urban sociology (ADS605) 2

3.
• slumdog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwiU94p9XPA
•Urbanized: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHWwxBEfikw
urban sociology (ADS605) 3

4.
urban sociology (ADS605) 4
Ancient Urbanization

5.
urban sociology (ADS605) 5
Ancient Urbanization
V.Gordon Childe( 1950,1954)”The emergence of urban life as a critical
evolutionary phase in the rise of modern civilisation”. once urbanization
began, civilisation progressed and evolved to more complex forms of social
life”.
• The origin of cities started due to the process of early urbanization and the
social structure that help to understand the complex social relations and
strong bonds among the residents who were often unrelated.

6.
urban sociology (ADS605) 6
Characteristics of ancient urbanization and urban
revolution by V.Gordon Childe:
i. Increased population size and density
ii. Specialization of labor
iii. Concentration of agricultural surplus
iv. Social Stratification
v. Public work and monuments

7.
urban sociology (ADS605) 7
Characteristics of ancient urbanization and urban revolution
by V.Gordon Childe:
v. Invention of writing
vi. Development of the arts
vii. Development of Science
viii.Membership
ix. Long-distance trade

8.
urban sociology (ADS605) 8
Classical Cities
• Mesopotamia and China were built according to complex belief
systems and simbolic codes (city gates devoted (devoted to specific
deities that were oriented to the cardinal points of compass), and
street layout(prevent spirits from moving directly to the center of
the city)).
• Ancient Greece constructed by cosmological code (sacred spaces
and religious symbols linked to the phanteon of Greek gods).
• City of Athens developed to honour the goddess Athena and all
buildings followed by geometrical design principles such as ‘agora
and hestia koine’ (the marketplace and the public hearth).

9.
urban sociology (ADS605) 9
Classical Cities
• Classical Rome was constructed on the military power of state and
ambitions of the emporors.
• Refer table the history of urban civilizations (Growth and Decline)
ROME – AD 100 – 650,000
BAGHDAD – AD 765 –
480,000
EGYPT -3200 BC
CHINA- 1600BC
MEXICO-200BC

10.
urban sociology (ADS605) 10
History of urban civilizations (Growth and Decline)
Location Population Notes
AD 100
600-800
1000
1300
1500
1600
Mexico City
1500
1524
1600
Baghdad
765
900
1400
1650
Peking
1200
1300
1500
1800
London
1700
1800
1900
New York
1800
1900
1950
650,000
50,000
35,000
15,000
35,000
120,000
80,000
30,000
75,000
480,000
1,100,000
125,000
30,000
150,000
400,000
670,000
1,100,000
350,000
1,100,000
6,480,000
80,000
4,240,000
19,800,000
World’s larges city
Invansion by Germanic Tribes
Exile of Popes to Avignon
Pope Sixtus and Rebirth of Rome
Capital of Aztec Empire
Destruction by Spanish conquistadors
Colonial center of Spanish Empire
Following establishment of Caliphate in 750
Largest city in the world; first city of 1,000,000
Sacked by Tamerlane in 1401
Capital of China
World’s largest city
World’s largest city
Second largest city in the world
Largest city in the world
Largest city in United State
World’s largest city
Source: Ivan Light, Cities in World Perspective (New York: Macmillan, 1983), Population estimates rounded to nearest 10,000

11.
urban sociology (ADS605) 11
THE MEDIEVAL ORDER AND THE RENAISSANCE CITY
• Provide an important symbolic space in the center of city (represent
the dominants social, economic, and political interest)
• Competition among medieval cities on political, economic and war
safety.
• The redevelopment of Rome served as model for urban planning
during the Renaissance.

12.
urban sociology (ADS605) 12
CAPITALISM AND THE RISE OF THE INDUSTRIAL CITY
• The economy of the feudal manor (simple commodity production)
• Activities regulated by by local government allowed the people with
capital to hire both labor and resources to produce goods
• Commercial relations supported the accumalation of capital and
cities.

13.
urban sociology (ADS605) 13
THE EVOLUTION OF CITIES
 THE FIRST CITIES
1. Hunting and gathering society
2. Egyption cites, China in 2000B.C.E
 Preindustrial European Cities
1. Greeks/Romans/Vienna/Paris/London
 Industrial European cities ( 1750s)
Urban revolution in Europe and North America. London was
the largest city with 550,000 people.

14.
urban sociology (ADS605) 14
METROPOLITAN GROWTH IN US:
 Large population= 50,000 pop
 Population of the suburban larger than older central city
 The growth of new metropolitan areas. eg. Gigantic/mega cities and regional
urbanization
 Urbanized development that contains:
Buildings
Industrial park
Residential areas
Recreational areas
business district/Shopping malls/offices etc
Better public services eg:
water, electricity,sewerage, road,comm. etc

15.
urban sociology (ADS605) 15
WORLD’S URBAN POPULATION FROM 1 BILLION IN 60’S TO 3
BILLIONS IN 2003.
IN 2030, 61% OF WORLD’S POP WILL LIVE IN URBAN AREAS.
AD 2003
 TOKYO – 35 MIL.
 MEXICO CITY – 18.7 MIL.
 NEW YORK – 18.3 MIL.
 MUMBAI – 17.4 MIL.
 SHANGHAI – 12.8 MIL.
 JAKARTA – 12.3 MIL.
 METRO MANILA – 10.4 MIL

16.
urban sociology (ADS605) 16
Urban sociology is the sociological study of social life and human
interaction in metropolitants.
Urban sociologists use statistical analysis, observation, social theory,
interviews, and other methods to study a range of topics, including
migration and demographic trends, economics, poverty, race relations,
economic trends, and etc.
During theindustrial revolution, sociologists such as Max Weber and Emile
Durkheim focused on the increasing urbanization of social life and the
effects it had on people's feelings of alienation and anonymity.
The Chicago School is a major influence in the study of urban sociology.
Many of their findings have been refined or rejected, but the lasting impact
of the Chicago School can still be found in today's teachings.

17.
urban sociology (ADS605) 17
Definition of City: Lewis Mumford( 1961)
Cities served as both huge magnets and containers that concentrated
people and economic activities or wealth within well defined bounded
spaces.
Cities are the center of economic, political, culture, and artistic
events.eg the rise of nazism in germany WW1- Berlin
Cities contains large population that ranks in millions.
People work, live and play in the cities.
Today, city has exploded=the growth of metropolitan region.

18.
i. Cities are homes for people- human
history/civilisation.
ii. To study a form of human settlement.
iii. To understand the modern existence.
iv. To understand the connection between the city and
culture = to examine the society.
urban sociology (ADS605) 18

19.
The Sociospatial Perspective
i. The urban and suburban settlement spaces have developed
within larger metropolitan region- multicentered metropolitan
region.
ii. Settlement spaces are linked to global system of capitalism.
iii. Settlement spaces are affected by government policies,
developers, financiers and others real estate industry.
urban sociology (ADS605) 19

20.
The Sociospatial Perspective
iv. Built environment consists of symbols, objects, (urban
semiotics) designed by people and have meanings to them.
v. Social class groups differ from one another ( lifestyles,
attitudes, beliefs etc).
vi. It emphasizes the interaction between the society and space.
Spatial arrangements influence human behavior.
urban sociology (ADS605) 20

21.
urban sociology (ADS605) 21
Ferdinand Toennies, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft
GEMEINSCHAFT GESELLSCHAFT-
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP SECONDARY RELATIONSHIP
UNITED IN DIVERSITY URBAN LIFESTYLE
SENSE OF WE-NESS OR OUR-NESS SEPARATED IN UNION
HUMANE SELFISHNESS-LITTLE SENSE OF
COMMUNITY
STRONG BOND URBANIZATION=WEAK SOCIAL
RELATIONS

22.
urban sociology (ADS605) 22
Emile Durkheim, Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity (The Division of
Labour)
Urbanites do not lack social bond but they organise life differently from
villagers.
 Rural life is a mechanical solidarity and same as Tonnies’s Gemeinschaft (
belief, custom, symbol) -automatic relation - village
Organic solidarity is bond by specialization and interdependence
(impersonality, alienation) - joined by difference
Urban society: individual choice, moral tolerance and personal privacy

23.
urban sociology (ADS605) 23
Friedrich Engels, The working class in England 1844
Observed several aspects of capitalism at work within the urban space.
He noted:
• Capitalism has double tendency of concentration of investment, money and
workers.
• Investment would move away from the old center to the periphery.
• Unregulated capitalism produced a spatial chaos due to a multiplication of
centers.
• Engel's focused on the social problems created by the breakdown of
traditional society and the operation of capitalism.
• Neighborhood or living-space relations and the quality of daily life are
important for the survival of capitalism.
• Capitalism produces the spatial isolation of the social classes= known as
uneven development.

24.
urban sociology (ADS605) 24
George Simmel On The City
Offers a microanalysis of cities
He studied how the urban life shapes individual experience.
Individuals perceive the city as a crush of people, objects and events.
 Urbanites developed a blasé attitude (Detachment)- for survival
Sense of individuality- keep a distance as a survival strategy.

25.
urban sociology (ADS605) 25
Robert Park and Human Ecology
Us sociologist. Leader of the first us sociology at Uni of Chicago
Adopted a conceptual position known as human ecology. He is the study of the
process of human group adjustment to the environment.
Park “ the social organization of the city resulted from the struggle for survival and
then produced a distinct and highly complex division of labour”.
Urban life is divided into 2: the biotics level (competition) and the cultural level (
cooperation).
Biotics level -social organization produced by people competition over scarce
resources.
Cultural level= cooperatives ties/values shared among people of similar
backgrounds.

26.
Summary
Urban sociology is the sociological study of social life and human interaction in
metropolitants. The term urbanization is related in explaining the city growth.
Urbanization is a transition process from rural to urban life and influence the
population pattern based on size, density and heterogeneity. Sociospatial
perspective links the dual relationship between people and space with the social
factors that are the bases of individual behaviour and society. A group of theories
will help to understand the life and challenges of urban and the residents. The
urban sociology is a tool to understand the urban society and factors that
influence all aspects of urban lifestyle.
urban sociology (ADS605) 26

27.
Reference
Gottdiener, M. , Hutchison, R. and Ryan, M. T. (2014) The New Urban
Sociology, 5rd edition, Colorado: Westview Press.
Gottdiener, M. , Budd, L. and Lehtovuori, P. (2016) Key Concepts in
Urban Studies, 2nd edition, London: Sage Publications Ltd.
urban sociology (ADS605) 27

28.
Quiz
urban sociology (ADS605) 28
Fill in the blanks the different between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft
GEMEINSCHAFT GESELLSCHAFT-
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
PRIMARY RELATIONSHIP SECONDARY RELATIONSHIP
UNITED IN DIVERSITY URBAN LIFESTYLE
SENSE OF WE-NESS OR OUR-NESS SEPARATED IN UNION
HUMANE SELFISHNESS-LITTLE SENSE OF
COMMUNITY
STRONG BOND URBANIZATION=WEAK SOCIAL
RELATIONS

29.
Quiz
urban sociology (ADS605) 29
True False Questions
Statement True False
Urban sociology is the sociological study of social life and human
interaction in metropolitants
x
City of Athens constructed by cosmological code (sacred spaces and religious
symbols linked to the phanteon of Greek gods).
x
Urbanization redisributes and concentrates population within a society and
protect different pattern of social life.
x
Cities served as both huge magnets and containers that concentrated people
and economic activities or wealth within well defined bounded spaces.
x
Urbanism is the study of cities x

30.
Author
Dr. Nor Hafizah Binti
Mohamed Harith
norha561@salam.uitm.edu.
my
urban sociology (ADS605) 30
Author
Muhamad Fuad Bin Abdul Karim
fuad645@ns.uitm.edu.my