Books on Urban
Sociology, Abstracts, Bibliography, Syllabus, Journals,
The city and the metropolitan region are places where
macro social trends materialize. We can include trends such as globalization and
information technology. What are the challenges for urban sociology? We are seeing a
paradigm shift in urban sociology. Urban sociology has challenged human ecology.
New Urban Sociology began in Europe at the beginning of
the 1970s and then spread to the United States. The story of the new urban sociologists is
the story of members of the same generation who, dissatisfied with the development of
theory in their field, developed a distinct approach to urban problems.
MSU Center for Urban Affairs Community and
Economic Development Program (CEDP) Committed to applying knowledge to address
the needs of society, primarily urban communities. To facilitate the use of university and
community resources to address urban issues that enhance the quality of life.
Urban Institute - Our mission: the Urban
Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance
overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues.
Urban Land Institute (ULI) - A nonprofit
education and research institute that is supported and directed by its members. Its
mission is to provide responsible leadership in the use ofland in order to enhance the
The Thoreau Institute - Urban Growth and Transportation Studies.
The New Urban Sociology Meets the Old -
Rereading Some Classical Human Ecology
David A. Smith, University of California, Irvine
A basic paradigm shift in urban sociology has occurred: The new urban sociology has
challenged and largely supplanted human ecology. The common perception that the two
approaches are totally antithetical and incompatible has created a crisis in urban
sociology. The author reevaluates some earlier ecological writings in light of the basic
assumptions of the new urban sociology. Roderick McKenzie's often ignored writings show a
striking affinity to tenets of the new urban sociology. Urban ecologists' claims are
challenged by their own intellectual ancestors, and areas of conceptual continuity and
overlap should lead to more dialogue and less theoretical polarization.
Urban Sociology Beyond the Theoretical Debate of the Seventies -
This article reconstructs the theoretical history of urban sociological studies with
particular attention to the critical debate of the seventies.
Debates and Developments - The future of
urban sociology: report of joint sessions of the British and American
Sociological Associations, Beth Perry & Alan Harding
This article reports on two joint sessions of the British and American Sociological
Associations held during the course of 2001 as a first step toward more structured
dialogue and debate between the two national associations. Drawing on the comments of a
number of leading academics on both sides of the Atlantic, this paper presents a series of
discussions about the role and future of urban sociology. It explores the challenges and
opportunities offered to urban sociology by increasing interdisciplinarity and
multidisciplinarity in the field of urban studies as a whole. It then explores the role of
sociology in understanding the relationship between contemporary processes of
globalization and urban change and the degree to which this constitutes a new dynamic core
of sociological theory and research. The paper reveals that there are a variety of
alternative futures for urban sociology and there would appear to be little agreement on
one specific route, nor on how to get there. Urban sociology continues to face a variety
of challenges and more debate on its future trajectory is clearly needed.
Urban Sociology: A Trend Report - Rosemary Mellor
The paper reviews the disintegration of urban sociology as a recognisable domain of study
in the early 1980s and its development as urban studies - an interdisciplinary research
field with global reference and infinite scope. At the same time there was a re-entry of
the `local' and more specifically the `urban' into the sociological mainstream as there
was greater awareness of uneven development, the particularity of local experience and the
possibilities of mobilisation around local issues. In particular there was awareness that
`race' politics was also an `urban' politics.
New frontiers facing urban
sociology at the Millennium - Sassen S.
Abstract: The article examines some of the major challenges facing urban sociology at
century's end given its traditions and lineages. These challenges arise out of the
intersection of major macrosocial trends and their particular spatial patterns. The city
and the metropolitan region emerge as one of the strategic sites where these macrosocial
trends materialize and hence can be constituted as an object of study. Among these trends
are globalization and the rise of the new information technologies, the intensifying of
transnational and translocal dynamics, and the strengthening presence and voice of
specific types of socio-cultural diversity.
Internal Colonialism in
Thailand - Primate City Parasitism Reconsidered
Bruce London, Department of Sociology Mary Washington College Fredericksburg,
This paper contributes to the development of a more "political" comparative
urban sociology by focusing on the role of intergroup power relationships in the creation
and maintenance of regional/spatial inequalities in Thailand.
Placing Health in an Urban Sociology: Cities as Mosaics of Risk and
Fitzpatrick K.M.; LaGory M.
Abstract: Central to urban sociology is the assumption that place matters. Yet, urban
sociology has virtually ignored the role of place in understanding a critical aspect of
personal and collective well-being. This article attempts to synthesize major sociological
theories of health, within an urban ecological framework, in an effort to provide insight
into how the distinct spatial qualities of neighborhoods impact the health risks, beliefs,
and behaviors of their residents.
New Urban Sociology in Japan: the changing debates - Kazutaka Hashimoto
Abstract: New Urban Sociology began in Europe at the beginning of the 1970s and then
spread to the United States. This article examines the changing debates that have occurred
in New Urban Sociology since its introduction to Japan in the late 1970s. The twenty years
since its introduction from the West can be divided into three stages. The first covers
the period from 1977 to 1985, when French urban sociology, particularly Manuael Castells'
theory of the state, was highly influential. The second stage, from 1986 to 1992, focused
on theories of urban social movements and the concept of global city in a context of urban
renewal in Japan's major cities. The third stage, from 1992 to the present, is
characterized by a transformation of New Urban Sociology into a sociological theory of
space under globalization that has been heavily influenced by the work of David Harvey.
Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.
Radical Intellectuals: What Happened to the New Urban Sociology?
Aleksandra Sasha Milicevic
Abstract: This article is about the rise and fall of radicalism among 'new urban
sociologists' during the 1960s and 1970s. First, I analyze the social and theoretical
developments of that time and demonstrate the novelty of the questions that the new urban
sociologists posed. Second, I examine the features of the practical engagements and
motivations of the members of this group and show how they changed over time. Finally, I
discuss the processes of institutionalization of this group. The story of the new urban
sociologists is the story of members of the same generation who, dissatisfied with the
development of theory in their field, developed a distinct approach to urban problems.
Urban Sociology. Curriculum Bulletin. Grade 12.
Abstract: The focus of the urban sociology teaching guide for grade 12 is on the effect of
urbanization upon four of the major social institutions: familial, governmental, economic,
and educational. An overall educational objective is to prepare students for developing
rational solutions to problems confronting urban society. Objectives are stated in
behavioral terms for each of the five units. Through enumeration of content, suggested
activities, and resource material, the guide recommends a proven roadway to reach the